Bicycling Florida to Texas
Through
Alabama, Mississippi,
Arkansas & Oklahoma
2008 - May - June
Monday, June 2, 2008
Livingston to Aliceville, AL
Distance: 45.8 Miles
The good news is we have not had a flat tire for 2 days (Knock on Wood). The other good news is that today was a farily flat day. We spent some time going up and down hills but most of the time we did not need the granny gear. The first 16 miles were completed quickly, as the road was smooth and not much traffic. In Gainesville (population 220), we went past a number of very old large well maintained houses. We then stopped at a convince store for our first rest break. The lady running the store gave us a free pocket book to take with us. She had several used books in the store, in hopes that someone would take them and read. She said "No one in this town reads, and I keep hoping they will." We were glad for the additional reading material. Each of us carries a book to read and we carry a spare for when someone finishes a book.
We continued on our way and crossed several scenic rivers. Finally we arrived in Aliceville. We found a motel, showered and headed for lunch. We ate lunch at an old house that is now operated as a Plantation Restaurant.
Then we crossed the street to the Aliceville Museum which is housed in an old Coca-Cola bottling plant. They still have the bottling machine that was used from 1945 until the late 70's.
We had an excellent tour by the Museum Director Ann. The museum as an extensive display from World War II because Aliceville was used as a POW camp for captured German soldiers. One of the largest WWII POW camp's in the United States with 6000 POW, and 1000 guards. All of the buildings have been removed, but you could see many great artifacts from this period.
Because lunch was so good and town is several blocks away, we bought food at a grocery store and will eat dinner tonight in our motel room, which has a micro-wave and a refrigerator.
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