Patterson, Louisiana to Gulf Port, Mississippi

Daily Miles: 175
Accumulated Miles: 3,475
Day 14

Took several secondary roads. Every time there was something to take a photo of – there was no opportunity to pull off.

I went through New Orleans after leaving Patterson. It is apparent the city, even in its famed Bourbon Street and French Quarter is still in the throws of re-construction from Katrina. Many of the homes outside the tourist area have FEMA trailers parked on their yards while the house is being repaired. In general, it appears that the city has years of repair work ahead of it. The tourist area gave me a feeling it was a high crime rate district. Since much of my gear is simply strapped to the outside of the bike, I did not feel comfortable leaving the bike unattended, so I decided to leave exploring New Orleans for subsequent dedicated trip.

Also went through Mobile, Alabama. Really liked the city. Very old - with a checkered history regarding civil rights before the sixties. But the city is well maintained with thousands of beautiful trees. The photo below is typical of what a person will see on several Mobile streets.

To learn more about Mobile, Alabama go to:

http://www.cityofmobile.org/visiting.php

Alabama appears to be a state with many beautiful areas, would not mind coming back just to visit this state.

Today I was preoccupied dealing with the heat and humidity. It has been over 90 and very humid. In addition, I was wet from a morning rain. So, with the weather plus the heat from the motorcycle plus wearing the helmet and riding jacket I was “toast” about mid-afternoon. Up to this point I was doing okay. My guess is the accumulation being tired from several days of riding was taking it toll.

At Gulfport the motel sits under the flight path for Keesler Air Force base. When the F-16 fighter planes come in for a landing, a person could almost feel like he could reach out and touch them. The report from those engines is unlike any other sound I have heard. They are so beautiful to watch – it is so incongruent with their purpose. Thank gosh, they stopped the touch and go landings at dusk or there would have been no sleep for me that night.