June 26th & 27th: Adventuring to Auburn, Alabama
By: Steve Goode
Edited By: Judi Goode
June 26th: to Auburn, AL and Momma Goldberg’s Deli
This morning as I began to load my bike, preparing to leave for my next deli, I saw a turkey vulture just hanging in the parking area of the hotel, about 20 feet away from me. ‘He’ was being attacked by a little bird that appeared to be making a game out of flying into the vulture’s tail and bumping him. The little guy was way too fast for the bigger bird to escape so they had a back and forth dual that lasted for 2 or 3 minutes. Finally, they both flew away. This is something you just don’t see that Deerfield, IL.
Today’s ride was all about riding on the back roads. There were some beautiful, twisty roads in northern Florida and southern Georgia. About an hour into the trip, I arrived at an intersection that had at least 20 turkey vultures in the center of the road, sharing a breakfast of dead rabbit. Every time the light turned green, they’d fly away and then they would come back when the light turned red. It was like watching James Corden’s ‘Crosswalk Musicals’. I guess this makes the streets and sanitation department of these small towns relatively useless… just send in the vultures.
On every ride I always seem to get smacked in the face with a bug because I ride with my face shield in the open position (as I mentioned in a previous post). Today was the first time on this trip that a bug hit me in the face. Those who ride motorcycles will tell you that when you get smacked in the face by a bug, you feel a sting when it hits even if it isn’t a bee. This time the bug caught me on the right side near my temple. I thought it hit me and then bounced off, but about a half-hour later, when I stopped to take a break, a bug fell out of my helmet when I took it off. I know yuk!!! At least it wasn’t bird poop, which happened to me in California and my wife couldn’t stop laughing for the rest of the day. It’s all part of the experience and I am glad that I can share some of my more humbling experiences with you as you ride along with me on this trip.
June 27th: to Auburn, AL for Momma Goldberg’s Deli
It was an easy ride, this morning to Momma Goldberg’s Deli. Ten minutes to be exact. Since I had some extra time, I decided to check out Auburn University’s campus. I was impressed by the number of new buildings. But then I saw the football stadium. Wow!! It was huge! Football is king here.
I arrived at Momma Goldberg’s Deli to find a delegation of Jewish bikers from The Sabra motorcycle club of Atlanta to greet me. They rode to Auburn just to have lunch with me and accompany me back to their home state of Georgia. They were cigar smoking types, that commanded the outside patio. This motivated most of the other patrons to take advantage of the A/C inside the restaurant.
After the introductions and lunch, we headed off for our ride to the next deli. I was scheduled to be there that night for dinner. We were able to take the back roads all the way to Atlanta. Riding with people who know where they are going removed the stress of navigating unknown roads. All I needed to do was sit back, follow the tail light in front of me and try not to run into him. We rode on little curvy roads. At one point, because the roads were so narrow and secluded, I thought we would have to ride on gravel but we ended up staying on paved roads until we reached Atlanta. We had to ride through much of the city, in order to get to the next deli, which was the General Muir Deli. I was very happy to have people leading the way for me. Atlanta has some of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen in my travels. The topography helps to highlight the homes by positioning them on hilltops with lush landscaping.
Upon arriving at the General Muir Deli, we were given a tour and the history of the restaurant. It was founded by the granddaughter and her family in honor of the ship, The General Muir. This was the ship that brought her mother and grandmother to America. Over the late 1940’s and early 1950’s many Jewish refugees came to America on this ship and the family has interesting and historic photos of the family, the ship and General Muir’s swords. The swords were donated by the General’s family and are displayed hanging over the bar.
Our group, which was comprised of 12 members of The Sabra club along with their wives, enjoyed getting to know each other and swapping stories. It was truly a special evening. Ken, one of the members and his wife Lisa, offered their guest bedroom to me and I jumped at the chance to use real towels and not have to listen to a hotel window air conditioner! We spent a wonderful evening getting to know each other, having just met hours earlier. We promised to connect at the next Jewish Motorcyclists Alliance event in Whitwell, TN in September.
