This weekend
Robert and I made an overnight bicycle trip to The Blue Goose, a coffee shop
and bike hostel in Irwinton, Georgia.
What a great destination! The
Blue Goose just opened in February of this year. Anyone would enjoy visiting the coffee shop
or antique/gift shop, but the hostel was designed specifically with cyclists in
mind. The accommodations are inexpensive
yet fun and comfortable.
It’s about 53
miles from Monticello to Irwinton, a nice ride length. Robert suggested that we travel almost the
whole way on state highways, which worked great. The state highways between here and there
have a very reasonable amount of traffic from a cycling standpoint.
Irwinton is
in Wilkinson County, which is the heart of kaolin country. Kaolin is a clay mineral that is mined
extensively in a band running across Middle Georgia. The kaolin deposits generally lie about 10 to
20 miles south of the fall line, which separates the piedmont to the north from
the coastal plain to the south. The vast
majority of mined kaolin is used to make the glossy paper coating for magazine
pages and other publications. Kaolin is
used in a number of other products, too, including ceramics, paint, and
toothpaste. Until fairly recently, it
has also been used in upset stomach remedies like Kaopectate. Some people even
eat kaolin (geophagia).
For many
years the Georgia kaolin belt was the leading producer of this mineral in the
world. As time has gone by, mining
companies have had to dig deeper and deeper to access productive veins. Brazil has now surpassed Georgia in
production because Brazil’s deposits are closer to the earth’s surface, making
mining less expensive there. There’s still
plenty of mining going on in Georgia, though.
This is a typical tailings pond used in the kaolin mining process:
Here’s a
kaolin processing plant outside of McIntyre:
McIntyre is a
small town (population 650 as of the 2010 census) in Wilkinson County. Besides kaolin, McIntyre’s biggest claim to
fame is Honey Boo Boo. Pop culture is a
strange thing. I’ve never even seen her
show, yet I know who Honey Boo Boo is.
Last January one of our Peach Peloton rides (i.e., Saturday group rides)
went through McIntyre, and I took a selfie in front of Honey Boo Boo’s house. Even though I already had that picture, I couldn’t
resist the opportunity to play paparazzo again for this ride report. The front of the house has police caution
tape all across it; therefore, the back of the house, right next to the railroad track, makes for a nicer picture:
It was only
about three more miles from McIntyre to Irwinton. Irwinton is actually slightly smaller
(population 583 as of the 2010 census), but Irwinton has a more happening
restaurant scene. Specifically, Irwinton
has Maebob’s:
Maebob’s is
a classic meat-and-two Southern diner.
It’s pretty good. I had eaten
there a few months ago with my boss when we were in the area visiting a job
site. Yesterday Maebob’s was only open
until 2:00 P.M., and so Robert and I made sure to leave our house in time to
eat there for lunch.
Since my
crash, I have really developed a taste for unsweet tea. Sweet tea is ubiquitous and iconic in the
Deep South, but so far no one has asked me to turn in my Southern membership
card because of my preference for unsweet tea.
Our waitress at Maebob’s obligingly brought me unsweet tea in a huge
glass with a Coca-Cola logo on it (perfect) and plenty of lemon wedges. That was some good tea! It was freshly brewed and so flavorful.
I don’t fry
chicken at home because a) it’s not the healthiest thing to eat on a regular
basis and b) I can’t get it to taste as good as it does at places like
Maebob’s. So, I decided to treat myself
to their fried chicken. (I was happy to see a bottle of Texas Pete hot sauce on the table - makes fried chicken even better.) Maebob’s serves
fried chicken most days of the week, but it’s also the Saturday lunch
special. Yesterday it was served with
Rotation 1, meaning you could choose two of four listed vegetables. Rotation 2, presumably served on alternating
Saturdays, had four other vegetable choices.
I chose green beans and rice with gravy from Rotation 1 and a roll
instead of cornbread. I rarely order
cornbread when I’m out because I’m always afraid that they put sugar in it,
which is sacrilege. It was a right tasty
meal:
Then it was
time to head over to The Blue Goose. I
was so excited that I had goose bumps!
Actually,
Maebob’s had the AC cranked up. I’m
often cold inside, even during – or maybe particularly during – the summertime.
The Blue
Goose!
Donna, one
of the gracious owners, showed Robert and me around. There are two rooms with a couple of sets of
bunk beds each and an upstairs room with a queen-sized bed. Robert and I had one of the bunk-bed rooms to
ourselves. Much of the décor has a cycling
theme, which I loved. Here’s one
example:
I
particularly liked this sign, which gives one of the main reasons I ride my
bicycle:
The Blue
Goose also has route maps and directions available for good rides in the
area. Robert and I didn’t need this one
since we had already done our own Honey Boo Boo ride:
Robert and I
both made good use of the cozy indoor reading area during our stay. Robert tried it first, enjoying the company
of Murray, a golden retriever who belongs to the other people who
stayed at the Blue Goose last night:
I went
outside to read – and nap – in an Adirondack chair. After a while, a few raindrops fell on
me. I found Robert and suggested that we skedaddle to the local grocery store to get our evening provisions before
the rain started in earnest. We strolled
the few blocks to the store. I like planning and efficiency, and so I make a week’s worth of menus and shop just
once a week. Therefore, it was a novel
concept to me to go to the grocery store and just pick out whatever looked
good. I felt like I was on Dinner Impossible. Thanks to some good input from Robert,
though, we soon made some nice selections.
Another great amenity at The Blue Goose is beer and wine.
A donation can is available, which helps them keep the refrigerator
stocked. Robert and I had some wine
while I cooked dinner:
A little
while later, we sat down to a yummy meal of ribeye steak, baked sweet potatoes,
and assorted sautéed vegetables:
Robert
thought I was nuts for carrying home the leftover, uncooked mushrooms in my
backpack. Hey, waste not, want not.
This morning
after eating breakfast and saying goodbye to Lynne, who is the other friendly
Blue Goose owner, and the other hostel visitors, Robert and I headed for home:
On the
return trip I made sure to stop at the Hawthorne Family Cemetery near Gordon:
Although it’s
not really my thing, my mother is very interested in genealogy. I’ve absorbed some of what she’s
learned. My great grandmother was a
Hawthorne, and so I’m related to most of the people in this cemetery. Being a dutiful daughter paid off because I
had a nice surprise at the cemetery. I
met my third cousin once removed, who was doing a little grounds maintenance:
We figured out that his great grandfather and my
great great grandfather were brothers.
By the way, people often erroneously refer to relatives as second
cousins, third cousins, etc. when they should use the term “removed” to be
accurate and, ultimately, less confusing.
The naming of cousins really is an elegant system. Take this example:
First
cousins are easy to understand; they are how the children of siblings are
related. In this example, Charles and
Debbie are first cousins with Edward and Francine. They are all in the same generation (two levels
below) the common ancestors, who are Mom and Dad.
The children
of Charles, Debbie, Edward, and Francine are all of the same generation, three
levels below the common ancestors Mom and Dad.
That makes George, Helen, and Isabel second cousins with James.
Any children
of George, Helen, and Isabel would be third cousins with any children of James. These third cousins all would be four levels
below the common ancestors of Mom and Dad.
So where
does “removed” come in? Removed should
be used any time there is a difference in level, or generation, between two
people. For example, Debbie and James
are cousins but not of the same generation.
They are first cousins once removed.
“First” indicates the higher cousin level (Debbie’s), and “once removed”
indicates that there is one level of difference between generations. Suppose James had a child named Fred. Debbie and Fred would be first cousins twice
removed, indicating Debbie’s higher cousin level and the two levels of
difference between their generations.
Similarly, George and Fred would be second cousins once removed,
indicating George’s higher cousin level (second) and one level of difference
between generations.
Robert and I
continued on our journey home. I stopped for one more photo, which was a good summary of the weekend:
I missed
church today, but fortunately, God is not confined to the four walls of a
building.
Blue
Goose Rhymes
There
was an old woman who lived in a shoe
She
had so many bikes, she didn’t know what to do;
She
could sell eight or ten, and they wouldn’t be missed.
She
soon sold them all, thanks to Craig’s List.
Jack
be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack
make that breakaway stick
Little
Miss Maddle
Sat
on her saddle
Eating
her Gu and whey*;
With
this new burst of power
She
could last one more hour,
And
ride on her merry way.
*whey
protein
One,
two,
Velcro
my shoe;
Three,
four,
Legs
are sore;
Five,
six,
They
feel like bricks;
Seven,
eight,
Massage
feels great;
Nine,
ten,
Let’s
ride again.
Jack
passed Jill going up the hill
To
fetch a KOM.
Jack
fell down and broke his crown
So
Jill was QOM.
Little
Chris Horner
Rounded
the corner,
Leading
the crit passing by.
He
stuck out his neck,
Avoided
the wreck,
And
said, “What a fast boy am I!”
Rice-a-cake,
rice-a-cake,
Lim’s
the man,
Make
me a cake
As
fast as you can;
Egg
it and soy it,
And
put in some bacon,
And
wrap it in foil
For handy ride
takin’.
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