Birthday Party and Visit Ride to N.O., LA

I worked really hard so that I could take a few days off (non-paid type work) to attend my Dad's only living sister's 90th birthday party.  Aunt Jewel is one of those people that everyone loves and would be a mother/grandmother/aunt to anyone.  She lives in Jayess, MS, just a few miles south of my hometown of Monticello, MS.  I packed the night before, had the bike gassed up and loaded with my clothes and at 4:30 a.m. on the morning of May 31, 2014 I backed Sweet Thang out of the garage and fired her up, gently of course.  She doesn't mind the early morning rides, just be gentle.

Had the GPS on (Lord knows I don't need it as I've made that trip so many times) but like to keep track of stops for gassing up which is about every 110 to 130 miles.  CB was connected and I could hear the truckers yaking away even at that time of the morning.  Helps me to know what's going on up the road and call for help if needed.  Morning air was cool, around 60 degrees so I had my summer riding coat on with the rain liner beneath and my lightweight winter gloves on.  Turned the air wings (a set of wing vents used to keep warm in winter and cooler in summer, also helps keep rain off your legs and body) in to keep chill off and in a short minute or two was at the junction of Boyds Creek and Chapman Highway.  Made a right turn and headed to Knoxville to hit Interstate 40.

     

 The picture above is the Henley St. Bridge looking at the Gay St. Bridge.  Henley St. Bridge has just undergone a 3 year rebuild  The pic to the right is looking at Knoxville, may I add, in the dead of darkness except for the street lights and the beams provided by Sweet Thang.  From where I live this is the main way to get into Knoxville and/or to the Interstate Highway.

Not too far out of Knoxville I started seeing fog.  This area can become really foggy for a location not located along the ocean.  In fact, there's a stretch of I-75 between Athens and Chattanooga that has all kinds of warnings about fog.  Really strange but it happens.

    

 The above pics are on I-75 South bound towards Chattanooga.  Not nearly as foggy as I have been in on this same route.

     

The above pics are on I-59 just South of Chattanooga, TN.  The one on the right was snapped over my right shoulder.  Sometimes this drives the drivers crazy as they don't know why you're taking their picture.  Just gives one a different perspective of where you're going.  Or maybe where you've been.

Stopped along the way to gas up and grabbed a bite to eat for breakfast but mostly just purred along so that I could make it to the birthday party on time.  I ran I-59 down to Laurel, MS where I turned off onto U.S. 84 westward to Monticello, MS.  It's a nice ride now since it has been four laned but before it was only two lanes and rough as a corn cob.

But wait, Mother Nature, had some different thoughts about my ride this day.  About half way between Laurel and Collins, MS I had to stop and put all of my rain gear on.  Except this time I figured it would just be a shower so I didn't put my boot covers on.  Wrong!!!  It rained all the way to my Aunt Jewel's, like pouring water out of a barrel type rain.  When I got there I had wet feet and a wet crotch as it seems my rain suit is no longer waterproof in that area.  Need more waterproofing spray.  I know, TMI.

    

Aunt Jewel at the Banquet Hall and the above pic is of her house which is about 10 miles South of Monticello out in the real country.  My Mom, Brother Ray and Sister-in-Law, Pat, had come up Thursday.  My son, Shane, drove up Saturday afternoon and went back home the same night.  Aunt Jewel knew something was cooking but no one would tell her anything.  It was a surprise with about 72 people attending, mostly family.   I'm her oldest nephew and I spent a lot of time with her over the years.  Plenty of food, fun and family.  Can't get much better.

Sunday morning came and it was still raining.  My brother and family were going back to Marrero, LA after breakfast so I loaded up also.  They left just before me and I caught up with them shortly but by then it had quit raining.  Looked like it was going to storm but still no rain.  We headed South on MS Hwy. 27, nice rolling hills and a couple of small towns to go through.  Just a good morning ride.  We arrived in Covington, LA which is on the North Shore of Lake Ponchatrain to find the Ponchatrain Causeway Bridge CLOSED.  The big sign that should have been telling everyone why wasn't doing that.  People just sat there and then I spied a female bridge officer walking between the toll booths.  So, I just decided to ride up and find out why it was closed and for how long.  I thought it might have been a storm on the lake and they do close it for those when the winds get high.

The officer waved me off.  So I just rode closer and she finally walked closer to me.  I asked about the closing and she said it would be closed for 2 hours due to a pickup truck running off the bridge the afternoon before.  Truck driver's phone fell on the floor and he reached for it while driving on the bridge.  Now the truck nor the phone works.  They're both waterlogged.

I made a U-turn and rode back to tell my brother we would be making a detour along with telling everyone waving their arm to find out what was going on.  We ran up through Madisonville to catch I-12 over to Hammond and then I-55 South to LaPlace where we caught I-10.  I know, TMI.  Not long after we hit the elevated section of I-55, which is about 30 miles long, it started raining again.  I just kept going, then we hit I-10 and I still kept on going.  Slower of course but still moving along.  We took I-310 over to Boutte (pronounced "Boo-T") where we caught U.S.90.  I rained harder and I had to get behind a dark colored pickup that didn't have lights turned on.  It was raining so hard by then that I kept waiting for frogs to hit my windshield.

We finally arrived at Mom's house.  Dry at last, dry at last, good God Almighty, dry at last.  Brother wasn't feeling very well so the next day, Monday, he went to the doctor to find out he had an upper respiratory infection and bronchitis.

I got to hang out with my son, Shane, a lot along with my brother.  Shane and I went to Denham Springs, LA Tuesday where he attends a painting class with his other grandmother, Memaw.  Afterward Memaw, Shane and I grabbed some Italian food nearby and then went to her house.  There we got to see his daughters and granddaughter along with his son-in-law Geno.  Next on the agenda was dinner at the Vietnamese Garden.  Great Asian food.  Afterward we drove back to Marrero.

Friday morning, June 6th, D-Day, I pulled out of Marrero at 4:50 a.m. heading back for TN.  Stopped in Hattiesburg, MS to gas up Sweet Thang and get some breakfast.  I've been hanging around with one of my riding buddies too much.  I ate a Krystal breakfast using two coupons.  Two scrambled eggs, sausage pattie, grits, toast and coffee with coupons, $2.14.  How cheap can you get.  My next stop was Meridian, MS for gas and a cup of coffee.  Then Bessermer, AL for gas and a bottle of water, my own.

   

The sunrise was going to be great but then the fog covered it and I didn't see the sun for several hours.  So the start of each ride managed to have fog.  Who'd a thunk it. 

Ten minutes out of Bessermer I pulled over to don my raingear again.  It started to rain and rained all the way though Birmingham and northward for some miles.  Then it quit.  I kept riding.  Later I pulled into Fort Payne and gassed up again.  It was getting hot but it still looked like rain.  Finally, I pulled into Athens, TN to gas up and get a drink.  This time I took the raingear off.  Ahh, refreshing at last.  At this point I didn't care if it rained or not, I wasn't going to stop as I was only an hour from the house.  So I rode like the wind arriving back in Downtown Seymour, TN at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.  Total mileage for the trip, 1357.4, amount of fun, loads.

So ride safe and have fun.  Next ride will be to Valkyrie reunion in Harrisburg, AR June 17th after a bike and helmet servicing.