Stormy Thursday

We are stuck again, though this time in Alabama.

Sometimes, bike touring means stopping for a while for weather.  We are right in the middle of a pretty significant storm front while on our way through Orange Beach, AL.  After our leaving our awesome hosts this morning, we got 12 miles down the road before the sky started rumbling.  We checked out the forecast at McDonald's (every smart traveler knows where the free internet is), made a stop at the bike shop, and looked for some shelter.  We are hanging out at the library, watching movies and writing.

Leaving New Orleans was a strange feeling.  It was the longest stop I had made on this trip so far.  Hanging out with old friends and meeting new ones in a place like that is really cool experience.  I thoroughly enjoyed discovering another strange city by bicycle.

On the other hand, a bike tourer must bike, or what else has he got?  I was feeling a little antsy in such a big city, being surrounded by so many people all the time.  I was ready for the road.

My leg was still bothering me a little, so I held onto a cane my mom bought me in New Orleans.  I have noticed that I get treated a lot different when I walk with a cane.  Normally, most people don't even see my leg; they tend to just walk right past me.  But with the cane, people see a limp, then a cane, then the leg.  There is another level to viewing disability when you can see a walking device.  As before, I'm not judging good or bad, I've just noticed this.

We left New Orleans and were back in Louisiana, again.  There are some similarities, but the two places are worlds apart.  We crossed scenic bayous and long bridges as we skirted Lake Pontchartrain and found ourselves in Missisipi Missississippi Mississippi.

I feel like I did not really see Mississiippi Mississippi or Alabama in all their Deep Southy-ness.  It felt a little like Louisiana, but less boozy.  It felt a lot like the Gulf coast towns we have seen elsewhere.  One of our hosts who had done a lot of bike touring and bike tour guiding said that we are not seeing the country as we ride, just a ribbon.  This was no more apparent than these lasts few days.

There were some highlights, though.  I have always wanted to sleep at a bar.  My chance came in Pearlington, MS.  We had no place to stay that night, so we stopped at a fine looking establishment and proceeded to order a round.  After chatting up the bartender, we secured the vital "OK" to take advantage of the generous awning out back and pitched out tent out of the pouring rain.

In Bayou La Batre, AL, there is a 2 mile long causeway and a 3 mile long bridge to Dauphin Island, a Florida-ish looking island just outside of Mobile Bay.  The ferry off of the island deposited us on a beautiful, piney peninsula after giving us an almost tour of Mobile Bay drilling platforms.  The contrast was very striking.

We probably have another hour or so of rain, and hopefully we'll be able to get in some more miles.  The Florida border is only a few miles from here and Pensacola is another 20 or so after that.  We had hoped to make it to Pensacola, but you never can tell.

Good bye for now.