Random notes

Chris and I just had breakfast and watched a little of the national news. We heard of the 19" of snow that fell in Buffalo, NY and wish to say how sorry we are that we can't be home to share the cold weather with you all. We are truly sorry. Really.

But, we have our struggles, too. For instance, we're almost out of sunblock. And there was no pecan pie for breakfast. So don't think we aren't suffering...

If I can wax philsophical for a minute, I tend to remember the offbeat or touching moments from a trip like the one we're on just as much as the big "touristy" things. There were plenty of them already. If I had time I could write a ton about them. Here are a few; I'm writing them here to ensure that I'll remember them later just as much as to entertain you.

The driver who took us from our hotel out to the swamp was a katrina victim who lived in Houston for 9 months before he came back to start rebuilding his home, business, and life. I got him talking about how the people were feeling. He told me stories about broken hearts and suicides. I was kind of sorry that I intruded.

The little girl at the awamp who took our money. She was like a character out of "Little Orphan Annie." She had the "Annie" haircut, sneakers and jeans, and sat swinging her feet on the dock while we waited for the airboat. She had the thickest Cajun accent you could imagine and insisted that WE were the ones who had the accents. I'm sure her family had lived out there on the bayou for 150 years.

The little restaurant called "Mother's" that we found in New Orleans. Every night we'd think about which 4-star famous restaurant we should visit, and then we'd end up deciding to go back to Mother's for cafeteria-style fabulous food and an opportunity to overhear the conversations of the locals (who couldn't have been less impressed or concerned with us tourists). It suited us just fine.

The night manager at the hotel in Brentwood, TN, who just rubbed Chris the wrong way. I honestly though Chris was going to belt her more than once. I spent the evening trying to be polite to her and Chris spent the night trying to get a clear shot at her. I finally had to give her a "time out."

The smells on the road through the pass in the Great Smokie Mountain National Park. All the way up I smelled anti-freeze as it spurted out of cars and RVs ahead of us. All the way down it was the smell of brake pads. Not mine...I have a standard transmission. But those RVs sure burned a lot of brakes. I made dang sure that there wasn't one directly behind me.

I'll add to this list later. Time to load the bike and head for Savannah.