The motel included continental breakfast, so I had coffee and a pastry.
This was in the breakfast room. Rodney said that one of his long-term guests was working on this chair, and left it. What could he have been trying to do?Today, AM storms. Tomorrow, all day storms? One line of thinking says I should make maximum miles today. On the other hand, that would put me in a small town or camping for my upcoming rest day.Straight, flat road. Overcast and very humid.
I didn’t stop until I got to Kirbyville, after 32 miles. It was 11:04 – a little early for lunch, but I had been exercising. My gloves were so soaked with sweat, I probably could have wrung them out.
I think Valero Fuel Stop lets the locals influence the menu. That’s why there was such a good taco at the other one. At this one, I got a pork chop plate, which included two sides (I got green beans and squash), and a roll or hush puppies.I also got a boudain, which is like a highly-flavored meatloaf ball with cheese in the middle. I could imagine having these as a main dish.
It was not yet noon when I finished eating, and 42 miles to DeRidder, Louisiana. I was torn between going and staying. There was no doubt that I could have made it another 42 miles. But why? If I had gone forward, I might have spent 3 days in a DeRidder motel, to get a rest and church day on Sunday. I decided to stay.
The Gateway Motel looked like my kind of place. With a $45 plus tax room, it was.This is the inside of my room. Note the old style fluorescent tube. There was more than enough space, and it had the two essentials – wi-fi, and a/c. A shower doesn’t hurt, either.Something bit me twice. But these swelled up quickly and hardened, leading me to believe that my body can dissipate them quickly, unlike those bites earlier in the trip.I later returned to Fuel Stop because any size Icee (even the Jumbo one) was $1.19 . They also had a “happy hour” when any size drink was 89 cents. I saw an elementary school boy come in and get a huge one, which he split with his friends. That triggered a memory of my father, who said they used to get a shake for 15 cents at Giant Malt Shop, and split it 3 ways.There was a fly swatter near the window, so I had fun hunting flies. I think I got 12 of 15.In the evening, I had dinner at a place called Jenny’s Chicken. There were two common threads in the reviews – that the chicken was outstanding, and that the lady behind the register was rude and mean. I found the latter to be untrue. She was polite, just didn’t make small talk like most folks in this region. The chicken was far superior to chain food like Popeye’s.
Despite the forecast, there were no thunderstorms in my area today. I’m hopeful that tomorrow will be similar.
