As the sun rose on our final day of riding, I was still feeling the affects of some kind of food poisoning, which was causing numerous trips to use a bathroom during the night and into the morning.  Fortunately I did not have stomach pains, but I was not able to eat much for fear of losing it shortly thereafter.  I decided I could still do the ride, because a) there was no way I was going to miss this final ride, b) it was not going to be more than 50 miles or so, and c) I felt I could do a relatively short ride with little or no breakfast.  But then Beth remembered that she had some Imodium AD pills and I took them and used them.  Would you believe that was the first time in my life I had ever used anything like that? I am still amazed that those two tiny pills could possibly be so effective!  They really did the trick and made it possible for me to eat some food during the ride – so thanks again Beth!

The day turned out to be overcast, breezy and chilly, starting shortly after we left Palatka.  But I would not say we were ever really that cold during the ride – we definitely weren’t warm and comfortable either, but we were not overly cold.  I took just a few pictures during the ride and many more by the Atlantic Ocean at St. Augustine Beach and also within Historic St. Augustine.  Hope you enjoy them!

First stop on our final day of riding, somewhere along Rte. 207. It was cold so neither this nor our two other stops lasted too long.  As usual (and fortunately for all of us) Tim is studying the map!

View of the St. Johns River from CR13. This was on our 2nd stop of this final ride.

When Tim was planning the final day’s ride while we were in our hotel in Palatka, he was determined to find the best route to the St. Augustine Beach, which was not at all clear from studying the maps.  At the time I was ambivalent about actually riding to the beach and dipping our tires into the Atlantic Ocean.  But once we found the beach and performed our ritual of tire dipping, I was really glad we did!  It was actually nearly emotional, since it had taken us four years to complete the ride and accomplish the goal.  Here are some pictures on the beach.

View of the Atlantic Oceam from the St. Augustine Beach. It was almost hard to believe we had finally made it!

The brothers dipping our bike tires into the Atlantic Ocean at St. Augustine Beach.

Barefoot Beth on St. Augustine Beach – we all know we could never have completed the ride without her help! She was there for us every single day of all six legs! Thanks so much Beth!

Matt and Beth on St. Augustine Beach. Unquestionably, Matt was a great help in both Legs 5 and 6, readily taking the point and allowing us to draft behind him, thereby making it easier for all of the brothers. Thanks Matt!

Bridge on A1A from downtown St. Augustine to St. Augustine Beach. When the brothers went over the bridge, we had no problems. But Beth got held up by the drawbridge opening.

After the beach, we rode back into St. Augustine, disassembled our bikes, and checked into our hotel.  Beth and I went to a nearby Irish Pub for a late lunch and Mark joined us there soon after.  Then we walked around the old fort at St. Augustine, called the Castillo de San Marcos Monument.  Here are a few pictures of the Monument.

Castillo de San Marcos Monument in Historic St. Augustine.

Mark and Beth walking around the Castillo de San Marcos Monument.

After we returned from our short walking tour, we met up and went out to dinner, after which we walked some more around Historic St. Augustine.  Here are a few more pictures from the rest of the day.

Beth and Tim at Dinner in Historic St. Augustine, after we took our bikes apart and walked around the old town.

Matt and Mark at dinner in Historic St. Augustine.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.

Statue of Ponce de Leon at Plaza de La Constitución in Historic St. Augustine.

Plaza de La Constitución in Historic St. Augustine.  That’s Beth, Tim and Mark at the base of the Ponce de Leon statue in the background.

One of the best parts of the day, however, was when we returned to our hotel and had a few (Ok, a lot of) drinks in the hotel lounge.  Our main topic of conversation was the primary elections, which lead to discussions on Bernie Sander’s tax proposals, voter identification, the social security system, equal pay for men and women, and various other political issues.  It was never contenious and always friendly, and was both fun and informative at the same time.  We talked for almost three hours and we all really enjoyed it!

We left the Grady House B&B a little after 8 a.m. after eating a big and delicious breakfast.  We were uncertain whether to take the 85 mile ACA route or the shorter 67 mile route mapped by Google bike maps and agreed that we’d make that decision once we got to Gainesville.  But our tired legs after a 76 mile ride yesterday made the decision for us, and so the shorter 67 mile route was what we did.  We made good time today and only stopped about four times, not counting the break we took while Matt changed another flat tire.  Here are a few photos I took today.

Live Oaks at our first rest stop of the day, about 12 miles outside High Springs.

Beefcake shot of Tim at our 2nd rest stop outside Gainesville, where we shed some layers to help keep cool.

Sit-down lunch at Subway in Melrose. This was the only time this leg that we stopped for lunch at a fast food restaurant.

Mark on dedicated bike trail parallel to Rt 100 about 10 miles outside Palatka. Away from road traffic, we finally had a chance to play some trivia, inluding famous quotes, unsuccessful U.S. Vice-Presidential candidates, and more baseball trivia.

After making it to our Holiday Inn Express, we all went to the pool for a quick and cold dip, enjoying some cold beers that Beth had picked up for us on her way to the hotel.  For dinner we did Italian, the first time this leg we ate at an Italian restaurant and it was good.  Back at the hotel, Tim read aloud the last chapter of “Crossing the Borderlands,” after which we retired for the night.

It’s hard to believe there is only one more day of riding, but tomorrow our ride is to St. Augustine and the Atlantic Ocean, the end of the Southern Route across the United States.

It was a great day for riding, with temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s for almost the entire ride, and almost no hills at all.  The sun came out after a few hours, which only warmed things up a little. We mostly finished wearing everything we started out with, so there were no beefcake shots today – sorry girls! 🙂  Mark had a fall in Lake City, where there was construction on US 90 close to its intersection with I10.  And we did had several flat tires today – Tim was the only one of us who did not have a flat.  But other than that, it was a near perfect day for bike riding.  Here are some photos from the ride.

Tim and Matt on a bench in Memorial Park at Live Oak, FL.

Memorial Park in Live Oak, FL, where we stopped for our first break.

Bikes resting along far wall of Memorial Park Live Oak, FL.  An old Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum ad is pained on the wall.

Court House in Live Oak, FL.

Wooded area at our next to the last stop of the day, just before Lake City, FL.

Meadow across US 90 at our next to the last stop of the day, just before Lake City, FL.

Ranch house at our last stop of the day, 18 miles outside of High Springs, FL. Beth had caught up to us at this rest stop.

Bill W at about 6 miles outside of High Springs, FL. We were changing flats at the bottom of his driveway, and he came out to talk to us.

We made it to our lodging for the night at around 2:45 pm, received a tour of the property from Paul Regensdorf, the owner, and proceeded to change our tires and tubes to hopefully prevent any additional flats tomorrow.  We walked back into town to purchase an additional tire for Mark’s bike and spare tubes for Tim and my bike, and Matt also purchased a tube patch kit for a wopping $2.  We checked out the restaurant we had a reservation for, then walked back to shower and change for dinner.  Here are some photos of the Grady House B&B, a really nice place to stay if you ever find yourself in High Springs, FL.

Front Porch ar the Grady House B&B High Springs FL.

Dining Room at the Grady House B&B High Springs FL. I think that’s where we will be eating breakfast tomorrow morning.

Staircase at the Grady House B&B High Springs FL.

Photo of the duvet in the sitting room attached to my bedroom at the Grady House B&B.

My bedroom at the Grady House B&B. Its called the Navy room for the blue decor.

Dinner at the Great Outdoors Restaurant in downtown High Springs was excellent.  The beer, the food and the live country music band were a great way to end our day.  Photos of my side garden salad and my entree (Tennessee Tenderloin) close out my blog for tonight!

Side order garden salad at the Great Outdoors Restaurant High Springs FL

Tennessee Tenderloin entree at the Great Outdoors Restaurant in High Springs, FL. It was bigger than this – I didn’t take the picture until after several bites of the steak.

Tomorrow’s ride is either 66 or 85 miles, depending on the route and the wind direction.  Stay tuned! Good night!

At dinner last night, we had an interesting conversation about politics, more specifically “why are you a democrat” or “why are you a republican,” assuming you have a political party affilitation.  Our answers were interesting, revealing, and thought provoking.  And I especially love that we can have a conversation like that without offending anyone.  Of course, it probably helps that all of us are on the moderate side of our parties – at least I think we are. 🙂

We started the ride at about 7:05 a.m. when the temperature was slightly above the freezing mark, but it quickly warmed up.  We stopped for the first time after about 15 miles or so, and stopped 4 or 5 times after that on our 93 mile ride.  Tim lead most of the way, which was really tough on him.  Mark’s knee was bothering him, and to be honest I was not sure I would be able to complete a 93 mile ride today, so neither of us ever took the lead from Tim.  Here are some photos from our ride today.

Tim at our first stop of the day at Mossy Head, FL on US 90. Notice the Coors Light beer cans duct taped to the orange gas line markers.

Photo of giant pinecones on our 1st stop of the day.

DeFuniak Springs Train station – our 2nd stop of the day.

Downtown Historic DeFuniak Springs.

Near the Choctawhatchee River on US 90.  Apparently it had rained a lot recently.

Picnic area under water at the Choctawhatchee River on US 90.

Ponce de LeonCity Limit sign halfway through the ride, where we took another of our breaks.

Beefcake shot of the day – Mark while shedding layers during our break just outside of Ponce de Leon.

Tim in one of his two Florida biking jerseys – I’m not sure if this is the one Marcia or Matt gave him for Christmas.

To pass the time on the ride, we did lots of trivia.  For example, how many states with 4 letters can you name?  We came up with 6 of them.  Can you guess all of them?

In baseball, how many different ways can you get to first base without getting a base hit?  I think we came up with 6 of these also.

How many U.S. Presidents died on the same date?

How many U.S. Vice Presidents were later elected to President?

What U.S. Presidents later served in the Federal Legislature or the Federal Judiciary branches?

How many British Prime Ministers can you name? How many Canadian and how many Australian Prime Ministers can you name?  After striking out on Autralian Prime Ministers, we didn’t even ask out New Zealand Prime Ministers.

We rode up to the Fairfield Inn at 3:30 p.m. and eventually made our way to Beth’s room for Tim’s daily reading of “Conquering the Borderlands.”  Afterwards we went to a sports bar and had burgers and beers – a great way to end the day! Right now Beth and I are watching the Red Carpet show before the Oscars Ceremony, but I’m signing off now and heading to bed.

On the last part of Friday’s ride, we passed Blue Angel Parkway, which leads into Naval Air Station Pensacola, the home of the National Naval Aviation Museum.  We did not detour to visit it on Friday, but after reading Marcia and Nancy’s comments about how they could not believe Sullivan boys could possibly pass up a museum, I felt I just had to go back and visit it!  Plus my friend Brian Zuchowski from Palmdale highly recommended it to me, so instead of riding today, I decided to take the day off and go to the museum.  I felt rested enough to ride (I had the best night’s sleep in about a month on Friday!), but really wanted to go to the aviation museum, which I had never visited.

I arrived a few minutes after 9 a.m., shortly after it opened, and spent about 2 hours there, which was just about enough time for what I wanted to see – mainly the WWII aircraft.  I hope you like looking at planes, because that’s what most of my blog will be.

Curtiss NC-4 WWI antisubmarine aircraft. The size of this WWI plane was really impressive, and also the mass of the three engines, each of which needed radiators to stay cool.

Side view of a Lockheed L-10 Electra, the same plane Amelia Earhart was flying when she and Frank Noonan were lost in the South Pacific in 1937.  I think this L-10 Electric is in the Naval Aviation Museum because the U.S. Navy spent weeks looking for Earhart after she didn’t make it to her next scheduled stop.

One of the famous Japanese Zero aircraft from WWII.

German Me-262 jet aircraft, which the Germans deployed near the end of WWII. I’m not sure there is really any connection between this aircraft and naval aviation, but it is a very famous aircraft nonetheless.

Corsair aircraft used by both Navy and Marine pilots during WWII. Pappy Boyington and his Black Sheep aviators used this plane in WWII.

Grumman F4F Hellcat, which was famous for its service in the Battle of Midway.

If you’re still with me, the next two photos have a family connection.  During WWII, my uncle Paul Gallagher served at NAS Pensacola, and was an instructor teaching Navy pilots how to fly the North American Aviation SNJ aircraft.  I took two photos of the SNJ.

SNJ – WWII trainer aircraft, which my Uncle Paul flew at NAS Pensacola.

Another photo of the SNJ. North American Aviation made the same plane for the Army Air Corps, which they called the AT-6. My Dad flew the AT-6 as an instructor in 1945 at Newburgh Field, NY.

Battle flag of the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier, the same carrier that Jim Doolittle’s raiders used to take off from when they bombed Tokyo in April 1942. Beth and I toured the USS Enterprise, which is now located in NYC.

After visiting the museum, I returned to our hotel and picked up Beth.  We had a nice lunch at a nearby Panera Bread and then went to a Barnes and Noble bookstore, since I was nearly done reading one of the two books I brought on this trip.  By the time we made it to the Holiday Inn Express in Crestview, Mark and Tim were already there relaxing in the pool’s hot tub.  We all relaxed in the afternoon, and then Tim and I went to Saturday night mass at Our Lady of Victory Church in Crestview.  Our proof of admission is a photo their church bulletin (see below).

Church bulletin from Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church, Crestview, FL.

Tim and I returned to the hotel after Mass, picked up Beth and Mark, and then went to an excellent dinner at the Wild Onion in Crestview.

My chicken parmesan entree – it was just OK, but the desets were outstanding!

Tomorrow’s ride is all the way to Marianna, FL, which is about 92 miles from our hotel.  Wish me luck!

Yesterday we all arrive in Mobile in the afternoon, drove to downtown Mobile to pick up Beth (who had been there since Wednesday afternoon), and then made the 45 minite drive to Dauphin Islnad.  We all got busy assembling our bikes, but as usual I received some help from Mark and Tim to finish assembling it.  I was glad to have the help!

It was pretty cold when we started out on Friday morning at 7:30 a.m. – definitely not the coldest day we have ever ridden, but pretty chilly nonetheless.  We rode 2 miles or so to the Ferry that would take us and our bikes over to Fort Morgan.  It’s about a 30 minute Ferry ride, and it’s nice to be able to sit in a car for a sea journey like that, but since we all had our bikes, we braved the elements and stayed outside on the ferry, not that we had any choice in the matter.  Here are some pictures of us waiting for and then on the ferry.

Waiting at the Dauphin Islnad to Fort Morgan Ferry.

Onboad the Ferry from Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan, AL.

Mark finding something in Tim’s napsack on the Fort Morgan Ferry.

Once we landed in Fort Morgan, we rode the short distance over to the fort, but we all thought it was just too cold to play the role of tourists at the fort.  So we headed back and started the ride to Gulf Shores and Pensacola.  Here are some pictures I took during the ride.

The beach at Gulf Shores Alabama. We were about 25 miles into the ride at this point, with another 36 miles to go.

The beach at Gulf Shores Alabama. The dark blurry image on the left is the cyclone fence put up to keep everyone on the bridge.  It really is true that the sand is very white.

A little later we entered our final state on the Southern Tier ride, namely Florida.

Tim checking his email on his phone under the Welcome to Florida sign.

We rode about another 25 miles or so (it was 61 miles by my bike’s odometer) to the Residence Inn in Pensacola, FL, where we stopped for the day.

I am happy to have this ride behind me since I was not sure what to expect from me today.  I’ve been sick since the first weekend in February and have not ridden outside since December 12 and only taken a handful of spinning classes since then, with none of them in February.  So I impressed even myself today by being able to finish the ride.  I’ll admit, however, that I am preety tired right now. 🙂

Today was really cold – it was maybe 30 degrees when we left the Holiday Inn Express at just about 8 a.m.  I thought today’s ride was one of the prettiest rides of this whole leg.  We passed about a dozen nurseries, a turf farm, and a couple of cotton fields that looked liked they’d already been planted.  And some of the properties along the roads were absolutely gorgeous!  Sorry I don’t have any photos of our ride (maybe Mark or Matt posted some), but it was just too cold for most of the ride to stop and take photos.  Plus, in general, I think we all just wanted to get to Mobile, which we did by 11:50 a.m.  So we rode 47 miles in just under 4 hours.  We only got chased one by a few dogs in Mississippi, so we were feeling neglected after not getting chased by any dogs in Alabama! 🙂

Riding through Mobile to the downtown section was really nice – the Universities, schools, churches and especially the homes reminded me of other Southern cities I have visited, including New Orleans, Charleston, and Savannah.  Mobile is really nice – in fact the highlight of the trip for me was touring the downtown portion with Beth after having lunch.  So here are some of the photos, once we had made it into Mobile.

Waiting in the lobby of the Hampton Inn and Suites for Beth to arrive from Lucedale, MS.  We actually were happier to have made it to Mobile than this photo makes it seem.

Outside view of Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Mobile, AL. Savannah has a Catholic Cathedral in its historical section also, which is another reason that Mobile reminded me of Savannah.

View of the altar in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, AL

Top of the altar in Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile, AL

Historical Marker in Cathedral Square, telling the history of the Archdiocese of Mobile, AL

Beth, Courtyard and Portions of Fort Conde, Mobile, AL

Beth, Courtyard and Portions of Fort Conde, Mobile, AL.

Photo of Satchel Paige in the Visitor Center of Fort Conde Historic Park.  Satchel Paige was born in Mobile and although Jackie Robinson was the first black to make it to Major League Baseball, Satchell was the first black elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

After Beth and I did our walking tour of the historic district of Mobile (we also visited the Museum of Mobile, which was really good!) we went back to our rooms at the Hampton Inn.  I disassembled and packed up my bike (in 72 minutes – another new record for me!) and then took a quick shower before we all met up in the lobby.  Beth and I had made reservations for all 5 of us at the Royal Scam Restaurant, the same place we went to for lunch, just down the street from our hotel.  All our dinners were excellent, and afterward we went back to Beth’s room to drink the rest of the wine and eat the rest of the chocolates we had purchased in one of the many Wal-Marts we visited on this leg.

Chocolate and wine party in Beth’s room after dinner at the Royal Scam Restaurant, Mobile, AL

Tomorrow (Saturday 3/7) we all get up really early (3:45 a.m.) to get to the airport for our 6:00 a.m. flights out of Mobile.

After biking 637 miles on this leg, I feel that we accomplished quite a lot completing a leg of the trip that would have been challenging even if the weather had been nice.  Having Matt along with us was great!  I hope he will be able to join us for some or all of the last leg, and I hope my son Chris will be able to join us also!

The temperature was about 52 degrees when we left Poplarville, plus it was rainy and cold.  After riding about 1.5 miles, we decided to stop in at the Hardee’s fast food restaurant to get out of the cold and rain and also get some real breakfast, since none of had eaten anything substantial in our cabins.  All of the Poplarville locals were extremely friendly to us, asking us where we were from (and then commiserating with us over recent Eagles trades) and where we were headed.  In the Hardee’s I took this picture, the only one I managed to take today.

The guys at the Hardees Restaurant in Poplarville, MS. All of the people in this fast food restaurant were incredibly warm and friendly to us. Maybe they felt sorry for us because of the awful weather we were riding in?

The main things that happened today were that Mark unintentionally hit a dog on his bike, but somehow managed not to fall off his bike, which was amazing!  The dog came out of nowhere and Mark did not have time to get out of the way.  The dog really looked stunned, but otherwise appeared unhurt.  And I broke another spoke, which Matt again helped me tape off and loosen the adjacent spokes so that I could continue riding.  This happened around mile 20 of a 78 mile day, and we got in too late for me to take the wheel into Mobile for spoke repair.  So I am going to roll the dice and ride tomorrow and hope I don’t break another one before getting to Mobile.  I’m guessing I have another 50 miles to ride before this leg ends, after which I will get the wheel re-spoked at Drexel Hill Cyclery.

But the really best thing that happened today was getting picked up by Beth in Vancleeve! That was the end point of our ride today, and the plan was for Beth to pick us up in Vancleeve for the drive to Lucedale.  After warming up in the New China II restaurant for only about 10 minutes, Beth arrived, we loaded up the bikes, and ordered Won Ton soup for the ride to Lucedale – and boy did that hot soup hit the spot! But the warm ride in the car with Beth was the best part of the day for me!

The temperature dropped throughout the day, ending up a tad over 40 degrees at the end, which felt even colder than that since we were wet from getting rained on.  Tomorrow’s weather should be dry but still on the chilly side.  This is our last night in Mississippi since tomorrow we will get to Mobile, AL.  I am positively impressed by the friendliness of Mississippians, which has been true of people in every state we’ve biked through!

We left just after 8 a.m. this morning and it was already 70 degrees when we left, with a predicted high temperature in the low 80’s.  I used sunscreen on my face and should also have applied it to my arms and legs.  This was our last day of riding in warm weather – both Thursday and Friday will start out at about 30 and end up at about 50 degrees.  It was also humid today, so we were soaked in sweat in no time at all.  Our roads were mostly good, with smooth surfaces and wide shoulders, at least until we got into Mississippi.  There the shoulder on MS 26 disappeared and there was just too much traffic, so we decided on the fly to change our route, which added a few more miles but they were on safe roads.  We ended up riding 74 miles and made it to our destination, the Shallow Fork Lake and Cabins, at around 2:45 p.m., so we averaged just under 11 miles an hour for the day.  There were lots of hills, especially when we were headed east.  But aside from that, the ride was not very remarkable, so here are the photos for today’s ride.

Getting ready to depart from Amite City, LA. We usually meet at the car at 7:45 a.m. and it always takes us at least 15 minutes to depart.

Mark at break on LA 16.

Matt at a break on LA 16

Tim in his Alabama Biking shirt at our break along LA 16

Sign indicating we were entering Pearl River County in Mississippi, just after we had crossed the Pearl River. At first we thought this would be our only notification that we had entered Mississippi, but a few miles down MS 26, we encountered the sign in the next photo.

Welcome to Mississippi sign along MS 26. I certainly didn’t know that Mississippi was the birthplace of America’s music. Do the people in New Orleans know that?

Mapping the alternate route on the way to Poplarville, MS. Once we crossed into MS the shoulder disappeared and so we needed an alternate and safer route.

Logging truck along MS 26. We have been seeing dozens and dozens of these trucks every day once we left Conroe, TX, including today. I never knew that this regions of the country is a big resource for pine lumber.

Pine trees along our alternate route into Poplarville, MS.

Model T car outside of Swallow Fork Lake and Cabins. This was our landmark to finding our lodging for tonight.

Swallow Fork sign along Oak Creek Road, leading us to our cabins.

View from the deck of Beth and Brian’s cabin at Shallow Fork Lake and Cabins.

Swallow Fork Lake

View from the back of Tim, Mark and Matt’s cabin at Shallow Fork Lake and Cabins.

Tomorrow’s ride to Lucedale, MS will be colder and probably wetter, but we will be as safe as we can!

Today Tim’s son Matt joined us after flying into Baton Rouge last night, getting picked up by Tim, and then assembling his bike in all of 20 minutes – what a rookie! 🙂  Seriously, it was great having him with us today, if for nothing else than to listen to him make fun of Tim, starting with his chain saw snoring last night! Who knew?  None of the rest of the Sullivan brothers snore, right Nancy? 🙂 But having Matt along really made me wish my son Chris could be with us also.  Maybe next year, Chris, for part of the ride?

We started out in a heavy fog, and I think that’s the first time that’s ever happened to us on one of our rides.  We were dressed a tad on the heavy side, since the temperature was hovering right around 50 degrees, plus or minus.  But at our first stop, we all started shedding clothes, and we didn’t regret it as it warmed up to slightly over 70 degrees by the end of our 68 mile ride to Amite City.

The only mildly concerning thing that happened today was that one of the spokes on my back wheel broke, but Matt taped it to adjacent spokes and loosened the spokes closest to the broken one, to keep the wheel as true as possible.  And it worked fine to get me the remaining 40 miles into Amite City.  We didn’t have any flats and we made great time today, thanks mostly to Matt, whose young and fresh legs kept us all going at a fast pace.  And it didn’t hurt at all that we had had a rest day yesterday (thanks again, Beth!) , so we were all more rested than normal.  We were able to complete the 68 miles in just over 6 hours, when normally it would have taken us about 7 hours.

And the other thing that made the ride go faster for us was that we sang oldies for a good portion of the ride.  One of the ones Mark, Tim and I all sang (Matt must have thought we were nuts, but so what) was from the Righteous Brothers.  Remember this one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEkB-VQviLI

And we sang other oldies also, and at one point Mark pulled up “Unchained Melody,” also from the Righteous Brothers, because I just couldn’t remember their other really big hit.  Of course, many of the songs we sang along the way were from the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and Elvis.  Tim sang one that none of us recognized, but he is slightly older than us, which could explain it.  Curiously, Matt didn’t sing at all.  Hmmm….. guess he was too busy laughing at us. 🙂

We counted 43 Bud Light cans by the side of the road and 8 Dollar General stores along the way.  There may have been more of both, but we just lost count after that.  After we got to the hotel, Mark, Beth and I did laundry, after which I went to a bike store in Hammond, LA named Graycat Cyclewox to get my spoke fixed, my wheel trued, and a new back tire.  I also picked up a bright yellow-green cycling jersey so that when and if I take off my yellow jacket tomorrow, I will still be very visible to drivers.

Ok, enough talk – here are today’s photos.  Hope you enjoy them.

Pool at Butler Greenwood Plantation B&B. The building Beth and I stayed in was right next to this inviting pool, but it was just too cold and rainy to enjoy it.

The boys strip off layers at our first rest stop on LA 10. We stayed on LA 10 for most of today’s ride and it treated us really well! It had a nice wide shoulder and gently rolling hills.

One of the really quaint towns we passed through today was Jackson, LA. This train car was right outside an Antique Store there, and I thought it looked really nice.

Historical marker in Jackson, LA. Tim loves historical markers and reads every one he can find, as Matt pointed out to us (as if Mark and I didn’t already know that!).

Volunteer firehouse in Jackson, LA

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Louisiana Scenic Byways Road Sign along LA 10. We saw about a dozen of these signs today, which were usually accompanied by the sign in the next photo.

Zackary Taylor Parkway sign along LA 10. During the ride Matt asked if any of us knew Zachary Taylor’s nickname. I looked it up on Wikipedia and it is “Old Rough and Ready.” Taylor was the last U.S. President to own slaves. Does anyone know why LA 10 is also named Zachary Taylor Parkway?

Clean laundry on Beth’s bed at our Holiday Inn Express in Amite City, LA.

Mark and Bike Store Owner Mike discuss tomorrow’s route to Poplarville, MS

Tomorrow we ride to Poplarville, MS, so tonight is our last night in Louisiana.  After taking 19 days to get across Texas, it’s hard to believe we have biked through Louisiana so quickly!  But Louisiana has been nice to us also and let’s hope tomorrow’s ride goes well for all of us again!