We left the Linden Inn about 7 am, the only hotel in Linden, looking for breakfast. Church's Fried Chicken was our only option, egg-sausage biscuit and coffee accompanied by the usual queries from the other patrons:
- Where are you going?
- How far do you ride each day?
- Where did you start?
Linton's former courthouse. They left the 2nd floor door ajar.
John, riding north of Linton, AL.
Critter of the Day, #1
Missed Opportunity. We had breakfast 30 minutes earlier and foolishly rode by this establishment. We thought we would encounter a lot of places like this one, featuring Coldest beer in Alabama, crawdads, and local food specialties, but our Warm Showers hosts in Gainesville, Amanda and Dale, said, Not so. We found that hoop cheese is a soft cheese that is set in a ring
Source is:
Souse and Hog Head Cheese has an interesting history. Long ago, these meats began to be made from the head of a hog. The tradition originated in England. When a hog was killed, the head was boiled in a big pot until tender and the meat fell off the bone. The hog snout and the skin actually contain gelatin, and this is what holds the meat together. The meat would be cut into bits and mixed with the gelatin, then placed in a pan and allowed to cool. The souse or head cheese could then be sliced and served on bread or with crackers. The difference in the two meat products is that souse has vinegar added to give it a different taste, and head cheese does not contain vinegar. Many people still love this traditional country meat!
The one thing I cant wait to eat when I get there is some of her neighbors rag bologna. If you dont know, this is some seriously down-south ghetto style lunchmeat where all the ground meat is loaded into an old rag (I sh*t you not, a dirty old rag) and wrapped real tight and put in the smoker for a long-ass time.
This stuff blows oscar mayer out of the water. It is one of my favorite foods in the world, though I am loathe to admit it. I'm 100% sure its not healthy, and I'm not completely sure its sanitary, but fauck its good.
Once you eat it you will ever be happy with store bought Bologna again.
Here is some information about it and pictures of it.
http://tinyurl.com/blneu86
Refers to the church below.
Directly across the road from the Jefferson Baptist Church.
John in an Alabama Tree Tunnel.
Chocolate River. ANY rain turns local rivers, streams, creeks,and roadside ditches into opaque water.
Checking Progress. We use a combination of Garmin GPS devices, some with pre-loaded courses, highway maps, and Adventure Cycling mapped routes.
Destination for all those log trucks, referred to by locals as the mill.
Touch of Home, a Mennonite owned and operated restaurant and bakery in Livingston, AL. The line formed at 11 am. We split the daily special, catfish.
Squint and you can almost read the menu.
Our evening stop.
Critter of the Day #3?
Menu Board at Gainesville's only restaurant. We had dishes of ice cream, but we had to ask about the bomber. Seems that is a cheese stuffed pepper, aka: tamale elsewhere. (They buy them in bulk at Costco.) Customer slide the money through a slot, and they pass out the food under a net that separates the kitchen from the customer area. All in all, still a place with personality, evidenced by this display on the mantel.
Oddly enough, while many of the locals are Barak supporters, they tend to support Trump over Hillary Clinton. Go figure.
Regional products in the Gainesville Store. Open shelving with a giant checkerboard, table, and chairs in front.
Confederate Cemetery. After the battle of Shiloh, 260 wounded Confederate soldiers were transported to Gainesville. Nearly all of those buried here were marked Unknown.
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