By morning it was cool, so the windows came open and we enjoyed breakfast outside. Now I am a comfort lover, so the automatic coffee maker and toaster travel with me. This time I used a long extension cord and used my appliances outside. I bought a grill stand a few months ago and used it for the first time but had the coffee and toaster on it. We received one of those coffee machines that makes coffee directly into thermal mugs. It is great for camping because each mug hold two cups.
Today, was the SAM Shortline train ride to Plains, GA. It runs from Cordele to Plains and back in one day. There is a train stop here in the park so we went to the location in the park for the 10:05 stop. The Peanut Express runs on the first and last Monday of the month with layovers in Leslie (one hour) and Plains (2 hours). The cars are 1939-41 vintage remodeled to accommodate air conditioning, thank heaven.
It was very pleasant to ride along side farm fields and forests. Leslie’s claim is the largest rural telephone museum. Most of the passengers did tour the museum during the stop. It was very worthwhile with phones going back to the time of invention. The museum is expanding adding vintage telephone vehicles to the mix.
There was a stop in Americus but only to let passengers’ board. We arrived in Plains in time for lunch. We had been to Plains in May so had toured around and saw the Jimmy Carter sites. We also ate at Mom’s Kitchen, a town institution.
Since Mom’s Kitchen was closed on Monday we beat the rush to the Old Bank Cafe, which offered sandwiches. Well, turns out it is owned by the owner of Mom’s kitchen so they had their usual hot meal buffet set out for $6.00. A church group of 20 had reserved tables ahead of time so we were standing around with our fried chicken in hand, when the busman suggested we sit with a gentleman that was by himself. Dave, who fetched the drinks, asked the old man if it was okay to seat with him and it was. We had a nice chat with a man who has lived in the town for several years. He mentioned he saw Jimmy Carter a few days ago buying a cordless drill at Wal-Mart in Americus. As another man entered the cafe, he said, "Now you are going to meet a real redneck, Big Larry Harris." Big Larry was all of that and does have a very red neck. He just quit farming this year because prices have been down and the drought so bad. He looks like he has worked in the sun for a very long time with sun damage on his face, neck and arms. It’s not very often that you can chat with real Southerners and even understand them.
We checked a few stores, tried the homemade peanut butter ice cream at Plains Peanut (formerly the Carter Cotton Warehouse) and tried peanuts fried in peanut oil. We managed to see the old depot, which now has an exhibit on the Carter campaign. The depot was the headquarters for the Carter Presidential Campaign.
We arrived back at the park a few minutes past four. We tried a different campsite to be closer to the comfort station. We have been entertained with lots of birdcalls and can see white egrets roosting in the trees at nightfall.
