Make Time: Oxford, Mississippi and Memphis, Tenneseee

So I finally got out of Atlanta on Monday morning and drove towards Memphis, Tennessee. My old boss and mentor in SF, James Piper, has a sister who lives in Memphis, who I've met before, and so she was happy to let me come spend the night with her and her family. En route to Memphis, however, I stopped in Oxford, Mississippi - the location of Ole Miss (University of Mississippi). James had brought me here before with his sister Mel, so it was fun to get to campus and ride my bike around - remembering all the fun we had. Before riding around I had lunch at the best diner in town - Ajax - where I devoured my first ever catfish. Sooooo good (pic below). Then I rode around campus and then down to the football field, which was surprisingly unguarded and open. Of course I rode my bike onto the field and then walked around it before jumping back in my car and making my way to Memphis. I got to Mel and Tim's (her husband) house in the afternoon and quickly jumped in their pool. What a beautiful pool! Hung in there all afternoon and then when Tim came home he joined me and Mel. After we got all prune-hands we jumped out for dinner - ham, fried ochra, and some other veggies. SOOOOOO good. Love a southern-style home-cooked meal. What a treat. We talked a bunch about family and traveling, and how things seem to always work out when you go into them with the best of intentions. I really respect Tim and Mel. They have been married a long time and they still exude such a fantastic love toward one another. You can tell they are made for one another. After dinner we head back to the pool and then have a great conversation in their hot tub to end the night. It felt so amazingly special to be in such a loving home, and it's something I look forward to having in the future. The next morning I got up and then had some breakfast with Mel before heading out west…or so I thought...