The Majestic Mississippi River

Friday April 21. Day 47 Morganza to Baton Rouge. 41 miles or 65 km.

At 4 am I woke to heavy rain, lightning and thunder so I rolled over and went back to sleep. Not much sense in sitting outside waiting for it to stop as it would last till noon. I contacted Pam, my host for the night, that I would arrive a bit later.

Luckily it stopped raining around 1030ish. Just in time as the water had risen to the edge of the concrete slap I had slept on. The roads were wet and in poor condition. And if that wasn't enough, the cars and trucks sprayed me with dirty water. Not a pleasant ride. Honestly, today the roads couldn't be any rougher. At one point I hit mud slippery as snot and I barely prevented myself from falling. Wouldn't that be a sight. To arrive covered in mud at an unknown person's door!

The highlight of the ride was the majestic John James Audubon Bridge across the Mississippi River. As a child I read a book about the river and I saw a show in Toronto about the Mississippi River. So impressive. She's a lot wider then I thought and a lot dirtier. I had to stop for a minute and let it all sink in. Such an unreal feeling to be biking across this bridge.

                               Pam and her husband Colvin were waiting for me at the gas station

We quickly put Annie in the back of their truck. In no time we got acquainted with each. Such wonderful people and a joy to be with them. And all this because of a call that Susan made on my behalf. Pam suggested to drive to the levy where we walked around for a bit. It was the levy that broke when hurricane Katrina hit. Then we drove to their church. There is a rich history of French settlers and consequently, there are more Catholic churches in this area than I have seen on the entire route. John the Baptist church is beautiful. The outside is quite modern but the inside is a nod to a rich past. Beautiful. 

We then drove to the ferry which took us across the Mississippi River. There was blue sky, sunshine and a wonderful wind blowing. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip.

Once on the other side, Colvin drove us to a little beer brewery called Istrauma Brewery. This brewery was  situated at the end of some fields that housed quite a few different animals. It had a large outdoor seating area covered from the sun. We had a glass of Stout that tasted so good. The afternoon flew by.

Once at their home, I was greeted by a chihuahua and a mix Chihuahua and Pomski. Both are senior dogs. Lucy and Carmen. My day was complete. 

Colvin prepared rice, beef in a rich and very tasty sauce complimented with sweet corn for the three of us. Yummy. Pam and I sat outside till the mosquitoes came to visit. And we talked ourselves to 10 o'clock which I haven't done in a long time. So time to say goodnight. 

Hi Don. Happy you found my blog. I am well and certainly giving up now that I am close to the finish line. And you'll get out if your recliner some day