Day 95, November 4th 2007 (Baton Rouge,LA to New Orleans,LA)

I was going to New Orleans today and thought that I was going to have to bite the bullet and pay for a motel in the area, but I had received much better news before I went to bed last night. Ryan had a few friends from New Orleans and had been able to contact one of them for me to stay with. I was so relieved that I wasn't going to have to worry about finding a cheap place to stay at, and that I was going to be able to stay with someone in the area. It was always a plus to hang out with someone who knew the area well when I was in a big city. The ride ahead was going to be a little over 80 miles and I was looking forward to getting to where I was going. I had talked with my Uncle Billy just last night and he had told me that if I made it to his place in Georgia by Friday there would be a great reward. The Georgia Bulldogs were playing Auburn on Saturday and it sounded like a great game. They were both doing very well for the season as far as I had seen, and I really wanted to experience a game in the south. With a stadium that holds 90,000 people, this was something that sounded too good to pass up. I was now on a mission to make it to Moultrie, GA over the course of 6 days and it was going to be about 600 miles. For the day ahead I was feeling in great condition for the road and the only trouble I was having was far away from my legs and was in my mouth. I had two wisdom teeth that I had felt growing in over the course of the trip and now I had one on the right side of my mouth that was starting to hurt a little. I couldn't only open my mouth so far before I started to feel a pain on the right side of my mouth. It made eating difficult and was something I was going to have to deal with for another month ahead. It was a curve ball that I hadn't expected, but I guess curve balls are thrown at you from all directions when you partake on a long journey. Some were bad, most were good, and dealing with them over the course of the journey was the name of the game. I cooked some great eggs and toast for the morning, and managed to put it down over some time. It was everything I needed to get me going and it sent me out of the door in a good mood. I was thankful for the great stay I had been able to have while in the area and how well things had been placed for me down the road. It was another great day outside and I couldn't wait to put in some miles. I think the traffic would have been busy on any other day, but since it was a Sunday it wasn't very difficult. The fact that the highway ran parallel with the interstate also made it a nicer day to ride. Without so many crazy drivers on the road I had a lot less to worry about, and was able to put in a fair amount of miles fairly quick. I had woken up with one extra hour for the morning because of the daylight savings, and had manged to make it to New Orleans at about 3 pm. I found the house I was looking for without a problem and was welcomed at the door by Anna, Richard's roommate. She helped me to get straightened away with a shower and then to get some laundry done as well. Richard wasn't getting off of work until 7, so we had a good 4 hours where we were able to chat and relax in a comfortable living room. It was a good place to relax for the afternoon before Richard came home. When he was off work we gathered up our things and headed downtown. Richard and Anna were both nurses and that is how they had met. So I headed downtown with two staff members from a hospital towards Bourbon Street. I felt like everything was under control and we stopped at a place called ACME Oyster House. It was a restaurant where they sold po-boys and a lot of oysters. Po-boys were very popular in the area and I had never heard of them. They were basically sub sandwiches with a seafood on them. You could choose between all sorts of seafood and so I went with the catfish and oyster. For an appetizer we picked up raw oysters and cooked oysters. It was an excellent dinner and I ate like I had never eaten before. One thing after another, from the appetizer all the way to a bread pudding desert at the end of the meal. It was great seafood and it was clearly obvious that we were now eating some fresh food from the Gulf. Oh how sweet it is to be able to eat some fresh seafood again. Once we finished at the restaurant, we went down the famous Bourbon Street and I was able to see the chaos that filled the area. From one bar to another and then every once and awhile there would be a gentleman's club. At the end of the few blocks of Bourbon Street it ran directly into the gay-bars on the street. It was a very different area to be walking down and I felt a lot better when we walked away from the road and went back in the car to go back to the house. I was so stuffed and feeling exhausted from the day. A good sleep was going to be nice for the evening and I was ready for it.

Daily mileage: 83.7 miles

Average speed: 14.8 mph

Total mileage: 5,902.7 miles