It just rained.  All day long.  Wave after wave of thunderstorms--just as the weather forecasters predicted.   And the storms are expected to increase in intensity as the day progresses.   I can't explain what even possessed me to start riding my bike in that stuff, but that's what I did.

I learned that getting wet isn't so bad as long as you're warm.  I also learned that what nature giveth, nature also taketh away.  In this case, nature giveth me the pain of the rainstorms, but it tooketh away some of that pain by providing a decent tailwind.  And Man provideth as well by building a wide shoulder on the very busy Highway 61, and almost every time the rain intensified to torrential status I was able to find a structure with an overhang to hide under.

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I kept an eye on the swampy canal that was on my right for most of the morning.  I heard there were alligators in there.  I really hope to see an alligator on this trip, and I don't mean an alligator in a zoo or on a guided bayou tour.  I want to see one free and wild.  

A little research turned up a few interesting facts about alligators.  Louisiana has more of them than any other state, though 79% of them are in privately owned areas along the coastal marshes.  I'm not going there.  I also read that a gator's stomach acid allows it to digest almost anything--even metal objects like license plates.

Well, great news everybody!  I saw not one, but two alligators in the first half hour.  One was about three feet long, the other was a little shorter.  They were trying to get across the highway.  To be honest though, they weren't trying any more.  No, they were dead.  Here is a list of some other animals I saw on the road:  two armadillos, two opossums, two large snakes, a rat, numerous turtles, and many many very big bullfrogs.  They were all dead.

There was plenty of regular road debris here in the Land of Dixie, but there were some less common items which included dozens of pairs of work gloves, many strings of Mardi Gras beads, underwear (both male and female) and various lengths of rope. 

Anyway, last week I got an invitation from a fellow bike tourist named Don Weinell to be a guest in his home.  When he saw my plan to ride from New Orleans to Baton Rouge, via Gonzalez, he quickly extended that generous offer. 

At this moment I am at the Gonzalez Public Library doing this update before I ride to Don's home.  I am anxious to meet Don and his wife, but a little worried too.  This will be my first overnight stay with somebody I had not previously known.  I hope I don't make a fool of myself.  I promise I will try to be on my best behavior and I will try to be the least intrusive house guest they've ever had.  I'll give a full report on my success (or failure) tomorrow.