Murrs Across America

Breakfast at the Hotel DeFuniak was as impressive as the hospitality and the ambiance. Below Brady demonstrates how much he enjoyed the French toast and Jane writes postcards to her friends Bela and Abbi.

We bid Cate and the hotel staff fond farewells and visited Richard over at the café, where Jeffry with the local press caught up with us. I ate a burger with a fried green tomato that was pretty outstanding and we met several interesting families who checked out our story and our bikes. It is always great when kids are curious about how Jane and Brady are traveling. Brady usually shows off his baby, and Jane generally shows off whatever small “treasure” she has at hand. She usually always has some sort of seed.

As we rode toward Holt on Highway 90, I had a lot of time to think about the inspirational people I had met in DeFuniak Springs. Cate had been a city slicker Texan but always wanted to work in a small town where the community was engaged and tight-knit. She investigated a lot of choices and systematically chose her career at the hotel. She is loving it. She loves the proximity to the beach, the feel of the community, the influx of nature, and the rewarding work. She does a great job, too. Another guest at the hotel was ill that morning, and Cate made her a special breakfast, called the local doctor, and in every way attempted to make the guest comfortable. When people are doing what they love they positively impact everyone around them.

Jeffry enjoys his job at the Herald and his life in DeFuniak. But as we were talking about the bike trip he mentioned a dream he has that he has yet to realize. He knows very clearly what his vision is, and he knows the primary reason why he isn’t making steps to accomplish his vision: fear. I respect tremendously that he has been able to identify both his vision and his roadblock, and know that such awareness is often difficult to come to. I wish him big breaths and small steps toward his dream.

I had a conference call in the afternoon, so we found a brilliant playground and waterpark and the kids splashed around while Stuart rested his legs.

My wheel started clanging about two miles from Holt. When we pulled up to Bill’s Country Buffet, we discovered there was a razor blade jammed in my tire! Because apparently, people discard RAZOR BLADES from their car windows. GEESH!

At Bill’s, five plates of food later (Stuart says to clarify that it was I, Kate, who ate the five plates of food, not the entire family), Rick the Local pointed us to the church next door where Pastor Fred welcomed us to camp in the churchyard and handed us a New Testament. As a bonus, Church Member Jeff finally revealed to me the meaning of a hand painted, obviously cornerstone sign we had seen back in Caryville that read, “Caryville, Home of Best Worm Fiddlin’ in the World”.  That’s a story for another day.

Thank you to Cate and the DeFuniak Hotel, Jeffry and the DeFuniak Herald, and to Holt First Baptist Church.