Day 24-Robbins to Jamestown, Tn
This past night was my second camping night and another wet cold one. I did not think August would present a camping problem. The tarp sweats underneath because of the cool air outside and I have to keep turning it to let the moisture out. I did not get much sleep this night.
I resolve to do whatever miles are necessary to reach lodging for the night and call Dana to have her contact the State Farm offices to see if any agents are willing to help. I had been told of a restaurant with breakfast at 3 miles, so without eating I head out. The restaurant (convenience store) comes soon but all they offer is ham biscuits, tenderloin biscuits, and sausage bisuits. No other choices. So I eat a pop tart and coffee and push on. In the tourist town of historic Rugby, I find a good restaurant. I have a vege omelet (they sauteed the veges- None of the canned stuff.) pancakes with real maple syrup, and good coffee. What a treat. I also pack 2 egg biscuits for later. The total bill for all that was only $12 and some change. This is my kind of place!
After lunch I get a voice mail from Dana to call her about lodging. Kathy Bilbrey, the State Farm Rep in Jamestown has responded and will put me up in a motel for the night. I call her when I get to town and she gives me a ride to the motel. The motel is an older one but is the nicest one in town, clean and very comfortable. And as I’ve said before, older motels quite often do not have the water saver shower heads. This one did not, so the shower was plentiful and hot. Kathy came back to the motel and took me to the local Chinese restaurant. They had tofu so I was clean, full, and happy. The next morning took me to breakfast and dropped me out at the church where I had stopped the previous afternoon. Thanks Kathy for making my Jamestown visit pleasant and restful.
Today is dedicated to a nice young guy I met in Caryville. Krunal Patel is the manager of the Econolodge there. He and his sister Mosha have been in the US 5 years. His parents arrived only 5 months ago. Krunal was extremely nice from the beginning and he was also duly impressed with my journey. Along with offering me a good rate, he ordered pizza for me, allowed me to use his personal computer, and checked on me at my room to make sure I found it satisfactory. He was very friendly and we chatted some. This is the third motel I have stayed at. I have walked away from two because they did not appear too happy to see a sweaty person walk in off the street and I did not like their rates. Krunal was exactly the opposite. His manner was to serve and help. Indeed, his manner is much like many new US residents from other countries who come here to be successful. He does all the right stuff and takes his job seriously. We sometimes express concern about our jobs and lives because of these hardworking people. But maybe the fault is sometimes in us. If we took our jobs as seriously as Krunal, would we still have to be concerned about these new US residents.
