Lafayette, LA to St. Francisville, LA (86 miles) Sunday, April 12, 2010

The ride was enjoyable today.  We rode through the back roads, wooded in many areas, houses with an acre or two right on the road.  For the most part, the roads were smooth, although the repair jobs on some areas were rough.  We had head winds today, but the heat did not set in until 2:00.

We needed to cross the Mississippi, and the bridge was 3.2 miles long, no shoulder.  It was two lanes wide, however, so Carol and Linda met us at the beginning of the bridge for an escort across.  We all lined up, two by two, and kept at 12 mph with the van and trailer behind us with the flashers on.  It was really fun because we don't usually ride in a group like that.  The next time we do that will be on our last day.  The St. Augustine Police will escort us in to the end of our ride at the beach.  That will be 14 riding days from now!  There have been some photos taken of us in front of the van, and I will add that when I can.

Once we crossed over the Mississippi, we once again spread out.  We stopped for a lunch at a place called, "Not Your Mama's Cafe."  They had a lot of fish, crayfish, and shrimp dishes.  Someone told us the onion rings were great, so Sue and I tried some.  Big mistake!  I am not used to all that grease, and I was regretting those for the next 30 miles!  My stomach is not used to all that grease!

With any long day, we are always happy to see the Sag Captain and the "Bo Peep" Subaru.  She shows up about every 20 miles, and we are able to get water, energy bars, fruit, sun block, repair tools, and even t-paper!

In order to get to St. Francisville, we had to take a ferry across the Mississippi again, this time it was only a mile wide, and it was fun to do!

We arrived in St. Francisville a few miles later.  Our group has been split up in two; 13 went to stay at the Butler Greenwood B & B, and 7 of us went to the St. Francisville Inn, also a B & B.  They are very different, and unfortunately, 3 miles apart.  I was one of the 7, and we have all been enjoying the quiet of the small group.

http://www.stfrancisvilleinn.com/    and    http://www.butlergreenwood.com/

We were shuttled over to Butler Greenwood for dinner.  I think I went to sleep around 8:30 pm!!