Day 10 - Feb 24 - Across the Mississippi River

What an incredible Bed and Breakfast Mike and I stayed in last night. I soaked my legs in a hot bath and took ibuprofen before I went to bed. What a glorious night's sleep I had. Whatever muscle strain I had in my leg is completely gone. And my knees feel great, too. I like it!

It was hard to leave the comfort of the B & B. It rained last night, and Carol said it hailed where she was, but it never did snow. The sun came out pretty early in the morning, but Mike and I took our time getting on the road. There was another bicyclist staying there named Dave (not the Dave who is joining our group today). He started in Jacksonville, FL, and is doing what is sometimes referred to as a credit card tour. He stays in hotels/motels every night, which is expensive, but, oh, so nice. I'm so jealous. If I could do that, then there's no question that I would make it to California, barring some injury or sudden act of God (or attack by a serial killer or rabid pit bull or whatever).

I finally got to meet Dave, our newest member, and his wife, Pat, who drove him from Houston to ride with us for a week or two. It's nice to put a face with a name. He and Mike and I rode together for awhile and then we hopped a ferry across the mighty Mississippi. It was a pretty ride.

                                                                      (Sara's Bayou)

                                                                (Waiting on the ferry)

                                    (Mike and Dave on the ferry across the Mississippi River)

                                                            (The mighty Mississippi!)

The road from the ferry dock to Morganza, LA, where we're staying tonight, was the worst we've been on yet. At one point, I hit a pothole so deep that both of my panniers flew off the rack and, of course, landed in a mud hole. I think my IQ dropped a few points from the brain damage I incurred on that road. It was SO bumpy. Just mind-jarring. Thankfully, we had to ride only 12 miles or so on that road.

Since we only did 27 miles today, we got to the RV park early and had pizza in a deli at the rear of a gas station. It actually wasn't bad, all things considered. What am I saying? Hot food is never bad, especially when the weather is cold and windy, like it is today.

                                               (Bryan, Carol, Dave and Pat eating pizza)

When we came out of the "restaurant," Bryan and Ryan were at the campsite. They had ridden in from Baton Rouge. I am very glad to see them. I missed them both. They are such good guys. I thought we were going to get to see Jeff again, too. He had stayed at this RV park last night, and I tried to get him to stay over so that we could all hook up again, but he decided to move on. Maybe we'll catch up to him later.

I'm at the library with Carol now, typing this post. It's warm in here, so I may hang out until they close at 6:00 and kick us out. Both of the librarians here have a classic Louisiana accent. It is so cool to listen to. If you've ever seen Steel Magnolias, they sound just like Olympia Dukakis' character. Same speech patterns and expressions. Very interesting. In fact, as I'm writing this, Carol asked to use the phone and one of the librarians blurted out, "If I smell like a dog, it's really just my husband." I burst out laughing in a library.

I'm sure everyone is wanting to see photos. I have been taking some, both from my phone and from my camera. Unfortunately, I didn't think to bring either with me to the library to upload my photos, and I'm not riding the half mile back to get them. Sorry. At some point, I'll start adding photos to my posts. I can attach photos to my posts when I post from my phone, but it usually takes me so long to write the post that I'm tired when I'm done, so I don't take the time to go find the day's photos on my SD card and attach them. I'll try to do better. When we're camping, I'm usually posting from the women's restroom (because it's warmer in there), and there's only so much time I can spend in there before it becomes just too weird, if you know what I mean.

Tomorrow we're headed to Simmesport, LA. It will be another short day, thankfully. I feel better today (now that I'm off that bumpy road and indoors where it's warm). I'll be grumbling later as the sun sets. It's supposed to be 29 degrees tonight. Would somebody please turn up the heat already!? I'm so over this cold weather!

Talk at you tomorrow. And thanks to those who post comments or email me with words of encouragement. They make me feel better. In fact, I just read a post from Meredith, referencing visits to the jail to visit clients. That did it. I'm not coming home. No matter what. :^)

Finally, I doubt I'll be able to call tonight, Mom. I haven't been able to get any cell service here. But I'll try throughout the evening. I know you like to hear my voice. Toodles.