Best Western Two Rivers Hotel Demopolis

... I guess by being realistic I should succumb to the fact that I WILL be homesick at some point so it might as well be right in the beginning. I think I've found some really cool people to stay with my first two weeks abroad, so I think they will aid in distracting me from feeling alone and scared so far away from home. Well, that's all I have to say for now. My next post will be from London! 'Till then...

xo,
jenna p.

On November 11, we pulled into Demopolis, AL marking the end of the Tenn-Tom and the beginning of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway. We now had only 216 miles left before Mobile. There were forecasts of heavy rains and winds and flooding due to Tropical Storm Ida so instead of anchoring we opted to get a slip at the Demopolis Yacht Basin marina.

We had chosen to anchor out the entire trip up to this point ...

... boats anchored and we pulled up behind one, set our anchor and then after a few minutes decided we were too close to a boat ramp in case any fisherman happened to be coming or going.

We began to pull up the anchor when we were struck with the familiar moment of horror as the trip line, stretched out due to the fast current, disappeared below the hull presumably on its way towards fouling our prop ...

The morning of November 8, Tom headed into the town of Fulton to stock up on engine oil. He had to go alone and on my bike since we haven't had the chance to replace his tire that got bent up when he used his bike to successfully fend off six guys who jumped him while he was riding through South Chicago to get to work. Well, that's actually a much better story than the one I'm about to ...

... marches, Martin Luther King, Jr., Governor George Wallace, court ordered busing and integration, Rosa Parks, the bus boycott, the Southern Poverty Law Center and on and on....but THIS is the place where most of that history unfolded.

We stopped and toured the Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was minister. We knocked on the door and a friendly woman let us in and gave the three of us a ...

... works at Tucker Pecan Company as he completes his education as a history major. We loved getting to know these kids who are working hard to balance their lives and make a positive difference in the world. I am proud to be part of such an enterprising and close knit family!!!
Andy and I were filled with family warmth, good Italian food and tired from a long day of Montgomery life. We slept as the Alabama River quietly rolled by and great tall live oaks sheltered us from the drizzling rain.

... thriving business here in the South), but no, this was to signify all the local businesses that have closed down.. nearly every other one!
We had pancakes in a cafe reminscent of something from some of the poorer countries I have seen and then a wander up to the place Amanda is currently working. Her and her peers are here in a voluntary capacity for a business called 'Project M' which is running a local ...

Another day of travel. We have figured that we have done 8 states in 9 days...when all is said and done we will have done, 13 states in 13 days. Whew! Today we saw Alabama cotton fields that was neat. Made me want to go pick some! Crossing the state line of Mississippi had a nice welcome center right on the Mississippi River with ...

... was wonderful. Lou and I went horse riding. What a challenge. You ride by neck roping, very different to the way we ride. The horse had just come off the rodeo circuit and was very experienced and we went. Rooster went round in circles for me as the new method was hard. I had to get off as it was too much for me. Lou managed to walk around for a bit, then Rooster just following directions went for a run, turned at teh fence at fast pace ...

Allie McClaire McBee. She was one of the most instantly alluring characters of the whole trip. - With her kitten-little, sun-yellowed blue eyes, made ever-teary-looking due to short, black eyelashes which stuck together like wet. Subtle veins of red coursed across her eye-balls. And the soft field around her eyes was skin colored pale as hypothermia, and freckled. She came from New Orleans. Her voice was scratchy and kid-cute. It was like the adolescent, wet-nosed ...