Parading in Florala

[Guidedawg]

The town of Florala is home to the world's oldest continuous Masonic Festival.  It is known as the 24th of June celebration because that (St. John the Baptist Day and near the summer solstice) is the beginning of the Masonic year.  It is a weeklong event featuring runs, bass tournament, king and queen, car shows, craft shows, concerts, water battles, and even a carnival set up at Lake Jackson.  There is a parade held on the Saturday closest to that date and since I am the parade marshal for Alcazar Shriners in Montgomery, I felt obligated to attend and make sure the parading units were lined up and accounted for.

As is my habit, I decided to make a loop of it to experience some different roads if possible.  For the sake of speed, I decided to take 231 south and go from there with no detours.




I did not fill up before leaving Montgomery, so I pulled over for gas at a spot where I could also find a sign showing I was in Pike County (for the Ride to the Counties portion of our riding games section found here https://www.motorcyclealabama.com/rides/index.php?board=71.0



I turned off on Hwy 87 and didn't stop for the Coffee County sign but did take a second to show I was in the area by finding something reflecting Elba



From there it was Highway 84 which I am more used to traveling between Evergreen and Grove Hill and down to 331 South where it was sad to see the damage a recent fire did to Doc's Country Store in Opp.

I made my way to Florala and met up with other members of the Shrine as we prepared for the parade








Yep, I rode in at as well, next to one of our go-karts

Since we were near the front, I was able to park and walk to the street and see one of the larger floats near the end.  These guys are not a Masonic group but they put on a great show and have a good time



I skipped the provided lunch to go ahead and head back home (lawn mowing does not stop for parades) this time taking 331 most all the way, after a brief detour.



I had just left downtown when I spotted a National Guard armory and stopped for a photo because the scavenger hunt on a VTX board I frequent was looking for a pic of your bike and something military related.



Highway 54 was not the most direct route home, but it allowed me to go through Geneva County and add a county to my list.



I think this might have been my favorite leg of the trip.  It was a beautiful day, I almost had the entire route to myself, and there was even a curve or two to make the rural area even more fun.

I even took the time to stop for a silo picture since that was the current theme tag for this site.



I reentered Coffee County as I went through Kinston and once I got back into Covington County near Opp, I turned around for a better opportunity to get a county sign where I had just been. I liked it better than the Elba-related one I had taken earlier.



Once I reached Opp, I was back on 331 and covered some of the same ground I had been on earlier but this time I stayed on it rather than turning off on 84.

The reason I skipped lunch in Florala was because I had seen a Facebook post claiming The Chicken Shack in Luverne was one of the 4 best places in Alabama for chicken tenders.  It was directly across from a sign featuring Luverne so I was able to get pics of that and my Crenshaw County pic from the same spot.





I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed in the meal.  I tried the fried chicken rather than the tenders and was presented two very small pieces.  Also, since I opted out of the coleslaw side, I thought perhaps I would get extra fries. Nope, I wouldn't even call the helping I had a single serving.  So, with the paltry poultry, I've decided this is not much cluck for the buck and I'd have been better served stopping at any of the BBQ spots I saw along the route.

I continued along my way and decided to stop at the school in Highland Home to get a photo near the military tribute there and make Old Glory the next theme tag for our site.






And from Highland Home it was headin' home back up 331 into the 'Gump where the lawn was still waiting for me.

[TN_twowheeladdict]

Surprised you didn't get a photo of your bike at the antique gas station in Florala.  One of my favorite photo spots.