May 21, 2015

We headed off early this morning so we could have as much time as possible with our nephew Kevin Grace and his boys, Nick, Chris and Matt it's been a treat to catch up with them and needless to say the boys are growing like crazy and Dad will be the shortest in no time flat. It was great also to get to give Tamara and Paul a hug as well. How blessed are we. It's been a treat to catch up with them all.

We had a lot of ground to cover today and spent a lot of time on the interstate riding through countryside and foliage which was very reminiscent of being on the Sunshine Coast on our way to Buderim. We peeled off the interstate at Kevin's suggestion to check out Biloxi on the Mississippi Gulf with the beach on our left and some great houses on the right. Biloxi was interesting, on the southern outskirts it seemed as if the town was being absorbed into an outbreak of casinos and yet there were lots of empty spaces where houses had obviously been and not surprisingly Kevin tells us these were properties destroyed by Cyclone Katrina in 2005 so what we saw were a collection of expensive holiday homes, suburban homes and grand houses of yesteryear.

We did 300km before our morning coffee and in that time the speed limit was 113kmh and we averaged 120kms and in that time we passed trucks, 1 old car leaning on a 45 degree angle to the right and another old bloke in a car even older than Norm and everything else passed us and I mean EVERYTHING ELSE passed us. Made us look decidedly sedentary. Been a good trip and we almost made it into Kevin's without getting wet but considering the rainfall they had had we got off lightly.



Getting well down the track we came across a bridge over 10km long over a couple of rivers a number of tributaries and a whole lot of swamp land / mangrove areas. This is a shot as we approached an extra height area and below right at the hump. Not a lot of galvanizing here.



Soon after I spotted Norm with the camera out at the back of an old truck and couldn't see the attraction .... until I pulled alongside it. To quote Norm "yeah well I've had to do that a couple of times". I cringe but I'm proud he is such a can do person.

And The casino takeover continues and here is the Hard Rock Casino  .... not just a cafe.



Lunch on Biloxi Beach at Shaggys .. I kid you not. Great meal and I loved the big ass carpark spaces and the name of the place across the road just cracked me up. This statement is evidently a compliment in local terms.



And some of the more stately homes along the beach below.

Last Night's Accommodation:



Hampton Inn & Suites Atlanta Montgomery - Downtown, 100 Commerce Street, Montgomery, AL 36104
Getting familiar with the Hampton experience and happy to be so. Another lovely building. Staff friendly and helpful. Room comfortable and more spacious than last night. Included hot breakfast in the morning.
As we were heading back to our room after breakfast a guy at the desk said "are you guys riding the bikes out in the car park?" (pretty obvious in bike boots and leather vests) we said yes and the guy said "you have a $25.00 penalty" so I asked what for and was told "for having way more fun than me". We had a good laugh and conversation. Was fun.