| 'twas a warm, steamy morning in eminence. most of us had breakfast, packed sandwiches & gorp, & left town by about 7:15. i don't think i've yet mentioned the delicious spread patty makes for us to use on our meat &/or cheese sandwiches. she mixes a can of cranberry sauce (whole berries usually) & plain horseradish. i tried to get proportions, but she says 'to taste.' try it, you'll like it as much as we do. |
| those hills right out of eminence were indeed plentiful & steep &/or long, but somehow not as bad as yesterday's....maybe because they were at the beginning of a short day instead of at the end of a long one. as yesterday, we often passed signs noting that we were traveling thru the 'ozarks national scenic waterways' area. as yesterday, we often came upon roadside businesses with stacks & stacks of canoes out front. sari & i were wishing we'd had a layover day in eminence so we could have rented one of those canoes & paddled along the lovely rivers & backwaters we noticed while biking. |
| some of us just don't find biking enough of a challenge. when we came across this outlook tower, patty fainer jumped off her bike & started
climbing. |
| sari & i couldn't resist that one. it was perfect....warm, creamy, & nutmeg-topped. it turns out that other riders are catching onto this morning pie habit. lin had custard pie with bacon...a combo new to most of us that at least gives lip service to the breakfast idea. in fact, by the time we all departed young's cafe, i doubt there was any custard pie left. |
| after summersville the route became a breeze. there was a stretch of heavier traffic just out of town....quite a few heavy trucks vying with us for a very narrow road with no shoulders. i often just got off the road to let a few vehicles go by. but the heavy traffic must've veered off along the way some place. after that we enjoyed a wonderfully winding, gently rolling, sunny, warm ride into houston. really warm....with temps into the low 90's. most everyone got here by very early afternoon. several stopped for haircuts at a place in town & most all of us scavenged for food at nearby restaurants. at 3 sari & i decided that supper was too far away so walked across the street to a drive-in restaurant. we each had a small
malt. sari tells me that she is really getting used to having her own malt, pie, or whatever else we buy at our food stops. she & her husband peter are in the habit--& i mean a habit developed over decades--of sharing one drink or sundae, for instance, between the 2 of them. i think peter might as well start adjusting to the fact that sari will come home from this ride expecting to have her own from now on. i imagine that'll end up being only one example of how this adventure will change lots of us in all sorts of ways. |
| phyllis' family is visiting this evening...her husband grant & daughter sara from san diego, & son josh & his wife jessica from manes, missouri ... not far off our route tomorrow. jessica baked some fabulous chocolate chip cookies for our dessert this evening; she & josh brot assorted organic greens for our salad from their farm. we enjoyed having them visit & loved their contributions to our supper. THANK YOU! |
