Who Dat ??? That is the theme of this update as we are leaving MS and entering LA momentarily. It has been a while since I was in a library and the other day when I finally got a chance I typed for an hour and it all disappeared....I was so bummed...it was brilliant writing...sigh. So here we go again and I shall save as I go along.

Tues Mar9th- Day 12 -( 61 miles/ 11 mph to get to Ocean Springs )---- we are taking out first day off tomorrow since we started in St A. on Feb 26th. The weather is supposed to be bad and we are tired and need to regroup. The last report had us in Vancleve MS where we were supposed to stay the night in a campground. It was a pit and that is being kind. When we had paid and then looked at the cabin and the bathhouse it was obvious it was a mistake. And then I realized I had dog doo allover my bike shoes . That was the end . We got back all but 10% ...guy was a jerk. We rode to the corner and flagged down a pickup to find out how to get to Ocean Springs....4 stopped...all you have to do is show some leg I guess...haha. Anyway we finally found Seaman Rd which is exit 50 off of I 10 in Ocean Springs. It was an 11 mile hellish ride in light rain and dusk and 2 lane road with speeding trucks . I am amazed we made it. When we got there we were covered with slop and so were our bikes. We got a Motel 8 and settled in. I called Jan Jones, a former neighbor in Opelika, she started the Porch Tour 14 years ago and she told me she is in Magnolia Springs AL not Ocean Springs MS...ah....well we chatted and that was fun.

I had chili heated in the microwave and corn chips for dinner in the room . Sometimes we cook together and sometimes we don't. We use Knorr sides and add goodies to them...canned chicken, spices, fresh vegs, cheese, herbs, tuna,,,whatever is interesting or available. It is fun but we were tired. I got a bottle of Bogle Merlot and had some of that....well to be HONEST , I had most of it...later on that. Got a good sleep till 3 AM when the neighbors came in from gambling at the casinos up the road. I beat on the wall and so did they...we finally called a truce and all went back to sleep. My roomie,, Gretchen said she didn't hear the noise.

March 10th DAY OFF !! We got up fairly early as we always do and had a continental breakfast in the motel. We all sat down to mess around at the computer and do stuff that needed doing. We girls and Pete then decided to walk 1 1/2 miles to the Dollar Store for "stuff". We love to shop there. I have only ever been in one a couple times in my life but have found that they have almost everything that one needs for this kind of trip. If they don't have it Walmart does. Pete walked back alone as he had no shopping to do...we always need something. We walked back the other side of the road and stopped at a BP station that had poboys etc. I got a shrimp poboy and carried it with me to the McDonalds where Gretchen and Kim were going to eat. They were amazed at how fast I walk...I caught them before they got there. We always take walks when we get off the bike to stretch the muscles out. Anyway G had a coupon for a free frappe so I had that with my poboy. It was yum, sitting there and eating and laughing and not having to go anywhere special. A nice change.

BTW , you will wonder as I go along as to the amount we eat every day. Hm...how to say this ...well ...we PIG out. All day every day. It never seems to matter...we are mostly doing an anaerobic workout as we rarely sweat or get out of breath. Only hills or dog attacks...more later on that. Anyway I hate to spin so ride almost all the time in the 3rd chain ring and really push hard. It burns lots of calories but will ruin my running until I get fast twitch muscles back , in the future.

When we got back to the motel we did bike maintenance 101 with Pete. He is good enough to do mine as well. I watch and hand him things and say encouraging words...I am not mechanical and have no intention of becoming so. He does work for beer so we are OK on this.

When that was finished we were going to adjourn to the pool area with drinks. I had some wine leftover from the night before...not much mind you but enough to have a "5'oclock" somewhere tipple. I opened a plastic cup in the room and must have cracked it. As I walked to the pool I noticed a steady drip on my hand, and pants and toes....up oh...losing my wine...oh no....so I quick tipped the cup and finished it. Then with everyone laughing and my clothes etc all sticky I got into the pool fully dressed and rinsed off. I usually get into the pool at home by mid March so this was a good test...it was COLD but nice. We had a good laugh and Kim recorded it for posterity on her camera.

We then went to the liquor store again and I got a 50 ml bottle of Jack Daniels. OK lest you think I drink ALL the time...I don't. Ha...that is my story and I am stickin to it. We do usually have a beer every evening. Pete and I though have discovered we both like JD so that will be a story for later. Anyway we ate a communal dinner and sat and sipped and talked , all 4 of us and had a wonderful evening. We decided we really needed the rest and had a very good time.

Thurs Mar11- 12mph/69.60 miles. We left O.S. MS and had a devil of a time finding the right roads. Since we were miles off course from our purchases maps, Kim used her GPS and Google. We were sure we had it right , and we did eventually get it perfect but it ate up time and was pretty tedious. We went through D'Iberville and I found some Mardi Gras beads on the pavement so they were my decoration for the bike. On to Biloxi and Gulfport. We rode 49 and then to 53. At that intersection we stopped at a Mom and Pop grocery.

We stop at these whenever possible . They are filled with interesting people and foods and we discover all kinds of local color. As we were standing around a little lady , Miss Melody , rode up on her golf cart. She lives just up the road and raises pecans. She also rides and trains horses. She loved what we are doing and told us to wait a minute. She rode home and got a large bag of huge pecan meats. We are still eating them in the AM with our oatmeal . I got a pic of her . She was so sweet.

We are heading to Poplarville MS. So now it is time to tell the Pearl River County MS story. Robert's GrandMom and Pop pop lived in Meridian MS in 1970. When R and I decided to marry we went to to meet them. I had a 196? 2+2 421 navy Pontiac convertible. I drove it to Meridian and it took 2 hrs to go 200 miles...whew....well the return trip was almost as flawless...except for the MS police officers in Pearl River County. They stopped us...suffice it to say that we met the judge in his home, had coke and cookies, got a lecture and a $16 ticket that we paid then. That receipt had his name on it. It lived in my glove box till we decided to elope on Feb 8th 1971. We went back to Pearl River Conty and he married us. As I came to the county sign today I had to get a pic of that famous county for old times sake. I am so lucky to be here .

I called my nephew Eric and we were going to try and get together but he was under the weather and was unable to drive up to this area to meet me and my friends. I sure am sorry. Robert sent me a pair of my biking shirts, general delivery, to the Poplarville post office and I got them...yeah...it has been hard to wash out the one pair I bought in Tallahassee and wear them every day.

Friday March 12 9.2 mph/50.79 miles

I took a beautiful pic this AM in the campground where we stayed last night. Haas-cienda...who knows how in the world they came up with that one. Wierd. It was $8.50 a person. A word about our sleeping arrangements. We try to camp as much as possible to save money. We do have our standards though...there has to be hot water and they have to be relatively clean. Our standards will get lower as these reports get written...I know what is coming since I have already lived it....but you don't. At this point we have been able to pick and choose and except for Vancleve MS all has been pretty good.

We had a beautiful country ride out of P...ville and I got a pic of one of the killer raccoons with my bag....again that is my story...I will post pics when I can get the time to get them all together. We had wind and wind and hills...who knew that FL and MS we so hilly...sigh. You will note the mph avg and see when we have wind and hills reflected in the lower #.

We crossed the Pearl River and were in Bogalusa LA. YEAH! I always say I grew up in New Orleans. I arrived there when I was 12 and became a teenager there, went to highschool, college and married there....seemed like all of my growing up took place there. I feel like I am a Louisiana girl as I delight in explaining all about the food etc to my friends. They are really enjoying learning all the lingo of the South and now of LA.

We found the Big Easy cafe in Bogalusa, it is by the Piggly Wiggly. It has great food and Saints stuff everywhere. We had gumbo and poboys. Everyone agreed they were very good.

A note about when we stop in a business of any kind. People always want to know what we are doing and why. It is fun to see the reactions and expressions on their faces. The routes are well travelled every year by folks who by the adventure cycling maps and some people do see a lot of cyclists in their businesses but others don't have any idea what we are about.

We had a communal dinner in the motel in Franklinton LA and I got some 100 sunscreen and a white tshirt to cover up with while I ride at the Bogalusa Walmart. It is very hot and I am so burned.

Sat Mar13th - 37.55/9.2 mph avg

We left Franklinton and it was very cool this AM . Was supposed to be warm and sunny but it isn't. We rode LA440 and stopped in Tangipahoa. Robin's Nest is by the railroad tracks. She and her husband Phil and wonderful. They make the best bbq you will ever eat. He cooks it outside their little house on a grill and Robin makes the rest in her little kitchen . It is a tiny house and they live in it too. I loved everything about being there. She was raising money for her church so I made a nice donation to her jar. I have lots of pics of the food and video of Pete eatin his ribs. We hugged and rode on only to stop a few minutes later when I heard drumming. I turned a corner and there were 3 little black boys on a porch. One was playing an upside down yellow bucket with a stick and another was beating time on the porch rail and they were dancing and singing " get down, get down". They stopped when I rode up. I persuaded them to go on and I got a great 42 sec video of the boys...what a treat.

We went on to a campground in Eastlyville LA. A pretty creek but pretty dirty place on the whole. We are not happy with it but no other choices...bathrooms are pretty bad and they want $15 per person..ripoff. Remember what I said about the camping...sigh.

We stopped at a very nice Inspiration park on the way here. It had a chapel and beautiful peaceful grounds and a walking labyrinth. We really enjoyed the peaceful time.

We walked to a laundromat and did our laundry. While there we watched a woman have so much trouble with a dryer, she kept putting in money and couldn't get it to work. No one was there to assist her except a lady doing her own laundry. We took a look at the dryer and discovered she hadn't pushed the right buttons...sigh...she spent 1.25 for drying and didn't need that much...sad.

There was a school teacher grading papers over on the side. She said she did homeschool for pregnant teens and after they had their babies. She was grading a girls work that had just had her second baby. First was when she was in 9th grade and this was now 10th grade and had her second. She has her own trailer and her Mom comes to help her but has 9 children of her own. What a sad life.

We were walking back to the campground and a lady stopped on the road and asked me and Pete if we wanted a ride. We did as it was getting dark and the drivers were crazy. She was very sweet to stop. My family knows how I give people rides, Lenox shopping center at Christmas, so this was pay back I guess for my good deed :)

Subday Mar14th 45miles/9.3 avg.

9 AM it is sunny now and warmer...see the mph wind...hills...who knew LA was hilly . It was 35 when we got up. The barred owls were mating in the woods by the creek and it was NOISY all night...those birds are crazy. I called Robert last night from my tent and cried since I was so homesick....maybe a little too much JD also...Pete and I had a small bottle and shared a drink before bed.

He and I made a communal dinner of redbeans and rice mix and dirty rice...it was fantastic. We use small camping stoves and white gas...works great. This AM we did inst. oatmeal and added a whole banana to it and a small cup of applesauce...it was so yum when it was cold out. We always stop for coffee in the AM usually try to do this in the first hour of riding. 3 of us drink it so we have to get our daily dose. We get Community Coffee now that we are in LA...everyone loves it.

We rode Kent Rd. it is in East Feliciana Parish beautiful rode and a wonderful ride.

Well the library is closing so I have to stop...I have so much more to tell....stay tuned.