EVERYONE HAS A STORY

May 6 - Oberlin to Opalousas- 56 miles

Before leaving Oberlin we ate breakfast out for only the second time. (The first time was deep fat fried french toast in Log Cabin TX) This time was delicious grilled ham, sausage, eggs and the lightest fluffiest most delicious biscuits ever eaten! We were invited by an elderly man to sit at his table. He eats breakfast in that little cafe every morning and visits with friends. Fun to get condensed life stories of these people we meet. Everyone has a story worth telling and worth listening to.

Overcast. No rain. Flat roads. Variety of road surfaces including a section under construction being resurfaced and presently w/o much at all to ride on. Rice fields. Crawfish ponds. A chat with Leroy at his corner market in the middle of "No Where'sville". He's been there 56 years and it appears so has some of the items in the store. He says that most of his business is in "cold drinks" of the alcohol variety. The chocolate milk and V8 juice we bought was greatly appreciated!! He says the day he dies his wife will lock the doors. He'll be 80 this fall.

Rode in to the small town of Mamou and caught up with the AC group. They are skipping St. Francisville totally because the ferry is out and they have a deadline with planes to catch in Florida. Too bad because St. Francisville was one of my favorite spots on the ride six years ago.

We called the sheriff's department in Baton Rouge to find out about being escorted across the bridge and were told "No way"! It is illegal to ride a bike across the bridge AND they do not escort. Rusty asked how we could get across and he was told to rent a car. This leaves us wondering how the AC group will get across. Well, we decided to rent a car. We made arrangements to leave our bike at the motel in Port Allen where we will be staying after returning from St. Francisville and before flying out. We then called to rent a car which will be delivered to us at the motel. We are definitely flexible.