positively pensacola

after the night in mobile i spent some time at the library and then tried a little busking in downtown. people were very kind and gave me a few bucks in the first ten minutes. but then a couple of cops showed up, ran my id, and told me to move on. it is a friendly street, but they have had problems with disturbing individuals in the past. i decided it was time to head out of town and that night stayed at
maeher park, where i met some friendly bicycle campers. i camped next to them and they shared soup with me. their names were louis, george, and 'mom'. i was charged up by their kindness. george said of their lifestyle now that they had more time than money, so they decided to travel by bicycle and live out of a tent.

note to cyclists through mobile. you don't have to fill water before going over the bridge. there are plenty of places to get water on the way to spanish fort.

from there i rode to pensacola the next day. i especially enjoyed riding through this baldwin county countryside. smaller roads, well kept, and flanked with green!

i had difficulty getting hold of the folks i was hoping to stay with in pensacola, but it worked out because when i came across this tall boat called the peacemaker i ended up being able to stay with them for a couple nights and help out a little on the beautiful vessel! i learned a bit about the twelve tribes commonwealth and the individuals currently on the boat as crew. it was nice to be among people with a strong sense of spirituality and purpose. when we shared meals we linked hands around the table. this is one of my favorite ceremonies.
these folks drink a lot of mate, one of my favorite drinks! twelve tribes partners with folks in south america who produce it and send it to their packing facility in vacuum-sealed blocks. their brand is 'mate factor'.
since their compost (besides spent mate leaves which were being saved in a tub by the sink) was being deposited in the trash i saw an opportunity to find a better solution. i ended up finding that at the ever'man natural food store, where the first staff member i talked to kindly directed me to their little garden with pallet compost bins. it is not that common for a store to be so accommodating of community compost deposits. i was thrilled. there were two big loquat trees dropping fruit by the front of the store. i harvested some of these and also some kale, chard, sage, and mint from the garden. while picking loquats i was inspired to share the fruit with other customers on their way out of the store who had never tried them before. i love these kinds of spontaneous interactions and i sensed that these folks did too. one woman i noticed eyeing the fruit, but she couldn't reach them. so i got up on the newspaper box and got some for her. she showed me how she peels them before eating. at dinner that night i cooked up the greens and shared them with the others.