Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Today marks the half-way distance of the trip. So, as I face the daunting hills and deserts of the West, I want to take some time to reflect on some of the places I have been.


Marianna, FL - A very generous and very Southern Baptist church took us in for the night. It was a shorter day, so not only did they provide dinner and breakfast the next day but they went out and got lunch when we arrived earlier than expected. Here was our first affordable housing presentation which was received with such enthusiasm from various members of the congregation who joined us for the evening meal. By this point in the ride, my group and I concluded that the deep South had an extreme abundance of three things: churches, dollar stores, and dead armadillos. Later in my ride, this rule of thumb has yet to let me down.


Mobile, AL - We arrived here after our first century ride. Excited from the day's accomplishments, a group of us had our first night on the town -- which ended up being surprising calm and early considering our exhausting and waking up the next morning at 6:45 (which is actually "sleeping in" compared to 4:00). But while out, I was able to meet a few people who promised that Mobile, to my great surprise, was indeed the home of Mardi Gras parties and still holds a popular and family-friendly event every year. Not a bad city considering this and the beach is beautiful and the fish restaurants are abundant, cheap, and (at least the one I tried) very good.

New Orleans, LA - This is still my favorite city in the world. And yes, I have been walking around the streets of NYC, Budapest and Rome telling whoever happened to be with me how X-city is great, but I will always like New Orleans better.


Natchitoches, LA - As the first British settlement in Louisiana, this city has a pretty rich history. Candy shops, local bookstores, restaurants, and gift shops located downtown overlook a lazy river and small park in the center of town.


Carthage, TX - Our first night in the great state of Texas, we were taken in by an '06 bike and build alumna's parents. They opened up their house for us to sleep all over and allowed us a taste of Texas food and hospitality. While there are many parallels between Texas and the South, this state is undeniably a separate entity. The tourist slogan is "a country of its own" which is no exaggeration from reality. Another slogan: "drive friendly -- the Texas way" has also proven to be true. As a cyclist, cars tend to zip by usually too close for comfort on both back roads and major highways, but cars (and A LOT of trucks) here have instead slowed down and granted us some wiggle room on the roads.


East Duke, OK - We took a break from the enormity of Texas and headed North to the border of Oklahoma for an evening. Oklahoma ... where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain ... did not let me down as it truly was everything that I imagined it to be. In this one town where I stopped to take pictures of the main street (right by the railroad tracks, of course), a local man stopped with me to tell me a short story about his town. Founded in the very beginning of the twentieth century, East Duke and West Duke had a continuous battle which had been sparked over the government granted the railroad company free land which it sold cheaply to the residence of East Duke. Enraged West Duke retaliated by occasionally burning buildings in their counter town which escalated into a thirty year conflict between the two. Finally, they came to a peace and together buried a hatchet in a time capsule under a main intersection. The true resolution, however, came when the main road in East Duke was paved in the late 1940's while West Duke was left with dirt roads and eventually perished to a sheetrock factory and a few abandoned foundations.


Memphis, TX - Everything was closed on Saturday afternoon when we got in. Their is a town square with all the main stores with a court house in the middle; this set up is becoming a familiar sight. But the emptiness of a weekend when in Charlotte or Grinnell people would be hustling about was almost eerie. A friend who went out last night also informed me that it is a dry county. And the library, to my dismay, is closed on Sundays AND Wednesdays. But the people are beyond nice. First Methodist treated us to a potluck dinner and a soon to come brunch. And the man I asked for directions to the post office offered to mail my letters for me since he was already heading that way.

Disclaimer: This list is very incomplete as I am running out of computer time but I hope to fill more in later.