The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1913-08-04
WELL ON THEIR WAY
The MunrOe-Bridges Party Has En-.
tered on the Last Lap of
Its Trim

muddy condition OF roads from JET
ferson, il was getting dark when We
reached Franklin springs. and as a
storm was brewing. we decided 10
stop. This is a lithia spring and has
a local popularity, the hotel being
well filled with people from Royston
and nearby points. We had a severe
electrical storm and found later that
the high school at Royston had been
destroyed by fire from lightning. We
made one hundred and three miles
that day.
Saturday, July %. We made An
derson, 5. c., 80 miles. part>of the
way through rain. As the evening
promised to be stormy We decided to
stop, and found very comfortable
quarters at the Hotel Chicuola. An
derson is town with about twenty
thousand inhabitants, three banks
and number of factories.
Sunday morning we got a good
start and made Greenville, "a miles,
by II a. m, and as the weather was
promising pushed down to Grier, Is
miles further. Here a storm over
took US and lasted for an hour or
more. We then proceeded slowly to
Spartanburg, p miles, finding roads
to be very heavy. About four miles
out we descended a long hill and l
| had my first experience with a skid
| ding car. It was first from one side
of the road to the other for about
| two hundred yards and at each turn
it seemed as if that would be the last
that We would surely go in the
ditch
At Spartanburg we found very
comfortable hotel, the Finch. Spar
| tanburg is thriving place of about
| thirty thousand people with a num-
| Der of cotton and other factories.
Here Mr. and Mrs. Bridges found a
number of relatives.
On Monday, July %, we left the
rains behind us and found good run
ming all the way to Salisbury, 1875
miles. We passed the historic Kings
Mountain, also through the large fac
| tory town of Gastonia, where a great
| deal of attention has been paid to
| the welfare of the working people, in
laying out parks, furnishing attract
i've homes and planting shrubbery.
We had dinner at Charlotte, one of
the most attractive towns on the
route. At Salisbury we stopped at
the Hotel Empire and found it to be
very comfortable and homelike.
On Tuesday we made Winston
Salem, 40 miles, for dinner and in
tended to make MartinsvilIe, Va,
about so miles further on before
night, but were overtaken by ter
rife thunder storm which lasted for
two hours at Stoneville, n. C. We
were only too glad to put the car in
a tobacco warehouse and seek shell
ter in the village inn. The surround
ings were crude but the people more
than kind.
We have now left the cotton coun-
try and find tobacco to be the prin-
cipal staple. The rain was very
much needed.
On Wednesday. July Goth. we COM
pleted the second leg of our course.
arriving at Roanoke, so miles. byI
$50, after the most exciting drive
of our entire trip. We made Mar
tinsville, Va, 90 miles, at $50 and
Rocky Mount, 80 miles, for dinner.
Up to this time the roads had been
fairly rough. but there were no very
steep inclines. We had a very good
road for twelve miles through the
foot of the mountains separating us
from Roanoke. Then for twelve
miles it was a straight pull up over
roads that had been washed bare of |
soil, leaving rough, rocky bed. On |
the northern slope going down, the
road was smoother but the grade very
steep. there being a succession of /
short pitches of one hundred yards. |
then with sharp turns sometimes at |
an acute angle, first to the right and |
then to the left. At the turns there
is scant room for two vehicles to |
pass and unless some signal is given,
it would seem impossible to avoid a |
collision on account of the thick I'M
dergrowth obstructing the view on
both sides Of the road l used both
brakes and had the engine geared in
the intermediate with the switch
open. Fortunately, we met no one
and finally emerged into the fine
turnpike three miles from Roanoke.
We have now made 953 miles from
home and will start on the last leg
OF our course Saturday morning.
T. T Munroe.