Wait Until I tell you about these two wonderful people. They took me in, they fed me, I stayed for 2 days and I really felt like we were family. I'll write more about it tomorrow, but once again, I can say that meeting them has been the best part of my trip, so far. O.K., I'm back, so let me tell you about the Lee’s. I got their number from Boris when we were at the Cookie Lady’s House. They live in a town called Radford, which is right on the route heading west. They invite ALL cyclists to come and stay with them as long as they like. Thad Lee is a local physician and his wife, Sarah is a nurse in Radford. They are two of the most awesome people I have ever met. They live in a nice big farmhouse on a hill and have three cats and two dogs. When I called Thad and told him that I would like to take advantage of his hospitality, he gave me directions and said that he would be waiting for me. When I arrived, Thad and Sarah were outside waiting (as promised) and right away Thad went to work on me. He told me that I could stay, but I would have to stay another day as a rest day. Then he told me that I had to get something to eat. I told him that I don’t eat after 7:30, but he wasn’t interested. While they were deciding on where to go for dinner, Thad and I talked. We talked about where we come from, family, religion, politics, everything.
After a while, we were finally ready to go to dinner. We all jumped into his car and went out to dinner. We went to a nice Italian restaurant and we talked and talked. After dinner we went back to their house and I went straight to sleep.
The next day, I awoke at around 10:30 and I went down for breakfast. When I got downstairs, I met "Tucker" and "Olive"... the Lee's dogs. Tucker wanted to play with me and I so I did. I would throw the ball and he would fetch it. Again, I'd throw it and he would fetch it again. If I didn't stop it would have gone on for hours... we both enjoyed it, though.
For lunch we went to Wendy's and then off to Wal-Mart for supplies. When we got back "home", I worked on my bike for a couple of hours and began prepping my mind for tomorrows departure.
When dinner came around, Sarah made the most amazing meal. A nice southern, inspired dinner with beans, cornbread, veggies from the garden and homemade iced tea. After dinner I played a little more with Tucker and before I knew it, it was bedtime.
The next day as interesting. Thad and I blew a tube before I left and that gave us more time to talk and put off the inevitable... my departure.
Eventually I did leave, I was a little sad and hesitant to say goodbye. The Lee's are great people.
