Thursday was sunny, but much colder and windier.  We got off to a rather late start, first biking 2 or 3 miles to find breakfast and not taking off again until after noon.  Our host for the evening, Jesse, had to work at 5pm, so we had to race to try to get there before he left for work.

In our haste, we somehow got separated when Phil and I turned opposite ways onto route 166.  I stopped to wait for Phil at mile 27 and continued to wait for a suspiciously long time, so I phoned him to see if something was wrong.  He was about 7 miles away from me, heading east instead of west.  After back and forth map checking and some discussion, Phil told me to go ahead at my own pace and he would meet me at the address I gave him.  I went on for the second half of the ride alone, riding as fast as I could.

The hilly terrain and nasty headwinds prevented me from going as fast as I would have liked, and I ended up arriving at Jesse’s house not 5 minutes before he had to leave for work.   Jesse’s dad was outside with their mini Schnauzer puppy, Muffy, and he led me behind the house to the cottage where we were to stay.  Jesse told me to make myself at home and to let him know when we were ready to go out into Carrollton, and then he left for work.  Phil arrived shortly afterwards.  We showered and ate some food that Jesse’s dad brought over to us before texting Jesse, who left some friends in charge of the bar while he came to pick us up and bring us into town.

Jesse tends bar at the Alley Cat (which is nothing at all like the Alley Cat in Providence), one of the four options for food and drink in downtown Carrollton.  We relaxed at the bar with Jess and his friends for a while before going across the street to a restaurant called Plates, where Amber, another couchsurfer we had contacted, was singing that night.  The Cowtown String Band was between sets when we walked in, and Amber sat and talked with us until she had to go on stage.  I hadn’t been to a show since I was living in Newport, and this one was great entertainment.  When they were finished, we all walked back to Alley Cat, where they were having a dub step dance party.  This was my first time experiencing this type of music and dancing.  My ears were still ringing from the loud music the next day (hopefully it won’t be permanent), but it was quite fun.  Although, it still doesn’t beat salsa dancing.

When we were ready to go home, one of Jesse’s friends, Jay, kindly drove us back to Jesse’s house.  I tried to catch up on blogging, but it was already after 2am when we returned, and I ended up falling asleep without finishing.