Unusual places

April 14, 2023

Friday April 14th. Day 40. Round Top to Navasota. 52 miles or 84 km. Day 17 in Texas.

I woke to a beautiful sunrise. The grass was wet and so was my fly. I had a restless sleep with wild dreams and frequent waking up. My head isn't in the right place yet. So much to think about and to organize.

Don and I left at 8 am as we wanted to cycle back a few miles to see the concert hall in Round Top. A very unique building. Some old with some new.

But the main attraction was their concert hall. First sketched on a napkin, then on a piece of cardboard an amazing piece of art was born. We had a tour of the hall and I was in awe. Such craftsmanship and great acoustics. Most of the summer weekends one can listen to mainly classical music. The tour was a real treat this early in the morning.

So around 9 am I began riding towards Independence where I would meet up with Don to have a bite to eat. The landscape continued to be green with wild flowers all along the side of the road, as well as fields full of them, rolling hills and beautiful homes and farms. Today I saw many cows as well roaming freely in the fields. A few deer crossed the road in front of me but quickly disappeared when I stopped to take a picture.

At noon I located the gas station with a store or actually the other way around. The 2 pumps were ancient and the store wasn't much younger. Uncle Walter, so said the plaque, started the store in 1920 mainly to give locals the opportunity to socialize. A big potbelly woodstove surrounded by old airplane seats, a coffee and lots of stories was all that was needed to get the people to come. It has been sold twice but still carries the flavor of the olden days. No menu, either a burger or fried fish and you tell the cashier what drinks you had. It was packed with local people. Quite the experience.

We only had 30 km to go but it was hard to get going again after sitting too long. It was also spitting rain yet very muggy. Yesterday I had called the fire department of Navasota as I had heard tgat they allow cyclists to spend the night at the fire hall. I got the chief on the line and he confirmed that we were welcome. An interesting sleeping place for sure.

The chief and James, a fire fighter on duty, welcomed us and gave us a tour. Shower, bathroom, kitchen and laundry were available to us. And we can choose where to sleep. Inside or outside. We decided to settle for a "quiet" spot in the corner of the hall where I will try to make a bed and get some sleep. James agreed to pose in the picture with Don and me so as to never forget.