Reunited!

August 30, 2016

Today we were determined to get the two far band back together. The first order of business was to get in the same state as team S, so we headed East from Slidelle towards Mississippi. The Pearl River forms the border between Louisiana and Mississippi. That sounds like a well defined border, but it is so flat that the river has separated into many branches.

Pearl River. This is the west branch, not yet the state line.

Another branch, still not the state line.

Finally, the East branch of the Pearl River.

We were worried about crossing this bridge because it has no shoulders. Lucky for us it also has no traffic.

The fifth Pearl River did the trick, we are in Mississippi! That arc is not water spraying, it's a smudge on the lens.

By the time we got to Mississippi a headwind had picked up. The route was pan flat but we were going slowly. There was no chance of rain, so we had no sense of urgency. We decided to make a side trip down to the Gulf of Mexico at Lakeshore MS and ride along the beach.

It's a bird. No bird is going to go faster than us!

The bird toyed with us for half a mile before calmly leaving us in the dust.

First sight of the Gulf! It's exciting now, will it still be exciting after a week?

There was a beautiful bike path along the beach. We were surprised that the beach was deserted, it seemed like a nice beach day. Maybe it's because school just started. When we rejoined US 90 at Bay St Louis we found one of the most bike/pedestrian friendly bridges you could imagine. In each direction there were two wide traffic lanes, a very wide shoulder and a wide sidewalk separated from the cars by a wall.

This bike path ran for miles along the beach.

Half way over the US 90 bridge at Bay St Louis.

By the time we got over the 2 mile bridge to Pass Christian, we were really feeling the headwind coming off of the Gulf. Even though we loved the beach view, we decided to go inland a few blocks and take a road parallel to the beach that was a bit more sheltered from the wind. We also made a stop at a Walmart so Viktoriya could shop and Alain could cool down.

As the afternoon progressed it got hotter and hotter. The headwind continued, slowing us down but doing precious little to cool us down. As we dehydrated it turned into a death march. There was nice scenery, but what we really wanted was to get to the B&B and clean up and cool down. By the time we got there Jeanna and Kerry were waiting for us and had already started working on the chocolate cake. Since they were nice enough to save some for us, the reunion was a success.

Without the corrupting influence of team S, we avoided convenience stores and fast food. Here's a farmer's market we stumbled upon.

A glass of pickle juice! A special rehydration treat for Alain from Donna, our hostess at the B&B.

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