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.
Miles today: 33.2
(Visited 202 times, 1 visit(s) today)
I like their take on “Happy Hour”, and that meatball thing looked interesting.
looks like you’re still running into remnants of tropical storm. probably could see online at the state DOT at TX or LA for a view of not just weather but also road conditions. or maybe get RT alerts, or use the Waze app. don’t know how many participants on less traveled roads you may get, but it can give you a headsup so you can find alternates. mmm, how much better can chicken get?
Plain old weather channel or Google on “weather TOWN, STATE” does pretty well. In this hot and humid area, I’m timing my stops to hit motels if at all possible, so generally will have TV and internet. As for road choice, I’m willing to upgrade to primary highways, but generally unwilling to downgrade to smaller roads, unless locals tell me to do it. I thought about taking this one shortcut yesterday, going over county road nnn, but scrubbed that plan when Google seemed to avoid it. As I passed by that road, I realized that parts of it were just a sandy trail through the woods, even if it was dry.
I like their take on “Happy Hour”, and that meatball thing looked interesting.
Hope you don’t drown during the coming week!
Apparently, boudain is prepared in a variety of ways. The one shown is deep-fried. I had an even better one the next day.
looks like you’re still running into remnants of tropical storm. probably could see online at the state DOT at TX or LA for a view of not just weather but also road conditions. or maybe get RT alerts, or use the Waze app. don’t know how many participants on less traveled roads you may get, but it can give you a headsup so you can find alternates. mmm, how much better can chicken get?
Plain old weather channel or Google on “weather TOWN, STATE” does pretty well. In this hot and humid area, I’m timing my stops to hit motels if at all possible, so generally will have TV and internet. As for road choice, I’m willing to upgrade to primary highways, but generally unwilling to downgrade to smaller roads, unless locals tell me to do it. I thought about taking this one shortcut yesterday, going over county road nnn, but scrubbed that plan when Google seemed to avoid it. As I passed by that road, I realized that parts of it were just a sandy trail through the woods, even if it was dry.