On Sunday evening, my uthah muthah and I drove to her friend's house out in the country, where the puppies are staying while looking for homes. We got plenty of animal time with the five puppies (one already found a home), two dogs, five cats, four horses, eight goats and numerous chickens.
On Monday we took a trip to Unclaimed Baggage in Scottsboro, AL, a store where the contents of unclaimed airline baggage is sold. It is basically a giant thrift store, except that everything in it is really nice, because the previous owners weren't actually intending to get rid of this stuff. They pretty much have every imaginable thing for sale there, from VHS tapes to wedding dresses to handmade silk rugs from the middle east to cell phone chargers. It's amazing how much stuff never gets reunited with its owner. I try to never have to check bags, but now I will be even more militant with my packing. The store has become a huge tourist destination, with busloads of consumers arriving daily. This was pretty much the worst place in the world for a person who has been living minimally for six months to go. I have been wearing the same approximately three outfits this entire time, and a bit of boredom has set in. I went nuts trying on clothes and flipping through CDs, DVDs and books. In the end, I managed to reign it in and just buy a couple of things, one that I actually needed, and some that I kind of sort of needed. (How am I going to pass on a really cute performance thermal undershirt for $6? I need that, right?) I tell ya though, if I lived near that place, I would have a lot of random stuff, and great Halloween costumes, as well as seventeen pairs of glasses. They had a whole wall of glasses ranging in price from $3 to $25, and there were several pairs I really liked. If any of you are in the area and need to get new glasses soon, consider picking up some frames here, and changing out the lenses. Cheap!
On the way back to the puppy boarding house, we got a flat tire, and were assisted by a kind young man who would not have been able to sleep at night if he had let us change the tire ourselves. Okay, those were my stepmom's words, not his, but he was still very much a southern gentleman.
I volunteered to stay with the animals that night, while my stepmom went home to take care of some business and her friend went to a gathering in Nashville with some friends. I was alone with the animals for less than an hour when I discovered one of the puppies had gotten into some heart medication belonging to one of the older dogs. She had somehow chewed the bottle open and an unknown quantity of pills had been eaten by an unknown number of puppies. Yipes! Panic! I monitored them for a while as I researched the medication online. Shortly, one of them began vomiting fairly often, and my research suggested the possibility of her heart stopping. Yipes again! I made a few panicky phone calls, and the puppies' foster mother calmed me down and said it would all be okay. The vet, on the other hand, said to bring her in right away, but that there was really nothing they could do for her. Helpful... Anywho, she lived through the night, which was promising, although she was still pretty lethargic and a bit vomity the next morning. Blurg, at least all of the other animals were fine. 1/~50 isn't a terrible failure rate...
On Tuesday, my stepmom picked me up and we drove up to Nashville to join the party. It was a gathering of Christian truckers, who were having an early Thanksgiving in a timeshare. There was a sermon and communion before the meal. Once again, I felt like an infiltrator. This time, I avoided caffeine, spread out the desserts, and managed not to attack, although things were much less ugly than at the Republican women's luncheon, so it was easier. It was difficult to keep my inner smartass in check, though, but I managed it by hardly talking the whole day, and emailing a bit of smartassery to a friend. I ate a metric ton of delicious homemade cooking, including homemade pie and cake for dessert. Yum! We were joined by a Shoney's waitress the others had met a day or two prior, who writes and performs and sells CDs of poetry. She showed up in her work uniform-- she had to work later in the day-- and gave us a show. Then it was back to Athens for a bit of down time.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Two hundred days and counting
Thursday was day two hundred on the road. My statistics for this one hundred days are less impressive than my first one hundred, in terms of biking and sleeping outdoors, but I've heard that I don't need to work anymore to impress you guys. Perhaps next spring and summer I will be hardcore once again, but I am quite happy with giving myself a break from the hard life. I celebrated my latest milestone with a ride out to a nearby state park, which was both lovely and quite peaceful, it being November and all.
Friday we went down to the Civil Rights Museum and 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, where we and all of the other predominately white tourists were assisted by the entirely black staff.
Saturday we went to the Ave Maria Grotto to see all of the miniature shrines and whatnot created by Brother Joseph Zoettl over the course of about forty years in the early twentieth century. He made use of a lot of material that was either found or given to him over the years, and his work was so precious and detailed, my stepmom and I were all sewed up in horse pies.
So for all of my statistics loving pals: My total miles travelled on my bicycle in the first two hundred days of my journey has been 5477.1, but the miles that were actually loaded touring miles were 5124.7. The breakdown for days 101-200:
-2633.6 total miles ridden during 50 days of riding, for an average of 52.7 miles per day.
-2435.4 miles ridden loaded toward a new goal during 44 days of riding, for an average of 55.4 miles per day. The rest were unloaded miles ridden while sightseeing.
-8 consecutive nights sleeping outside
-37 total nights sleeping outside
-33 consecutive nights sleeping indoors
-30 nights I paid for lodging
-$795 spent on lodging
Friday we went down to the Civil Rights Museum and 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, where we and all of the other predominately white tourists were assisted by the entirely black staff.
Saturday we went to the Ave Maria Grotto to see all of the miniature shrines and whatnot created by Brother Joseph Zoettl over the course of about forty years in the early twentieth century. He made use of a lot of material that was either found or given to him over the years, and his work was so precious and detailed, my stepmom and I were all sewed up in horse pies.
So for all of my statistics loving pals: My total miles travelled on my bicycle in the first two hundred days of my journey has been 5477.1, but the miles that were actually loaded touring miles were 5124.7. The breakdown for days 101-200:
-2633.6 total miles ridden during 50 days of riding, for an average of 52.7 miles per day.
-2435.4 miles ridden loaded toward a new goal during 44 days of riding, for an average of 55.4 miles per day. The rest were unloaded miles ridden while sightseeing.
-8 consecutive nights sleeping outside
-37 total nights sleeping outside
-33 consecutive nights sleeping indoors
-30 nights I paid for lodging
-$795 spent on lodging
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Caffeine and Republicans
Since my dad and other mother picked me up from Virginia, I have been lounging at their place in Athens, Alabama (near Huntsville), making cookies, eating, biking, watching movies and taking walks with my stepmom and her good friend. The walk this morning was the best ever, filled with puppies and ice. If you are a puppy freak like me, check out my youtube, because I actually uploaded FIVE videos of the puppies... And have no fear, the puppies have been moved to a safe place, and homes are being sought as I type.
Later, I accompanied my stepmom to a luncheon for the Republican Women of Madison, where she was touting her new book. I was sadly, grossly, pathetically, woefully underdressed, but the southern belles were gracious. Things went pretty smoothly, but I was feeling so out of place I ended up downing four cookies and five glasses of iced tea. After the luncheon, four or five women were still hanging around, kvetching about the president elect, and it was interesting to see how the same fears the liberals had about the Bush administration heading towards becoming a nazi-like fascist regime have now become the conservative's fears about the Obama administration. It seems like whenever anyone in this country disagrees with anyone else, the go-to insult is "Nazi." It's the new n-word. To quote Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, "you have to try really hard to be that evil!" It's a facile and generally completely inaccurate comparison that we make way, way too easily. Anywho, I managed to just sit back and listen for a while, but then things started to get too ugly, and all of the sugar and caffeine kicked in, so I took on the whole room. Fortunately my stepmom, who has totally missed her calling as a conflict negotiator, jumped in and brought the energy level of the room down before I started throwing punches.
Later, I accompanied my stepmom to a luncheon for the Republican Women of Madison, where she was touting her new book. I was sadly, grossly, pathetically, woefully underdressed, but the southern belles were gracious. Things went pretty smoothly, but I was feeling so out of place I ended up downing four cookies and five glasses of iced tea. After the luncheon, four or five women were still hanging around, kvetching about the president elect, and it was interesting to see how the same fears the liberals had about the Bush administration heading towards becoming a nazi-like fascist regime have now become the conservative's fears about the Obama administration. It seems like whenever anyone in this country disagrees with anyone else, the go-to insult is "Nazi." It's the new n-word. To quote Jon Stewart on the Daily Show, "you have to try really hard to be that evil!" It's a facile and generally completely inaccurate comparison that we make way, way too easily. Anywho, I managed to just sit back and listen for a while, but then things started to get too ugly, and all of the sugar and caffeine kicked in, so I took on the whole room. Fortunately my stepmom, who has totally missed her calling as a conflict negotiator, jumped in and brought the energy level of the room down before I started throwing punches.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Once again, I quit
Saturday, 15 November: I spent some time looking at weather reports last night, and saw that my future involved rain, snow, strong headwinds and very low temperatures. Realizing that my heart is not in this right now, I called in the cavalry. My dad and stepmom are on their way to pick me up and take me to their place in Alabama, where I will regroup and decide how the rest of my travels will be conducted.
Check back infrequently...
Friday, November 14, 2008
Another inch forward
Friday, 14 November: The weather was alright today, kinda sunny, not super windy, and I took yesterday off, so why is today so difficult?
A couple of hours into my ride, I stopped for some gas station coffee. I'm seriously addicted to that syrupy-sweet stuff that comes out of the "cappuccino" machine. I noticed there was a Greyhound station right behind the gas station, and was seriously tempted, but I decided to ride on. I kept following USBR 76, which is always taking long scenic detours around populated areas, which can be a good thing, unless you encounter a sign a couple miles into your hilly detour informing you that the road you are on is closed ahead. Sigh. No choice but to backtrack, unless I want to follow the posted detour route to who knows where and for how long. Since the backtracking brought me back to the bus station, I took it as a sign and went inside to inquire about the possibility of getting me and my Surly to Huntsville. The guy working there didn't know if they could take my bike, and said it was really up to the driver, and he had no way to ask. I could either hang around the bus station until after dark when the next bus was due to arrive, and hope that the driver would take pity and let me aboard, or ride on. Not wanting to risk a nighttime ride to shelter in the predicted rain, I rode on, reminding myself that there is no such thing as "a sign." A few minutes later, I had a roadside meltdown. When I saw that I was only a couple miles from a KOA, I called it a day. Sadly, I didn't get very far today, but at least I was able to dry out my tent (I packed up wet this morning) and do some laundry in the cheapest laundromat I have seen on this trip. Maybe tomorrow I will get somewhere, although the weather report suggests that may not be the case.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Inching right along...
Wednesday, 12 November: Another cold, hilly day. In the afternoon I decided that, although it might have been possible to reach my intended destination (another KOA) before dark, I didn't want to try. Those hills are killer. I backtracked (blurg!) a couple of miles to a state park. I consoled myself about the short day and the backtracking by telling myself that at least it would be cheaper than the KOA. Wrong. They have done that thing that many state park campgrounds seem to do late in the season, which is to close down the cheap camping area and refuse to bargain on the price for the expensive sites. And there are way too many park employees milling around to try to cheat the system. I guess I could have put an empty envelope with a fake name and address in the drop box, but I just couldn't do it. Someone has to pay all of those park employees.
At least I got another hot shower and was able to charge all of my electronics.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)