After 4 days on the road and having seen the aftermath of Katrina's destructive forces, I was (we were?) moving slowly on this morning.  Our hotel was a Holiday Inn Express, noted for ample breakfasts, among other things.  We took our time enjoying the offerings.  We also spent some time cleaning and re-lubing the bicycle drive-trains because the damp salt air and the sand gets in there and seemed to slow us down.  Finally, we were off and rolling.  We headed inland to some roads running a few miles North of and parallel to Highway 90.  The further along we went, the storm devastation seemed to lessen.  There were more inhabited homes, people out, and some traffic.  It was actually refreshing to see.  This route took us North of Biloxi, so we really didn't see the city.   However, there were a number of beautiful waterways, visible from the many bridges in the area.

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Near D'Iberville, a big middle-aged man came toward us on an old bicycle.  As he got close, he asked if we had a pump.  We stopped and as I took a closer look, I noticed his tires were virtually flat.  I pumped them up and remarked that he was going to find his travel to be much easier.  The big fellow was friendly and when he found out we were from Pittsburgh, he got excited and said he had attended the University of Pittsburgh and had played football there.  We had a nice visit, were glad to have been able to help him out. He went on his way and so did we.

The "find" on this trip was the town of Ocean Springs, Mississippi.  We cruised into what turned out to be some wonderful serendipity.  This artsy little beach town had me very pleasantly surprised.  It was quaint, had a collection of restaurants and shops, and seemed like it would be a nice place to spend some relaxing time.  We looked around a bit, then moved on down the road.

We were back on a long stretch of the Old Spanish Trail, which runs parallel to and South of Highway 90.  The next town was Gautier, still pronounced as the French do, which is "Go-shay."  Somewhere out along the road, we encountered this creature and some of his friends.

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It was well after normal lunch time and the big Holiday Inn breakfast had finally worn off, so we were in search of food.  We found a nice little cafe with outdoor tables in a shaded spot behind the establishment.  Stan was behaving with his food and I was not fully paying attention to mine, just ordering what appeared to be good at the time.  When my food came, it was a giant submarine sandwich. Although I don't normally eat much during a ride, for some reason I felt compelled to consume the whole "enchilada."  What a mistake!  

Afterwards, I felt like one of those snakes, on the National Geographic Channel, that just swallowed a farm animal whole and needed to lay somewhere for a couple of weeks to digest it.  However, that wouldn't be possible since our lodging reservation for the evening was in Bayou LaBatre, Alabama, roughly 35 miles away.

I have to apologize because the rest of the ride was a huge chore for me. Stan seemed light as a feather and at times, I could barely see him up ahead.  I was barely hanging on. We were on US-90 now and passed through Pascagoula, Mississippi, after which, I did not take very many photos. 

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The planned route called for leaving busy Highway 90 and following some roads through the city and some backroads running parallel to US-90 and into Alabama.  The first part went well but in my debilitated state of mind and body, we missed a turn and ended up back on US-90.  It was after 4:00 PM and the road was a rush of traffic roaring by at times.  The shoulder was large enough but the traffic and its accompanying noise made the ride most unpleasant for the more than 10 miles it took to get into Alabama and  to our exit onto Alabama Route 188.  I was still miserable but at least we were off that terrible road.

We passed through Grand Bay and then finally arrived in Bayou La Batre.  I went to dinner with Stan and watched him eat a full meal.  I couldn't stomach anything that night and learned a painful lesson.