The stallions were again in high spirits as they departed from Daphne. Only hours away were the white sandy beaches of the Gulf Coast of Florida. And with anticipated arrival in Niceville, FL of all places around dinner, the boys were giddy for what would essentially be the culmination and turning back point of their entire journey. After this stop, they would be bee-lining it north on a more structured path to make it home by Wednesday.
The stallions first hit the beach in Gulf Shores, AL. Letting the sand run through the toes of their bare feet and the wind gust through their hair, they make sand angels and danced ballet.
The drive to Niceville continued the stark contrast to the poverty they had witnessed just yesterday in Clarksdale. High-rise resorts and hotels sprung out of the sand dunes like cotton in an Alabama field.
As Rosie rolled into Niceville on her well-worn wheel, the stallions were greeted with the sign, “Welcome to Niceville. Nice town. Nice folks. Have a nice day!” Our heroes were thinking, “Could we have landed in a more fitting place to cap our journey?” Last night they had received two offers to stay in somebody’s home. Would tonight be three, four, or even more? Yet, in the back of their minds were the words that Ryan had told them just last night, “Florida… I hate that place. The people suck and don’t have any interest in what you’re doing. I refuse to go back…” Surely, Niceville had to be different, right…?
Shortly before rolling into town the boys had connected with Fran Greer, mother of Judd who they had visited with just yesterday morning in Clarksdale. Fran was extremely helpful on the phone but was busy until later that evening. The boys planned to have coffee with her at 9pm. In fact, she would have offered her home to the boys except for the fact that three of her bedrooms were filled with “junk.” Apparently the living room floor was not adequate in her mind for these stallions.
The next step was simply to talk to as many people as possible in the town and get a feel for the community. In the back of their minds, the stallions had the dream of camping out on the beach and were in the market for a local campground as well. A first stop at Kelley’s Supermarket and a visit with the friendly folks at the customer service counter revealed a local campground just down the road. They also recommended the Coffee Shoppe for some good local grub. So far, Niceville was living up to its name.
However, the tables turned at dinner. A waitress who wanted to be everywhere but work did not give the stallions even the time of day to learn about the community, and there was no other soul to be found in the joint besides an officer engrossed in the funnies section of the paper. So the quest continued…
At worst case, the boys figured they would be camping out on a beautiful Florida evening, so they decided to scope out the campground in the case they would be force to the outdoors. Much to their surprise and disappointment, the campground and its restrictive arm barred the stallions from entering after sunset. Those visions of paradise in Florida were slowly seeping out of the minds of the community builders. What would they do next??? The uninterested clerks at the liquor store couldn’t even recommend a bar in town, city hall was closed, and their attempts to barter for a free hotel room fell short. Suddenly, the stallions were at a dead end…
When in doubt, the stallions hopped into trusty Rosie and explored more of the town. After passing back in forth through town more times than they wished to count, the stallions had the brilliant idea approaching some of the local churches. Surely they would be more accepting and welcoming than practically everyone else they had met. Of the two they stumbled upon on the main drag, one was closed and locked, and in the other could only be found a janitor unwilling to look up from his vacuum.
Fed up, the stallions felt they had explored nearly every option in town. It was now past 9pm and Fran had not called back to confirm coffee. The boys decided it was time to explore the more popular nightlife scene in neighboring Destin. The stallions concluded that by living in a town called Niceville, the residents had no incentive to act nice because they had nothing to prove. Everyone coming to their town would automatically assume everyone was nice, so what was in it for them to put any extra effort into it?
Unfortunately, the nightmare for the community builders was just beginning. While trying to escape town on the $2.50 toll bridge to Destin, the stallions were greeted by a rather unwelcoming police officer informing them the bridge was shut down! Was this even happening!? When politely asking him for another route into Destin, the officer viciously shouted and pointed, “Just keep on this road!”
So the boys were forced into painfully passing through the town one last time. Finally, they were out of Niceville! On their way out of town they spotted a local airport and were entertaining the idea of spending the night there, claiming to have a layover flight. Something to at least keep in the back of their minds.
Their journey to Destin brought them to the McGuire’s Irish Pub, a very unique place in and of itself. Upon entering the bar, the boys were treated to the sight of thousands of one-dollar bills suspended from the ceiling. Apparently it was a tradition to sign a dollar and staple it up there, so now the Campaign For Community is immortally place in one-dollar bill folk lore.
While the home brew was good and the waiter professional, at this point the boys were out of energy and time to approach anybody about getting a place for the night. The stallions sucked it up and forked over $60 for a room at the Inn at Destin Harbor.
At 8am the next morning, the stallions reconnected with Fran via phone in the hopes of attending church with her at 9am. Mysteriously, though, she had come down with “something” the previous night and would not be going to church this morning. Life goes on, the stallions concluded.
The stallions were not about to let the meanness of Niceville put a damper on the fact they had finally reached the beach. Whether the community wanted it or not, the stallions were going to leave their trace on this town by lighting up a couple of stogies. While the wind forced them to drastic measures, the stallions finally were able to have a cigar. All the time, they were thinking of Daniel in Belleville, who had told them they’d never make it to the ocean. Here’s to you Daniel.
As the boys were leaving the beach, the stallions met the nicest people in their stop in Niceville. Therefore, it did not surprise the boys to learn that this couple Frank and Wanda and their grandson Nathan were tourists from Springfield, MO.
Knowing they need to start heading north, the boys set their next destination as Atlanta. Jimmy’s cousin Zeena and husband Aki resided there, and the stallions were looking forward to receiving their hospitality that night. The Florida experience was over. The lesson learned? Names can often be deceiving and, in fact, downright misleading.
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