Eat Breakfast with Locals!!

Every morning when I am out of town riding, I find a place to eat breakfast where I can chat with locals. Locals know the best places to visit and ride in their own respective areas, plus they are a blast to chat with. A couple of hints when it comes to finding a good place to eat breakfast with local persons. First, never pick a chain restaurant. Second, if the restaurant looks nice then pass it by, the sketchier the better. Third, the restaurant must have a table bar where patrons sit at the counter. You will never be able to strike a conversation from a booth or separate table. These are the three golden rules to finding locals to chat with during breakfast. Once you sit down at the counter, just order your meal and start talking to the person next to you. If you have followed my rules above then I will guarantee you a good informative conversation with indigenous folk of the area you’re visiting.
So two days ago while in Maine, I was talking with a bunch of locals at a really cool dive restaurant. I spent about an hour just hanging out. Of course they gave me some great information that I used on my trip to Bar Harbor. Well right before I left, this guy named Charlie says, “Watch out down there in Bar Harbor. There are a ton of Flatlanders down that way”. I thought about it for a few seconds and replied, “What’s a Flatlander?” Charlie says with a laugh, “You are of course but you an OK Flat Lander. It’s the rest of them we have to worry about”. I left the restaurant with everyone saying good bye and smiling. It was a perfect start to the day. At least I was a cool Flatlander!! My advice is to throw yourself out there when riding. Meet new people and have some fun outside the box.
FYI, Wikipedia Defines Flatlander as “A derogatory term used by people from areas in the Appalachians (primarily people from Vermont and the rest of both Northern and Southern Appalachian New England) use to describe people that aren't from their area or that aren't from the Appalachians and live on low land.” Now I know one more derogatory term to throw in the old insult box….