Thursday and Friday were incredibly windy and very cold. Riding would have been difficult and miserable. Juanita invited me to stay as long as I wanted. Before the storm, I had made arrangements to be at a Warm Showers host in New Iberia on Saturday and it is a 2 day ride from Pecan Island. Juanita had stuff to do there and offered to drive me so I didn't have to worry about changing my schedule. She is a very generous soul. I had the feeling her house has a way of sucking travelers in. There just seemed to be another reason to stay another day. Kind of a Hotel California of Louisiana. I drove into New Iberia with Juanita where she picked up new born chicks and did some errands. One of the chicks had a splayed leg and she seemed to know how to fix it. The over night temperatures were going to be so cold that the chickens were brought into the house. She plugged in a heat lamp for the little chirpers and had another one for the poor guy with the splayed leg. They were all so cute. Even the cats got to come inside. I received a crash course education on taking care of chicks.
Baby chicks under the heat lamp
Kat tries out Myrtle
On Saturday, after a terrific 4 night stay, Juanita drove me to New Iberia and my next Warm Shower hosts. They had never met but knew of each other from cyclists passing through. It was fun that they all got to meet. Will and Kat showed me to a guest apartment they have above the car port. The temperature was still so cold the apartment had 3 space heaters going. Funny enough, this apartment only had a bathtub and no shower. I really enjoy a good bath too. Every Warm Showers host is different and this was quite a change from the hive of activity at Juanitas. Will is a collector of fans and has probably 40 lined up in the living spaces. One fan actually came off the Titanic! Kat made us a great spinach and meat pie that was very delicious for dinner. She also cut a nice piece for me to take in the morning. Oh, baby!
A small sample of the fan collection
Saying goodbye to Kat and Will in New Iberia
Spanish moss
Hhhhmmm....gumbo!
Sunday morning was still very cold but I pushed on knowing the forecast expected the day to warm up considerably. Will had given me some nice suggestions for the ride including stopping at the Yellow Bowl in Jeanerette. I got there just as they were opening. People were arriving in their Sunday best from church. I actually wasn't too hungry but wanted to get a bowl of gumbo. The owner was fascinated with my trike. I let her take it for a short spin in the gravel. Oh my, did everyone get a kick out of that! The gumbo was fantastic too. I'm so glad I stopped. As I rode, the day warmed up nicely. Even the wind was warm and it felt great. I followed the Bayou Teche River on Hwy 182 for most of the day going through small towns. The town of Franklin had lots of beautiful and stately antebellum homes. The road was littered with Mardi Gras beads and I must have just missed a parade through town. Coming into Morgan City I had to go over a long bridge. From there I went through town and ended the day camping at Land's End park on lake Palourde. Although quite expensive, this is a beautiful campground full of live oak trees on a beautiful lake. I had to fork over $24 for a tent site.
Riding along the bayou
Owner of the Yellow Bowl tries out Myrtle
Long/Allen bridge
Monday I got going early and it was warm. Hurray!! I left Morgan City packing up a wet tent from condensation. I rode along Bayou Black most of the day. Live oak trees lined the road and I was sure gators were going to scurry out of the water at any time. It was a beautiful ride on a quiet road. I loved it and the weather was warm again. This is exactly what I was hoping for taking this route. My destination was a warm showers host in Houma. I could really tell Mardi Gras season was upon us. There were Mardi Gras beads everywhere. The parades had started. Somehow, I missed them but, to be honest, I wasn't too upset. This season feels to me like there is a lot of drinking. Even more than usual and it scares me being on the trike. The less I see of it the better. I continued on to Houma stopping at a grocery store in Houma. Since Alvin, my host, was working I decided to make dinner. Getting back to the trike there was a guy waiting for me outside the store. It was another Warm Showers host in Houma, Ray. He waited just to talk to me. What a nice guy and I really enjoyed talking to him. I arrived at Alvin's house before he got off work. He left me instructions for how to get into the house and where to set up. I was settled in my very comfortable room when he got home. He was such a nice guy and had lots of touring experience. Alvin has lead lots of Adventure Cycling tours including the inaugural Underground Railway tour. He knew a ton of history about the tour as well and it was super interesting to hear his stories. The next day brought terrible weather and Alvin invited me to stay. He lives close to a big mall and I went to get a prescription refilled and run some errands. Even though it was raining the temperature was warm. That was nice! Later when Alvin got off work he took me on a tour of the Mardi Gras parade route and we saw some of the crazy buses being painted. It was cool driving around all the waterways. Alvin gave me some great advice for how to get into New Orleans and I left his house ready to tackle the big city.
Beautiful Land's End Campground
Coming into Morgan City
Riding on the bayou
Ray waited for me outside the grocery in Houma, just to say 'hi'.
Thursday and Friday were incredibly windy and very cold. Riding would have been difficult and miserable. Juanita invited me to stay as long as I wanted. Before the storm, I had made arrangements to be at a Warm Showers host in New Iberia on Saturday and it is a 2 day ride from Pecan Island. Juanita had stuff to do there and offered to drive me so I didn't have to worry about changing my schedule. She is a very generous soul. I had the feeling her house has a way of sucking travelers in. There just seemed to be another reason to stay another day. Kind of a Hotel California of Louisiana. I drove into New Iberia with Juanita where she picked up new born chicks and did some errands. One of the chicks had a splayed leg and she seemed to know how to fix it. The over night temperatures were going to be so cold that the chickens were brought into the house. She plugged in a heat lamp for the little chirpers and had another one for the poor guy with the splayed leg. They were all so cute. Even the cats got to come inside. I received a crash course education on taking care of chicks.
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