Carol - Carmine, Tx

It took Carol five years to build her home. She took classes for a while to learn how to construct the bracing and took off from there. When you ask her about any minute detail there's a story behind it; how she got the kitchen tile for a steal because it needed some cleaning or how her island was an old butchers table that took her weeks to sand the grease out of and level. The detail Carol has placed into the making of her home spills over into the way she cares for he guests. She allows cyclists passing through to stay for free in a bunkhouse above her barn for a day or week of resting. It's quite the large space with a wonderful front deck that overlooks a valley of rolling Texas farmland. The floorboards creek and the bathroom door handle falls off if you pull it too hard. There's a claw foot tub without a shower head for washing and a multitude of hotel soaps and shampoos that past travelers have left behind on the table beside it. Cast iron skillets hang on the walls above the stove, linens rest neatly at the end of each bed, cycling books are stacked upon the main sitting table. This is a place where a traveler can't help but feel at home.

As we shared a delicious stew in Carol's home we talked about the folks that have passed through. After she had finished slicing the strawberries in preparation for desert she pulled out a binder filled with photographs and little notes from those who have stayed in years past. They come from different places and none look the same, some travel alone while others have family in tow, some are outfitted in expensive cycling clothing, some where blue jeans, all of them though share one thing in common and it can be read in their notes - they are amazed by Carol. They are amazed by her brightness, by her home, by her generosity and her energy. I am no exception.