Like many of us "up north" my views of the southern states are a bit out of date...say by about 50 years or so! Yesterday really brought home this point to me.
We contacted Rob and Lynn Mullins via a website called "warmshowers.org", a long distance bicycling website where members allow cyclists to stay in their homes, camp in their yards etc.
It is customary to give a few days notice to your potential hosts that you'll be in the area and in need of a shower, etc. However, due to a little route changing on our part we were only able to give about 20 hours notice or so to the Mullins'. They gave us directions to their home, and we were on our way the next morning out of York.
We arrived in Gainesville a bit earlier than expected, and caught everyone a little off guard. But we were invited right in to their beautiful antebellum home and really made to feel welcome! After a few cold soft drinks, the obligatory toilet calls, and a little interneting, Rob and his friend Jimmy helped us load our bikes into the back of Rob's truck and drove us out to their hunting lodge. We stopped along the way to pick up an excellent lunch that Rob ordered for us at what is perhaps the smallest restaurant I've ever seen... but the food was outstanding!!
The lodge was a really cool setup, complete with a bass pond where April and Andy tried their luck... April introduced a new technique into the time-honored traditions of southern Bass fishing in the form of uncontrolled giggling! I was watching with Jimmy from the upper deck of the lodge and it was hilarious!! She was totally weirded out by the fish, but made a fairly good showing of herself none-the-less.
Supper was prepared for us by Lynn, and it was a FEAST!! Fruit salad, Spaghetti with home-made sauce, garlic bread, salads, the works... it was absolutely to die for and totally over the top!! Especially when compared to the meager things we'd brought along to eat in our panniers. Joining us at supper was their son Dane, Jimmy and his family, and the whole affair made us feel right at home and part of the family! A GREAT BIG THANK YOU goes out to the Mullins and their friends in Gainesville, it really felt good to be part of "the family" so far from home.
Everywhere we've been in Alabama we've been treated with kindness, courtesy, and respect that has been at times overwhelming. The genuine hospitality and generosity that has been consistently shown us has truly made this trip a pleasure and has really made me aware of my own mis-conceptions and biases with regard to the the deep south. Our "Minnesota Nice" seems to pale by comparison to the everyday generosity and traditional southern hospitality of the good people of Alabama.
Speaking of Hospitality, the ladies at the library in Aliceville were a HOOT! They were of course a wealth of information, but it was delivered with such personality that I was literally in tears laughing on several occassions! As Andy is a bit restless, he was doing push-ups on the stairs while we conversed, and Nelda stated that he was just like a "rat on acid"... and of course we just fell over!!! I've attached a photo of these ladies, and I'd STRONGLY recommend travelling miles out of your way to visit if you're ever in the area!
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