Day 81

Well today we made it about forty miles but, once again that's hard to tell being that Dave dropped his phone in the river the other day.  Shortly after lunch Daves shoulder started to bother him.  About an hour later It began to cause a sharp pain when paddling on the left.  Then about 45 min later he felt a sharp pop and the pain increased to the point that he could not paddle on his left side.  Fortunately we were just above Natchez Mississippi, the oldest town on the river, so we pulled over talked to a couple regulars at the saloon under the hill and set up our camp just down the shore from there.  We ate dinner at a great little restaurant called The Camp.  As we finished eating dinner and had ordered dessert the waitress came out and told us that the girl in a red coat inside had paid for our dinner!  Amazed Amanda went in to thank them. This is when she met Margo's mom (sorry forgot the name) who then introduced us to Margo and Katie.  They all lived in Natchez and we ended up hanging out with them the remainder of the evening telling stories.  What an amazing group of people.  While talking with Katie and Margo we met Ramsey.  He was on his way to Dallas, Tx from New York State via bicycle!  More stories were shared and it was very clear that these three folks were cut from the same cloth.  Margo said she would bring us coffee in the morning and Ramsey recommend a good coffee shop that we could stop at, the Steam Punk coffee shop!  After we all parted ways Amanda and I went over to the Under the Hill saloon next door which may be the oldest saloon on the river and was also a spot frequented by both Mark Twain and William Fulkner.  Not only was this saloon an awesome historical building but it allowed dogs.  We went inside and instantly people were asking about Reggie and about our trip down the river, although it was clear interest in Reg.  Oh, I almost forgot,  Kate's grandfather was a bartender and would frequently see and serve William Fulkner!  Infact her grandfather was nearly failing college English and arranged a meeting with William Fulkner and his English professor which magically passed him!  Wow what an amazing story!  Anyway we went to bed  with my back still in considerable discomfort.  Here is to hoping that it feels better tomorrow!