This morning, in addition to having breakfast with Hewes, Susan, and Paul, there were two German couples at the table. They were here for an ophthalmology convention in Atlanta and were on their way to Orlando. Greenville isn't exactly on the way, but they'd read about Grace Manor so they took a little detour to come here.
Clockwise around the table: me, Peter, Andrea, Paul, Martina, Udo, Hewes, Susan.
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I learned that Greenville is where the singer Ray Charles spent the first seven years of his life, and where he went blind. It was surprising to me that there weren't huge signs advertising it. I didn't see anything entering the town, nor when I was online. I didn't even KNOW it until this morning.
Brenda told us about a memorial just around the corner, so we pedaled over to it on the way out of town.
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I rode with Paul most of the day, but also spent some time with Hewes and Susan. It's a sign of their character, all of them, that none of them would talk much about themselves. They would brag on each other, but not themselves.
Paul is a General Surgeon in Billings, Montana. He's been there most of his adult life, and was born and raised in Butte, Montana. Paul is the oldest of several children, and took care of them growing up. He still does. He was quite an accomplished athlete, winning the Montana Golden Gloves boxing title then going on to compete at the national level in Chicago.
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Of course, HE won't tell you any of this information. Paul will talk about his wife and children, and about Hewes and Susan.
There's one thing that impressed me personally. I know surgeons. They're very strong-willed, and when you get two of them together you're generally going to have two very strong opinions about what to do. None of them like to take a back seat to anyone else.
Paul, however, let Hewes make all of the decisions about the route and the accommodations. I KNOW it had to be difficult for him, yet he never said a word about it, and only had complimentary things to say. They've been friends for 35 years.
Paul had been thinking of retiring, but after taking a couple of months off for this trip, he's reconsidering... He's thinking that he's not quite ready to yet.
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Hewes is a retired cardiothoracic surgeon, a heart surgeon. When he first started practicing he did all kinds of surgeries, mainly because there was no one else to do them. As the practice became bigger he narrowed his field and only did heart surgery like he originally intended.
Hewes and Susan support the arts, and were instrumental in renovating an old theater in Billings.
Although this is Paul's first extended tour, it isn't Hewes' or Susan's. (although Susan is thinking it might be her last) Susan will tell you that Hewes practically glows when he's on a tour. He's never happier than when he's pedaling down the road on a loaded touring bike.
I talked to him later in the evening, and it's true. When I asked him about his first tour his eyes lit up as he told me the story about how, in 1969 he was doing some extra training as a resident in Cambridge and he and Susan spontaneously decided to rent some bikes and took off on their first bike trip. They had two very small children at the time. Like me on my first tour, and Akira on his, they didn't know what they were doing - they just went - and it was incredible.
They've been touring together all over the world ever since.
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All of this information I gleaned from the three of them as we pedaled down the road.
Speaking of which, to Paul, the scenery in East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Western Florida all looks the same. He says you could blindfold him and drop him anyplace in one of those areas and he wouldn't be able to tell you where he was.
We crossed over the Suwanee river today, made famous by the Stephen Foster song, "Way Down Upon the Swanee River." Foster, who never actually SAW the Suwanee river, changed the spelling because he wanted a name with two syllables and was afraid people would mispronounce it if he left the "U" in it. Still, it's better than his original choice for the song title, "Way Down Upon the Peede River."
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Here are some pictures I took during the day.
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I can't believe these trees grew so regularly. It's almost as if someone planted them...
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Another magnificent tree. I love the huge oaks.
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Our stopping point for the night isn't actually a town, it's just an intersection with a hotel. It's a good thing we came tonight and not tomorrow night because for the next two days they're completely booked. Why?
A Dulcimer Festival. Not quite as bad as an Elvis Convention, and probably at least as interesting. I didn't even know there was more than one kind of dulcimer. I heard mention of two: the mountain dulcimer and the hammered dulcimer.
For dinner we walked across the street to the cafe where, for the first time, I ate alligator. The menu listed alligator tail as an appetizer so I thought I'd give it a try. Of course, it was fried, but I peeled off the batter and was able to get a good idea of the flavor. No, it doesn't really taste like chicken, and had a surprisingly good flavor and texture.
LOOKS like chicken, though...
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The food came in voluminous quantities, and I just kept eating and eating. When I was done I ordered a hand-scooped chocolate shake. After that, I bought some stuff to eat in the room for later.
Hewes borrowed my minicomputer to do some research for the ride tomorrow. They're going to be riding 80 miles to Gainesville; I'll be leaving the ACA route tomorrow for good and heading east towards Jacksonville.
I also showed him Skype and he was able to talk to Klaus using the webcam.
We all said goodbye and exchanged email addresses. They're going to get an early start. I have a shorter day so I'll sleep a bit later.
Like about three or four hours later.
58.90 miles
12.9 average
25.0 maximum
4:33:23 time
2658.6 total mileage
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