Since there was a Waffle House next door to our motel there really was no question about where we were going to eat breakfast this morning. The big surprise was what Mark ordered this morning, T-Bone steak and eggs. Mark was just basking in the glory of it all. 1,500 miles from home, riding a motorcycle, and eating T-bone steak at a Waffle House for breakfast. It was at this exact moment in time that Marks life became complete.
We rode down along the coast of Mississippi towards Biloxi expecting to take a bridge into Biloxi. When we got to the bridge we found what you see above. We were quite surprised that Katrina was able to do this to these bridges. This was when it really hit home for me how incredibly powerful this storm was.
There was construction going on all over the place but I just could not believe what terrible shape the coast of Mississippi was still in a year after the storm. I could not help but think of how bad it must have been after the storm. The images on the television really did not give a clear understanding of just how bad it had been.
Above you can see us crossing the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest bridge in the world. The bridge is 24 miles long and we actually went a little bit out of our was just so we could cross it. They really don’t encourage people to stop and sightsee, so I had to dig out the camera and take the pictures as we were riding across. The sky looks a little threatening, but the storm did not hit until we were eating lunch in the French Quarter.
We weaseled our way through downtown New Orleans and finally found our way to the French Quarter. I asked the guy above for some parking advise and as we talked we found out that he owned a place a couple of blocks down where we could get some lunch. He said it was real good so we decided to check it out. Look at the size of the sandwich these people gave me! Not only was it huge, but it was delicious as well! I ate half of the thing and I was stuffed.
The name of the place was The Courtyard and I really do recommend the place. Above is the bartender/waitress. Here she is bringing me a doggie bag to put the rest of the sandwich in. I think she might have been a little sweet on me, but Mark thinks the cook was the one who was really sweet on me. They both lost out though. The waitress because I am married and the cook because the cook was a man.
Above you can see our bikes sitting on the Mississippi River Delta.
The guy above is from Indiana and just finished work for the day. He is down there working on rebuilding the levees and we had a interesting conversation. He told us that we did not want to get a ticket down here! We explained to him how we have the utmost respect for speed limits so this really should not be a problem for us. The other picture shows a cemetery. The reason they are buried above ground is that the water table is so high that eventually the casket will float up to the surface of the ground.
We rode past the refineries that were flooded out and named as the cause for gasoline prices going so high, and I do have to admit there is a lot of refining going on in the area. The stink was terrible.
We also got an opportunity to see all the trailers that were sent down for the people to live in.
We just had to get a picture of our bikes sitting in front of a palm tree.
This is the door to a gas station we stopped at that was owned by a Korean guy. I love the signs.
We made our way back to New Orleans and then on to Natchez. We arrived in Natchez at about 11:00PM, and as soon as I saw the sign for the Days Inn I pulled straight in. I was tired. Even at 11PM it was still hot and muggy. I was so messed up I could not even get into my room. I kept trying to get into the wrong room.