Roads End

It is so much cooler up in the mountains. I am still cycling along the Kern river, up stream, and people keep telling me that this year the flow is stronger than it has been for years.

Cycling towards Roads End, I got to a motel in which I hoped to find a room. I ran into Katrina and Mark. We made some small talk and Mark suggested we have dinner together. However, the motel was overpriced and had no charm to it, so I cycled on into the very small town, Roads End.

Roads End has a nice bar & grill, McNally’s, with a small store and a small motel and a burger stand attached to it. I was lucky to get a room for the night, as the upcoming weekend is memorial day weekend and all motels are booked. David signed me in and made me feel welcome. This was the first good sign for the events to follow.

I walked back into the restaurant and Katrina recognized me. Turns out that Mark has been here a few times, wanted to stay for the weekend, but it was already booked, but since the food was so good this was what they had in mind for the evening.

We ended up sitting at the bar discussing religion, education, goals and fulfilling them, our children, divorce, partners and food. Such a nice couple. We had a very pleasant time together. Mark, to my embarrassment, insisted on paying for my meal.

Being in a small town, I guess, and in such a friendly bar some of the staff started to talk with us. Shy was the first. Being behind the counter, she served the couple and me and heard about me and my trip. After my two beers with the meal, she handed me a glass of vodka and red bull. My first ever. Not bad. She was brought up in these mountains and was the only child in her grade at school. She too is a proud mother (her son just graduated from college). Terry, the owner, has a son in a jet plane flying over Syria. I hope he makes it home safely.

Then there was Greg. A young father, happily married with three children. We talked about the value of on-hand education, seeing things that the children learn about at school and such like. Then he said: “can I sing you a song”? Takes the guitar, “cause they haven't fixed the piano”, and sings, with all his heart, three beautiful songs. By this time it was only the staff and me (as far as I can tell, Katrina and mark left earlier), we were all captivated. It was a nice way to sum up the evening.

Went to my room, stepped out again just to allow my brain to slow down a bit, ran into Greg again, summed-up our conversation and that was the end of a wonderful, most surprising, evening.

I have discovered America!