You Down South Girl!

Where's the maple syrup?

"Hey, what you eatin' there girl?'"
"Avocado."
"What?"
"Avocado, I bought it at the grocery store."
"Huh, we don't eat none oh that down here."

I was standing in the shade on the side of highway 84 just west of Jonesville Louisiana talking to a bunch of guys who were on lunch break from their job of weed whacking in the wake of the big mowers that keep the side of the road from getting overgrown.

"Well, what do y'all eat then?"
"Meat," they all said immediately.
"What else? You must eat more than just meat!" I insisted.
"Naw, just meat," was all the answer I could get. They wouldn't even tell me what kind of meat. And when I said I was a vegetarian and the last time I ate meat it made me feel sick, one of the guys threw his hands up in exasperation.

There aren't too many vegetarians around here, or rather, down here, down South. There are some, indeed, my wonderful warm showers host in Jackson Mississippi who I am staying with right now is vegan and has a 70% raw food diet, but he is an anomaly in a world of people who eat a whole lot of meat. Guess I won't be getting a taste of any of the local cuisine.

A pizza I was given by the owner of a grocery store!

The pace I've been setting doesn't give me the time to take in much of the local anything however. Since I left Austin last Thursday morning, I have cycled close to 600 miles which is a lot more than I have covered in any of the weeks previous to this one. Every morning, I set out early, and most days have been at least nine hours in the saddle, even with a tail wind most of the time and some of the flattest terrain I've come across. While it does feel good to bust out some long days, I do feel that I'm missing a lot by going so fast, and I will be slowing down the pace soon.

The Deep South is a part of the country I have never visited before, and it would be a shame to go through without taking it in. There are many deep cultural roots here, and a lifestyle that I have never experienced before; it is a place I can learn a lot from. As I make my way to Asheville, NC, from here, I look forward to meeting more people like those guys on the side of the road, and getting a feeling for this area. Maybe I'll even learn to decipher the accents without haven't to ask "what?" a million times!

The great Mississippi River