Accidentally Finding Phenomenal Material

The experiences we've been having on our own have, so far, been the most valuable of everything we've done. We've spent the fast few days roaming around the city, eating and talking with different people. We decided that our writing will be mostly comparative, and not focused on individuals like we had originally planned. We are finding that the best material is in the city as a whole, and the attitude of the people who are building the city's story. The people here are just incredibly kind. Not to say that people in Cleveland aren't, but there is definitely more of a tonal edge back home. For example, we went into the public library today to talk to people and get some directions, and the librarian was extremely happy to see us. She basically acted like she had been waiting for us for years. She then mapquested directions for us on her personal computer and printed them out for us, and told us we were welcome to stay in the library for as long as we wanted. Southern people are like northern people after a phenomenal nap, or a few martinis. That action is not exclusive to the library either; it applies to every shop, restaurant, and waffle house we enter (yes, that is becoming a tradition). Today was one of our most fulfilling days, because it was a true adventure. We started off by eating breakfast at a local diner, where we talked with locals about classic rock and ate grits. We then drove downtown in search of a local book shop we had heard of, and parked on a popular street. When we arrived it was drizzling and warm, but about ten minutes into our walk it was pouring and roughly 94 degrees. We were wet, sweaty, and barefoot because we had to ditch our shoes (we were developing blisters). We probably lapped the entire downtown area three times before realizing our meter was up. We ran back to pay the meter and reevaluated our situation in the car. We decided to try and find the bookshop by car, with the aid of our trusty navigation system. The shop was still nowhere to be found. We lapped the city another four times before giving up and deciding to head home to make a new plan. On the way back, however, we saw a comic book shop and decided to reverse our fate. We parked and were about to go in when we noticed a small display case to the rest of the storefront. We had stumbled across a bookstore! Not the bookstore we had searched for, but what we found inside surpassed our expectations. You'll have to read our pieces to see what happened inside, needless to say it was great material. So great, in fact, that we are going back tomorrow to talk to the owner about the store and it's merchandise.