The Trip - Day Three

Morning came right on time and I slept in until 7:00. A full night's sleep sure felt good and I was energized for the day ahead. We got ready and were checked out by 8:30. We stopped across the street for fuel and cleaned more bugs from the motorcycle's windshield before leaving Little Rock. The temperature was very moderate. We were looking at a perfect day for riding. Andre had loaned me his full helmet for the ride to keep the air off my eyes. While they were still stinging a bit, the full helmet made all the difference. It was ironic when he later had something in his eye from the highway. While riding in Arkansas we saw a crop duster making his circles and dives. Riding motorcycle is a close to flying as you can get without leaving the ground. We felt akin to the pilot as he rolled his figure 8's dropping chemicals on the fields along I-40. It looked like fun. We rode on about 130 miles to Memphis, Tennessee where we stopped at the Iron Skillet for breakfast. The Iron Skillet is a truck stop with preferred seating for drivers. We entered the store and immediately smelled breakfast aromas that let us know we were in the right place. Soon, a few waitresses walked by with iron skillets loaded with eggs, sausages, bacon, hash browns, home fries, pancakes, and all the things we love at this kind of place. After a quick study we ordered. When the food came it was accompanied by two of the best tasting, steaming, flaky biscuits you ever tasted. I'm not much on the bread groups, but this was fantastic. Another great meal. We talked a bit longer than we should have and ended up leaving about 45 minutes later. We got on I-55 south and were in Mississippi in no time at all. I'm not sure what misconceptions I had of this state, but they were quickly dismissed. I-55 was a beautiful highway through rolling hills surrounded by hardwoods growing close to the road. Unlike other states, Mississippi seemed to have decided to let the trees stand instead of stripping the land for 100 feet or more on each side. The result was a peaceful, cool ride that left us relax all the way to the next fuel stop. There was noticed the increase in temperature until we were on the road again. In Jackson we found someone had lost a sofa in the fast lane of the highway. On the bikes it was a quick swerve to avoid the debri as the owners looked on wondering how they could remove it before there was a major accident. It would not be so easily avoided with a car or truck and I wondered how long before someone slammed into it. We took I-55 to Hattiesburg where we shifted to US 49. This took us through the middle of town and past some great looking restaurants. We saw one place that we still regret passing by. It looked like a small house had been added to a few times. The last section looked like it was on fire; smoke billowing out as they were obviously smoking some of the best barbecue we would have a chance to witness. The multitude of cars outside were testimony to the quality of the food inside. This is something worth going back for someday. Riding onward we stopped once more for gas and drinks as the evening started to approach. It seemed like storm clouds off to the east, but it didn't look like anything to threaten us. We started off looking for our next turn onto US98. We finally stopped before the new road and had dinner at a barbecue place. It paled by comparison to our imaginations of the other place. The homemade cole slaw was excellent, but the ribs and chicken didn't make it to fair. It was a lesson on seizing the moment that we missed. As we were about to leave we talked with a couple about the ride. They asked where we were stopping next and we answered our goal of the Pensacola, FL area. I had not been able to get a hotel reservation there and we were planning on trying when we arrived. They told us to forget it as all the hotels would be taken by the gay & lesbian event that was there for the Memorial Day weekend. We decided we would extend this part of the trip from 595 miles to over 725 miles by reaching for Tallahassee, FL. We drove south looking for US98 and after several miles Andre felt we had missed something. We stopped and sure enough hurricane Katrina had blown over the sign that we should have seen headed south. We got directions and found the northbound sign still in tact. With only 15 minutes lost on the missed turn we moved onto US98 and cooler temperatures. The roads were wet with recent rains as we found the areas where the distant storms had been. It was drying off quickly and we never really got wet at all, but we enjoyed the temperature drop as we drove into Alabama. US98 leads south to Mobile, though we barely grazed the city. A few turns and our short stay in Alabama was pointing us towards Florida on I-10. We entered Florida as darkness set. Coming out of a tunnel onto a bridge that led across estuaries presented a spectacular view. It was unfortunate that we were riding into darkness as the Gulf of Mexico slipped into the night. What could have been a spectacular view of water, beaches, and natural habitat turned to ink. With the loss of light our focus was turned to the additional miles we had committed to drive. Riding about 80 miles more we were cruising past some 18-wheelers when I tried to signal Andre I had to stop for gas. He missed it and I pulled off at the exit to refuel. After exchanging cellphone calls and locations we finally met at a stop about 10 miles down the road. From there it was on to Tallahassee as temperatures continued to drop. By the time we arrived at about 11:00 that night I was freezing cold and very tired. We had been on the road for 14 hours and covered a lot of territory. We found a "Sleep Inn" where Andre had to fight the caffeine he had consumed before falling asleep. I, on the other hand, took seconds to find relief from the trip. I didn't hear a thing until early the next morning where I'll tell you about the last part of the trip.