bikerskier
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 30, 2005
- Messages
- 1,060
- Reaction score
- 97
Day 43 Perfect, sunny and warm! AND I got to spend over 4 hours in the Pensacola Naval Air Museum. I just love this stuff and I can slowly wander around, taking pictures and enjoying the history write ups of so many of these great aircraft, from open cockpit biplanes to the most modern jets and unmanned vehicles. There were many active displays of process as well, including a live briefing on visiting a carrier deck during operations and then you move to another room where the screen in huge and the wind is blowing and you can smell JP4 and the noise is awesome and you watch the planes take off and land. Learning how the catapult launch system works is very cool.Very exciting stuff. The Navy has done an incredible job here on this beautiful base right on the beach. The cafeteria even has many active duty personnel coming there to eat. Left all my gear stacked on the bike in the parking lot and had a super time. Easy ride from there up to Hattiesburg, maybe 220 miles total for the day.
Day 44 Warm and sunny. Stopped in at a very large bike dealer in Hattiesburg for an overdue oil change. $132.50. $80 bucks for 20 min.labor plus oil and filter. The most I have ever previously paid was less than $90, which is still way too high. Bad feeling about this BS. Then an easy 120 mile ride to Mariannes's sister's place on a lake in Madison, MS. Not long after arrival i fell victim to a pretty bad bout of food poisoning which lasted throughout the night and still giving me grief at 3 PM on Wed. Something in the hotels breakfast buffet gave me the goods. Crap! My lead lined stomach can usually take a lot of abuse. Resting until Fri AM and then heading down to New Orleans to visit friends.
Days 45 & 46 Resting and enjoying the love and hospitality of Lee and Linda and their daughters families. And trying to shake off the stomach ailment. Perfect warm weather for lying on the dock and dozing and reading and dozing and more dozing. Realized I have been encased in my armed gear and not getting enough sun other than my face.
Day 47 Said thanks and so long to my wonderful hosts and hit the road. Went to my niece's husbands office for a chiropractic session on my back which did wonders so I hope it lasts a long time. Then switched back and forth from I55 and Hwy 51 heading south to New Orleans. Had to take an extended break at a very funky old "truck stop" in Bogue Chitto, great name, to let the stomach rest again. I'm sitting at a booth, sipping water and the waitress/cook,etc keeps checking if I want some pork chops or hamburger steak, etc. The most expensive thing on the menu is $7.95 and at least a dozen words are mis spelled. Pretty cool. I really need to take more pictures. Finally got back on the bike and beat it down to Lake Ponchatrain and paid $3.00 toll to drive the 24 miles across the causeway into New Orleans. Late Friday afternoon and inbound traffic is almost empty, Very nice change from what I55 and I10 would be like coming in on Friday PM.
Went to Jim & Carol's home and the off for some very good charbroiled oysters and soft shelled crab at Mr. Eds Oyster House.
And then to the theater for the Broadway production of Chicago. Excellent production. Pretty damn nice evening!
Day 48 Hot and humid in New Orleans. Had a great day, seeing so many neighborhoods of this very cool city that visitors and tourists would never see without a local guide. Really interesting seeing the areas that flooded from Katrina and those that did not and the reasons for that. Interesting in that most areas close to the Mississippi, are on higher ground due to centuries of silt deposit along the banks which slowly raised these areas several feet. These are also the neighborhoods that have the incredibly beautiful old homes and gardens and parks. Jim & Carol's home in Metarie did not flood because it is in an area that is 1-2 feet higher than the rest. Most of the flooding came from the Lake Ponchatrain direction when the pumps and canal levees failed. Flooding in the 9th ward at the east end of the city came from all directions. Huge new hardened pumping stations are still under construction with many improvements to levees and canals.
I had the good fortune to meet a friend of my hosts, Gary Smith, who among many other things, owns an amazing car and motorcycle collection showcased in a beautiful modern showroom. He was extremely generous with his time spending almost 3 hours slowly showing the bikes and cars and describing in great detail the construction and history. A very hands on, personable and knowledgable guy. He owns all the choppers that are used in many movies, like the recent Expendables, with Stallone, Schwarzenegger and others. Probably 35 custom choppers mostly built by his crew, with gorgeous paint and trim, all on battery tenders, licensed and ready for the street. Most are ridden regularly. 4 of them have 427 blocks nestled into their frames. His cars include a Ford GT (one of less than 400 built) a new Aventador, a new Ferrari 458 Italia, a custom Porsche 911, an electric Fisker, etc. A number of rebuilt special older cars and trucks add to the the collection. My kind of entertainment.
Ran out of time and missed the World War II museum, so that, among other things is a good excuse to return. Jim and I wandered around the French Quarter for several hours in early evening, entertained by the insane folks, music and activities of Bourbon St.
Great day!
Day 49 Sunny / hot / humid. B/fast with Jim and Carols family and then a tour of pf the 9th Ward, the area that was hardest hit with Katrina. This area, east of the city was covered in 10-15' of water and was devastated. Now most of it has been repaired and several areas of new homes are built. Still an area rife with poverty, it will never be a symbol of urban beauty but it is being gentrified with many young couples and struggling to recover. Millions have been poured into the area and other NO areas, and huge sums of that disappeared under Ray Nagin's corrupt administration and millions more were simply wasted by inept beaurocrats. Nagin is in prison but the money is gone. Many Hollywood celebrities visited to have their pictures taken while swinging a hammer a few times for Habitat for Humanity projects.
Left in early afternoon heading west and north and started to hit bad weather a bit south of Winnfield, LA. Steady rain turned to a severe storm, with heavy rain and high winds and I sheltered for a bit under a service station portico. I found out that a Best Western was a half mile up the road so raced there to get a room. Very heavy weather with tornado alerts to the north.
Day 50 Holed up in the Best Western in Winnfield, LA all day watching pouring rain, heavy winds, thunder and lightning from my room. Severe storm warnings with some roads closed. Watched TV, read, dozed and was generally bored out of my mind. Storm passed about 7 this evening and the forecast for tomorrow is nice so I will have an early start heading west on back roads to Plano, TX where Mariannes brother lives. Fortunately the motel has a restaurant so I did not have to get soaked to eat. The place is a family gathering spot for many locals and was very busy Sun evening after church, even with the storm. Pretty cool.
Day 44 Warm and sunny. Stopped in at a very large bike dealer in Hattiesburg for an overdue oil change. $132.50. $80 bucks for 20 min.labor plus oil and filter. The most I have ever previously paid was less than $90, which is still way too high. Bad feeling about this BS. Then an easy 120 mile ride to Mariannes's sister's place on a lake in Madison, MS. Not long after arrival i fell victim to a pretty bad bout of food poisoning which lasted throughout the night and still giving me grief at 3 PM on Wed. Something in the hotels breakfast buffet gave me the goods. Crap! My lead lined stomach can usually take a lot of abuse. Resting until Fri AM and then heading down to New Orleans to visit friends.
Days 45 & 46 Resting and enjoying the love and hospitality of Lee and Linda and their daughters families. And trying to shake off the stomach ailment. Perfect warm weather for lying on the dock and dozing and reading and dozing and more dozing. Realized I have been encased in my armed gear and not getting enough sun other than my face.
Day 47 Said thanks and so long to my wonderful hosts and hit the road. Went to my niece's husbands office for a chiropractic session on my back which did wonders so I hope it lasts a long time. Then switched back and forth from I55 and Hwy 51 heading south to New Orleans. Had to take an extended break at a very funky old "truck stop" in Bogue Chitto, great name, to let the stomach rest again. I'm sitting at a booth, sipping water and the waitress/cook,etc keeps checking if I want some pork chops or hamburger steak, etc. The most expensive thing on the menu is $7.95 and at least a dozen words are mis spelled. Pretty cool. I really need to take more pictures. Finally got back on the bike and beat it down to Lake Ponchatrain and paid $3.00 toll to drive the 24 miles across the causeway into New Orleans. Late Friday afternoon and inbound traffic is almost empty, Very nice change from what I55 and I10 would be like coming in on Friday PM.
Went to Jim & Carol's home and the off for some very good charbroiled oysters and soft shelled crab at Mr. Eds Oyster House.
And then to the theater for the Broadway production of Chicago. Excellent production. Pretty damn nice evening!
Day 48 Hot and humid in New Orleans. Had a great day, seeing so many neighborhoods of this very cool city that visitors and tourists would never see without a local guide. Really interesting seeing the areas that flooded from Katrina and those that did not and the reasons for that. Interesting in that most areas close to the Mississippi, are on higher ground due to centuries of silt deposit along the banks which slowly raised these areas several feet. These are also the neighborhoods that have the incredibly beautiful old homes and gardens and parks. Jim & Carol's home in Metarie did not flood because it is in an area that is 1-2 feet higher than the rest. Most of the flooding came from the Lake Ponchatrain direction when the pumps and canal levees failed. Flooding in the 9th ward at the east end of the city came from all directions. Huge new hardened pumping stations are still under construction with many improvements to levees and canals.
I had the good fortune to meet a friend of my hosts, Gary Smith, who among many other things, owns an amazing car and motorcycle collection showcased in a beautiful modern showroom. He was extremely generous with his time spending almost 3 hours slowly showing the bikes and cars and describing in great detail the construction and history. A very hands on, personable and knowledgable guy. He owns all the choppers that are used in many movies, like the recent Expendables, with Stallone, Schwarzenegger and others. Probably 35 custom choppers mostly built by his crew, with gorgeous paint and trim, all on battery tenders, licensed and ready for the street. Most are ridden regularly. 4 of them have 427 blocks nestled into their frames. His cars include a Ford GT (one of less than 400 built) a new Aventador, a new Ferrari 458 Italia, a custom Porsche 911, an electric Fisker, etc. A number of rebuilt special older cars and trucks add to the the collection. My kind of entertainment.
Ran out of time and missed the World War II museum, so that, among other things is a good excuse to return. Jim and I wandered around the French Quarter for several hours in early evening, entertained by the insane folks, music and activities of Bourbon St.
Great day!
Day 49 Sunny / hot / humid. B/fast with Jim and Carols family and then a tour of pf the 9th Ward, the area that was hardest hit with Katrina. This area, east of the city was covered in 10-15' of water and was devastated. Now most of it has been repaired and several areas of new homes are built. Still an area rife with poverty, it will never be a symbol of urban beauty but it is being gentrified with many young couples and struggling to recover. Millions have been poured into the area and other NO areas, and huge sums of that disappeared under Ray Nagin's corrupt administration and millions more were simply wasted by inept beaurocrats. Nagin is in prison but the money is gone. Many Hollywood celebrities visited to have their pictures taken while swinging a hammer a few times for Habitat for Humanity projects.
Left in early afternoon heading west and north and started to hit bad weather a bit south of Winnfield, LA. Steady rain turned to a severe storm, with heavy rain and high winds and I sheltered for a bit under a service station portico. I found out that a Best Western was a half mile up the road so raced there to get a room. Very heavy weather with tornado alerts to the north.
Day 50 Holed up in the Best Western in Winnfield, LA all day watching pouring rain, heavy winds, thunder and lightning from my room. Severe storm warnings with some roads closed. Watched TV, read, dozed and was generally bored out of my mind. Storm passed about 7 this evening and the forecast for tomorrow is nice so I will have an early start heading west on back roads to Plano, TX where Mariannes brother lives. Fortunately the motel has a restaurant so I did not have to get soaked to eat. The place is a family gathering spot for many locals and was very busy Sun evening after church, even with the storm. Pretty cool.
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