What A Great Day!

After a rousing sendoff from the Coffee Cup, it was a good first day, although not without its challenges. 5 ½ hours of riding against a 40mph head wind can really wear you out.

Oh, and there was the flat tire north of Molino. But that’s just part of the adventure, and what a grand adventure this is turning out to be!

My original plan was to get to Stockton, AL today, but the wind was too intense for me to make it all the way. I decided to stop in Atmore and find a place to camp for the night. My first stop was City Hall, where the mayor and his gracious staff offered to let me camp in front of the Atmore Fire Department. That’s where I am right now, hunkered down for the cold night ahead. The firemen have been most hospitable, providing me with a hot shower and a hot meal. Everyone in Atmore has been so nice – the magic I experienced on my hike is starting all over again. Even the publisher of the Atmore Advance hunted me down for an interview and let me go to his house and use his Wi-Fi. Once again, I am convinced that the American people are the kindest in the world.

Since I am joining the Underground Railroad in Stockton, I traveled to Mobile on Friday to check out the historic sites at the beginning of the route. First stop was the slave market at the corner of Royal and St. Louis streets. This was where the last cargo of slaves arrived on the schooner Clotilde in August of 1859. This was the last cargo of slaves to arrive in America.

My second stop was the Big Zion African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Its congregation originated in 1842. Its original structure was a wooden shed and parsonage, where was held the first ordination in Alabama of a Negro minister by a Negro Bishop. The present structure was constructed in 1867 and remodeled in 1896.

After a quick visit to the African American Archives, the last stop was Africa Town, a settlement of free slaves adjacent to downtown Mobile. In the cemetery, you can find the grave of Cudjoe “Kazoola” Lewis, one of the 115 slaves aboard the Clotilde. Lewis lived to the ripe old age of 114.

You can see pictures of these sites in my photo gallery. Oh well, time to call it a night. Tomorrow I head to Stockton, hopefully with less wind. Stay tuned to 88.1FM for my reports at 7:30am and 4:30pm every weekday. Thank you for your encouragement, prayers, well wishes, and contributions to this important station fundraising event!

Large versions of all my blog pics can be found at my photo gallery.

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