UGRR detour

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee being about the all time favourite book of both of us , we couldn't resist making a 30 or so mile detour to Munroeville where Harper Lee was brought up and still lives. Her father was a lawyer in this town when she was a child and the book is based on places in this town including of course the famous courthouse which is now a museum . Fascinating. Thus we're now at another Best Western on outskirts of Munroeville and plan to spend tomorrow night where we should be tonight - Grove Hill or Coffeville if we feel strong enough.

To regress, the USS Alabama and submarine USS Drum ( both now museums ) were truly remarkable . Total personnel of the Alabama in her day was 2,500 men including 125 officers. Built in 1942 it must have `state of the art `in every respect at that time . Phenomenal design & technology. The self guided tour takes in virtually the whole ship . The tour of the submarine was equally impressive.

Day 2 - beautiful cloudless sky with cool breeze ( against us most of the day though) and we reached Stockton to find the only restauraunt closed on Mondays . The owner - Joyce - turned up as we started to leave and to consider plan B ( not an attractive one ) - and not only opened the restauraunt for us , gave us a wonderful cold meat, salad and desert meal in late afternoon , but refused to charge us. Picture attached . Big recommendation for anyone coming here - but avoid Mondays. Cyclists are particularly favoured - `I just love all y'all` was a first for me. Thank you Joyce for your warm and generous hospitality. She also gave us the idea of the Munroeville detour.

Another 5 miles or so to Hubbard's Landing and a really delightful campsite - see pic. In same family ownership since 1700s. We met 3 generations shortly before leaving at 7 this morning . The 12 year old grandson of the owner and his dad had just come back - yes come back ! - from ` hunting ` and in time to get changed and go to school . No charge for the campsite , he insisted on giving us free coffee and milk for our real oats cereal - I'm carrying about 6 pounds of it ( home made by Mary in Asheville ) in one of my panniers! About same weight as the cooking gear I carried last year. Allows us to make an earlier start in morning without fiddling around with stoves.

Got to Munroeville at 3 . 53 miles and wind more against than with , but good road although busy with logging trucks at times. All car & truck drivers ( excepting perhaps 1 in 100) very courteous and give wide berth.

The Court House and museum well worth the visit and the long detour. Also the home of the writer Truman Capote ( childhood friend of Harper Lee's and generally recognised as the character on whom Dill is based in ` Mockingbird `) .

Beautiful ride today and bikes and bodies holding up - for now anyway . Early days though. Last pic of a beautiful old mansionhouse and freshly blossoming Magnolia tree in Uriah . The rocking chairs on the shady balcony looked very inviting.