There are these restaurants called Waffle House all over the area. There was one next to the motel, so I thought I’d try it. Food was okay, but this original art (one of many) on the bulletin board caught my eye.Looks like there is no aluminum can bounty in Mississippi, either.About to cross into Alabama. It’s easy to spot – the place where the road suddenly becomes good.After crossing over, there was a cooling wind to accompany the smooth road. Then the big drops of rain started to fall. I put the camera into a ziploc, and buttoned down the front bag. As usual, no pictures of the deluge. It rained hard for about 20 minutes, enough to flood the bike lane to half an inch. I moved more towards the crown of the roadway when traffic permitted. Although it rains hard here, it also stops quickly. I went through a couple showers this day.
By the way, riding in rain is nothing compared to riding in humidity. The rain is pleasant, as long as I know my stuff will be dry.
Also, I seemed to have picked up a tickle in my throat since staying at the Chocktaw Motel. I’m not saying it was due to the motel, just that it was that time frame. It could be allergy to the local grass, or irritation from cigarette smoke, or the local paper mill. Or it could be a cold. In any case, it was mild. Somehow, the rain seemed to help clear it up.
Highway 188 stretched to infinity like many other roads on this trip. Only the flora is different.I stopped at Alabama Port for a snack. There are two kinds of pickled egg: red, which is beet flavored, and white.This way to the ferry, which I will take tomorrow.There was water on both sides of the thin strip of road. Certainly, this must flood during hurricanes.I took this picture to show the power wire that is some 20 or 30 feet above the water. There is actually fishing tackle and netting stuck on the wire – leftovers from the storm surge of a hurricane?I normally wouldn’t take a picture of something so common as a dead bird, but there were many on the highway leading up to the bridge. I counted 19 over the space of two miles. No idea why so many.Last big bridge before Dauphin Island.I like places with “Motel” in the name, suggesting economy. This place was not particularly cheap, at $126 including tax.The room was spacious. Part of the reason it was more expensive was that only doubles were left. Unfortunately, only upstairs rooms were available. No matter, so long as it has wi-fi, a shower, and A/C.Google said Island Rainbow was a block away. It sounded Hawaiian, but I walked up with low expectations. There were crowds of people, and a long wait – a good sign.This is the first decent shave ice I had on this whole trip. It doesn’t match the top-tier Hawaiian shave ice, but at least the ice is reasonably fine.Next door to the ice cream and pizza place was a BBQ restaurant (both are part of the same thing). As I was eating my salad, I met Steve, who is the owner. He said he uses a triple-blade machine running at 3600 RPM to shave his ice. I don’t think the speed is that relevant, as I’ve had excellent shave ice probably made at 300 RPM. But the blade has to be set fine. I had a Beach Burger at the restaurant, which was very good. They put the patty between two pieces of Texas Toast. Potato salad and salad bar were just average.Steve with his partner John, who might effectively be the Operating Officer. Oops, caught my server in the background. I believe her name was Sarah.
Tomorrow, I plan to take the Ferry from Dauphin Island to Fort Morgan, then ride all the way to Pensacola, Florida. It’s about 60 miles, but Pensacola is the place with cheap motels. I can tell, when the reviews have the keywords, crack, roach, bedbug, prostitute, smell.
