"Down Home Cookin"

The rendezvous has ended and it was sad to see all the boats go off in different directions, however we plan to "hook-up" with our friends at points south.Today, our friends, Karen and Jim Brinckerhoff , from Barrington, arrive for our next river leg to Chatanooga. This is a 3 day trip loaded with beautiful scenery. We'll go through what they call "the grand canyon of the east".
Yesterday Tom and I borrowed a car and went shopping for food in the little town of Rogersville Alabama.We arrived right in the middle of the homecoming Parade, so of course we had to stay for that! Lots of floats, the homecoming court, marching bands etc. The schools get out early for the parade and the whole town was there! After the parade one of the locals urged us to have lunch at "Fat Cats"...Looked a little shakey from the outside but inside it was immaculate and interesting.The buffet was 1 fish (fried catfish)or meat portion, three veg (fried okra, black eyed peas) dessert and a beverage for $5.00. On the walls was a painted mural done by a local artist of various Rogersville buisnesses...the one that caught my eye was "the Alabama Dove release" available for weddings, funerals or special occassions. The grocery store had a whole section of every kind of bean or pea imagineable...the canned foods are even different..you can buy southern smothered potatoes in a can.There's a whole line of southern foods I knew nothing about!How many points on weight watchers do you think they'd add up to?The small towns are really nice and the people welcoming and genuine...how great that we have the time to get to know this area of the country.