Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church was either the closest, or one of the closest, to the motel. I don’t think I’d ever been to a Lutheran service, before.
Father Tech (that’s actually his name) delivered a dynamic sermon on Mercy, a topic near and dear to my heart. (And sometimes my stories.) They do things differently in the Lutheran church from what I’m accustomed to, but we worship the same Lord.
There I met Roger and Trina. Roger said he was impressed at my cycling, which I found surprising. I’m just on vacation. Roger got stabbed trying to protect an innocent stranger, and had top and bottom front teeth knocked out by brass knuckles. That’s my definition of a hero: someone with the courage to risk and take damage for another. Trina was tough, too. Besides supporting Roger through the surgeries, she had an accident of her own where she was fixing a flat on I-10, and a car hit hers. Fortunately, their toddler son was not injured, and she herself has fully recovered, now. They have a court date soon, so if you pray, please remember them.I met so many new people there, I may have confused some names. I think this is Anna. If I’m wrong, would someone please correct me?This is Father Tech. There was a meeting after worship service, and they had some refreshments out.
After church, I went out to do laundry.
The Hilton was across the street from the laundromat. Somehow, I don’t think it was the same as the Hilton Hotels. Convenient location, though. The parking lot was full of cars.The laundromat was closed! This was actually a blessing. I realized that I only had a tiny bit of laundry to wash, so didn’t bother going to one of the other laundromats. That gave me more time to rest, and assess where I was.Instead of spending time finding an interesting restaurant, I just went to McDonald’s, which was nearby. I saw this insect in the window. It was about an inch long, so not a common fly. I touched it with my finger, and it didn’t come after me (few wasps actually will).
Went back to Wayne’s Catfish House for a sit-down dinner. Chicken fried steak with two sides, $8. Plus I added a one-trip salad bar. Gotta have my raw vegetables.
Tomorrow, I should finish off Map 6, and move to Map 7, the final one in the Southern Tier. My present estimate is that I have 9 more days of riding, but that’s always hard to predict at this distance. Ponce de Leon will be my goal, just 41 miles. But thunderstorms expected.
I looked into riding an Amtrak train back, but that wasn’t looking good. Although I saw freight trains all through this trip, the passenger train would require me to go from Jacksonville, FL to Washington, DC, to Chicago, IL, to Emeryville, CA, to San Jose, CA. And that last leg would not take checked baggage – that is, my bicycle. Four day trip. I’d always wanted to take a long train trip, but this would have been too difficult. For $504, I would have to sit in a regular chair the whole way. Getting a semi-private compartment with a bed would cost $1900 or so.
Number of Sudoku I have done on this trip: 0
Times I played the harmonica I brought: 0
Times I used reserve water jug since California: 0
Times I used 3rd water bottle since Texas: 0
Flats since Arizona: 0
