Monday, June 3, 2013
Sunday, Day 7, 40 Miles, Total trip miles 360
Boy, are we glad we lucked into this B&B, as a nasty storm passes through during the night. We are on Church Street in Port Gibson, headed for the Trace at 6 AM and, after a stop at a convenience store for Poweraid and granola bars, on the Trace around 7. We ride the 1st 20 miles in a steady, light rain, which we decide is way better than the usual heat and humidity. We take a snack break at the Coles Creek picnic area (with open bathrooms!) and the rain stops and has lowered the temperature for the last 18 miles to the southern terminus. A mile or so later and we are back at the car around 10:30 for the 8 hour drive back home. Now back home safely after a very nice trip and a prelude to Great Divide 2013 in September!
Saturday, Day 6, 65 miles
We are out of the hotel and on the road at 6 AM; the course we have chosen has very little traffic (well, duh, it is 6 AM Saturday!) and the surface is somewhat better, plus, it's not raining. A quick stop for another Sonic breakfast and we are on the Trace around 7:30. Since we are so early, a plan develops to cover more distance today and then get an early start again tomorrow so we can make the car and drive back a day early. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be much between the Rocky Springs CG at mile marker 55 and Natchez. We get to the campground around 10:30 for a break and to decide what to do. The only option is Port Gibson; surely, there must be something there. Turns out, not much, and don't call me Shirley.
We make the 12 miles to Port Gibson and ask at a gas station, if there's a motel or campground. There is one motel, the Grand Gulf Inn. If ever a place was misnamed, it is this one. It looks like the headquarters for the annual crack dealer's convention and the review that Siri finds is about the worst I've ever read! We call some places and there is some thinking that there is, or was a B&B downtown, so we head there to see. At a park in the center of "town", we find a directory with 3 B&B's listed so we head to the nearest one. Two women are out working in the garden of a beautiful Antebellum home and we ask if they have rooms available. Unfortunately, they are no longer operating so we ask if there is anything else in town. As it turns out, Port Gibson is too close to Vicksburg and Natchez to have gotten it's share or tourism, so there's nothing (unless you're a crack dealer). I ask if we can just put up a tent in her back yard and she readily agrees! Our gracious host is Judy Moore, a true southern gentlewomen, who teaches at nearby Alcorn State and, as we chat, she suggests we just use her studio out back. We would have to sleep on the floor, but it has air conditioning, which is a huge plus about now. So we drop our bags and head to the grocery store for provisions (there aren't even any operating restaurants anymore). When we return, she and her granddaughter (who appears not too sure about two crazy old guys on bikes) have decided we should just stay in one of the rooms since we will need a bathroom (something we were trying to figure out ourselves!) and a shower. So she shows us to one of the rooms with two twins and we take showers and then drink beer out on the veranda! Wow, are we living right or what?! It gets even better as she offers her TV to try and watch the Noles but, as they are on ESPN3, she just gives me her WiFi password and I watch it on the Android. We ask if we can pay her something for the room and she says whatever we like is fine. The next morning we leave her $80, send her a thank you email (couldn't fine a pen and paper) and hit the road at 6 AM again. Life is sweet!
We make the 12 miles to Port Gibson and ask at a gas station, if there's a motel or campground. There is one motel, the Grand Gulf Inn. If ever a place was misnamed, it is this one. It looks like the headquarters for the annual crack dealer's convention and the review that Siri finds is about the worst I've ever read! We call some places and there is some thinking that there is, or was a B&B downtown, so we head there to see. At a park in the center of "town", we find a directory with 3 B&B's listed so we head to the nearest one. Two women are out working in the garden of a beautiful Antebellum home and we ask if they have rooms available. Unfortunately, they are no longer operating so we ask if there is anything else in town. As it turns out, Port Gibson is too close to Vicksburg and Natchez to have gotten it's share or tourism, so there's nothing (unless you're a crack dealer). I ask if we can just put up a tent in her back yard and she readily agrees! Our gracious host is Judy Moore, a true southern gentlewomen, who teaches at nearby Alcorn State and, as we chat, she suggests we just use her studio out back. We would have to sleep on the floor, but it has air conditioning, which is a huge plus about now. So we drop our bags and head to the grocery store for provisions (there aren't even any operating restaurants anymore). When we return, she and her granddaughter (who appears not too sure about two crazy old guys on bikes) have decided we should just stay in one of the rooms since we will need a bathroom (something we were trying to figure out ourselves!) and a shower. So she shows us to one of the rooms with two twins and we take showers and then drink beer out on the veranda! Wow, are we living right or what?! It gets even better as she offers her TV to try and watch the Noles but, as they are on ESPN3, she just gives me her WiFi password and I watch it on the Android. We ask if we can pay her something for the room and she says whatever we like is fine. The next morning we leave her $80, send her a thank you email (couldn't fine a pen and paper) and hit the road at 6 AM again. Life is sweet!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Friday, Day 5, Rest Day
We spend the much needed rest day doing laundry, catching up the blog, catching the Noles on the Droid tablet, and, most importantly, Google mapping a safe way back to the Trace. We take Anthony's advice and head to the Elite for a good ole Southern breakfast and later hookup with Tony the shuttle driver to take us to State Street Barbeque, a grocery store forprovisions and a liquor store. Later that afternoon we head to see the Gov's mansion and the State capitol. We are stunned to notice that, in the park by the capital, two gentleman are engaged in a form of carnal knowledge! We head to 119 Underground, a highly recommended Jazz/Blues club. The ambience is great, the food and beer good and, $100 later, we head home renewed.
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