Po' Boys and Southern Hospitality (640 miles)

Greetings from the Mississippi Delta!  At the moment we are writing from the temporary library facility in Biloxi, MS (the impact of Hurricane Katrina is still very visible here).  In the past week we have made some major accomplishments and endured some serious challenges.  Outside of Tallahassee we climbed hills that we thought never existed in Florida... not to mention the extra weight in gear that we are hauling.  We made a decision to head for the Gulf Coast in search of more flat land and hopefully some beach weather.   We happily arrived in Panama City after a few flat tires (which we fixed with little problem - thank you Broadway Bike School!) and a couple falls (luckily none of us have been seriously injured).  Since we were a little early for the Spring Break festivities in Panama City, we rested up and planned our journey along the Gulf through Destin and Pensacola.  During this stretch of the ride we were fortunate to find coastal bike paths and off-season (little or no) traffic.  A major highlight of this leg of the trip was a seven mile stretch of the Gulf Islands National Seashore leading to Pensacola Beach.  It was hard not to slow down and take in the sunset with the whitest sand dunes and blue water surrounding us.  We were so distracted by our surroundings that we hadn't realized that we had reached a major milestone - 500 miles completed!  We decided to take some time to rest in Pensacola while checking out the beaches and town.  Unfortunately we did not encounter the beach weather, but we still found the beaches to be gorgeous.  We strolled through the lazy downtown area and enjoyed the historic architecture and cuisine.  We rested in Big Lagoon State Park just a few short miles from the Florida-Alabama border.  It seems that we are the only people who are primitive camping (tents).  All the people in RVs are pretty astonished to see us and our camping gear, but 0 degree sleeping bags do the trick!  We were all pretty excited to cross into Alabama - we hadn't realized how big Florida is ( and yes we have taken a look at Texas).  In our excitement, we nearly stopped into the infamous Flora-Bama bar for a celebratory beer, however we had a ferry to catch at Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island, our home for one night.  With a tailwind we made great time to Fort Morgan, the access point for Admiral David Farragut during the Battle of Mobile Bay in the Civil War ("Damn the torpedos full speed ahead!").  Farragut's words of encouragement may provide inspiration to us when faced with the headwinds and hills ahead, but while on the ferry to Dauphin Island we took a moment to relax on the water.  Almost on cue, a dolphin showed its face as we disembarked.  Dauphin Island, like Nantucket, is in the off season.  The island was fairly quiet, however we did meet and see many workers who are helping clean oil from the surrounding waters.  One of the workers told us that they had just removed 1000lbs of oil waste (in tar ball form) on that day.  While crossing the Dauphin Island Parkway Bridge the following morning, we were able to take in many great views of the island and surrounding waters.  Coasting down the opposite side of the bridge from Dauphin Island, we set our sights on the Mississippi border about 30 miles away (another mini milestone!).   Our first stop in Mississippi was for lunch in Pascagoula.  Adam, who had worked in the area after Hurricane Katrina, gave us a tour of the waterfront area.  This was our first exposure to the major damage of Hurricane Katrina.  Heading back through town we were fortunate enough to meet a friendly local named Rich who owns Scrantons, a restaurant housed in the former fire station.  Rich actually was no stranger to long distance travel as he and a friend have the Guinness Record for longest travel by wave runner (Pascagoula, MS - New York, NY).  Rich told us stories, showed us maps of his journey, and the certificate from the Guiness Book of World Records.  He even paid for our lunch of Po'Boys, which we have grown a taste for while travelling down in the Gulf Region.  We said goodbye to Rich as he promised to contact his friends along our route (we don't doubt that he will) and set off for our current location - Biloxi, MS.  Although we have observed the physical impact of the Hurricane, the spirit of the people is much alive.  Many folks have asked us who we are and where are we going.  Some even have said that they wish that they could join us.  Our stop at this temporary library has bought us some time to write this blog and avoid the rain.  However, the skies look clear and blue from the window of this trailer.  Today we plan to tour through Biloxi a little more and then head west once again... maybe reaching New Orleans by tomorrow evening.  We are anxious to travel further into the Bayou and meet many of the nice people along the way.  If you're feeling up to it, why not meet us in New Orleans this weekend?  

Cheers,

Tim, Tuck, Adam and Kevin