Alabama to Louisiana

Day 18  Wednesday 20^th April 2011

Boy it was sticky hot this morning. We opened the door of our air conditioned room and a wall of humid heat met us and soon turned us into hot Sweaty Bettys.  Loading of the bikes was interspersed with frequent spells in front of the air conditioner in the room but like all good things we had to give up the aircon and start our journey west to New Orleans. We chose to follow the US 90 but got slightly lost and rode west along Airport Boulevard for a good 20 miles or so before heading south along the US 63 into Mississippi and eventually meeting the sea and the missing US 90 which we hooked up to. We soon reached the cities of Biloxi and then Gulfport which sit at the edge of the Gulf of Mexico and these names brought to mind some of the John Grisham books which were set in the area. We took time to ride out along a pier to where some fishermen were braving the heat which was now in the high 80’s. There was little physical evidence of oil and tar on the white beaches left over from last year’s BP spill but there were many closed down restaurants and other business premises suggesting that severe damage befell the tourist industry. Set back from the road are many wooden colonial type houses but here and there a space appears and it is anyone’s guess as to whether Hurricane Katrina destroyed what had been there. 

On the beach near Biloxi

Louisiana Beach Houses on Stilts

 We entered Louisiana and carried on following the US 90 past houses on stilts, bayous and swamps and it wasn’t long before we entered the outskirts of New Orleans where we were in search of the Desire area of town and the elusive Motel 6. 

A quick recalibration of the sat nav found all hotels within the immediate area and Motel 6 popped up as being just ahead and in no time at all we were heaving our sweaty bodies off the bike into the cool air conditioned rooms and a refreshing shower. Not so refreshing, however, was the choice of nearby restaurants – Subway sandwiches or a MacDonalds. 

We opted for the Big M because, unlike our motel room, MacDonalds had wifi connectivity and we spent an hour or so with our happy meals being shoved into our unhappy faces all washed down with a shake that gave me one of those painful ice headaches.

I cannot say that I really enjoyed my Filet-o-Fish and fries so when we got back to the motel I succumbed to the temptation of the vending machine and sweet-toothed myself into a Hershey chocolate bar AND some M&Ms – Scrummy.