The Day from Hell

I didn't get a chance to post anything yesterday because by the time we got to the hotel, it was too late and I was too damn tired!  We left Troy, Alabama and it looked beautiful.  It was partially overcast and cool, and as we started out, we hoped we would get lucky and as we were going south and west and the storm was going north and east.  Maybe we could duck around the bottom of it.  No such luck! 

There is not much to see in rural, southern Alabama but cows, where the number of cows seems to far outnumber people!  As we passed through Glenwood, it was the first time we ever encountered speed humps on the main street through town.  Next, we passed through Brantley, which calls itself the "Front Porch City", and they, too, had speed humps on the highway in town!  This is home to Southern Foods Restaurant which has been serving Brantley for 42 years.  Unfortunately, it wasn't time to eat so we couldn't check it out.  We then passed through Andalusia, home of the Giddy Up 'N Go convenience store.  We then stopped in Brewton for gas and a pit stop and then on to Flomaton.  Just outside Flomaton, our luck changed.  It started getting darker and then started raining.  These backroad byways many times don't have much of a shoulder, so when I saw a driveway, I pulled in and we put the top up.  It was downhill from here.  Every time we thought we were through the rain, it would start raining harder.  We made it through Atmore, Bay Minette and Spanish Fort just outside Mobile.  It stopped raining and we were getting hungry so we decided to look for a place to eat.  We were now on the Gulf (or Mobile Bay, to be more precise) so should be able to get some good seafood.  We saw Felix's Fish Camp and it was busy, so we decided to stop.  This turned out to be the only bright spot in the day.  The people were very friendly and the food excellent.  We'll have to stop here on the way home.  Highly recommended.

Felix's Fish Camp - Spanish Fort,AL just outside Mobile

After lunch, we continued on through the Bankhead tunnel, into Mobile.  The rain started again, even heavier at times.  We pushed on, into Mississippi, going through Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach and Bay St. Louis.  Mississippi has just gotten pounded by the storm and along Hwy. 90 that runs along the coast, there were placed where the sand from the beach had gotten blown/washed up on the roadway.  It looked like snow drifts but was sand.  In some places, the road was blocked by the sand and we had to detour around it.  They had "snow plows" (actually, front end loaders, scooping the sand off the road into dump trucks.  At least it had stopped raining for a little while.  However, in Gulfport, a train stopped on the tracks where it crossed the highway so we sat waiting for it to move.  After about 30 minutes, maybe more, we finally decided to see if we could reroute around it.  Along with several other cars, we were able to take a side street and backtrack, then cross the tracks several blocks away, then make our way back to the highway.  The leg today was already longer than the first day, but now we were really behind!

"Snow drifts" along the Mississippi coast.

You can still see the effects of the recent hurricanes along the Mississippi coast.  Where once there were houses and buildings, there are now vast stretches of empty lots.  There are a few very impressive, antebellum looking homes, esp. in Long Beach, but don't know if they are survivors, or new construction.
However, one thing that did rebuild is Waffle House!  They must have gotten a good deal on property after the storm, as there is at least one Waffle House every mile along the coast.  There's not much else, but you will always be able to find a Waffle House! 

After Bay St. Louis, we continued on Hwy. 90, generally following the coast to New Orleans.  There is nothing but the occasional fishing camp along this stretch and it started raining again, even harder.  And, I was running low on gas.  Where do all these people that live out here get gas?  And, where do they gas their boats?  Don't know, 'cause I didn't see any stations.  I thought about stopping at a marina to see if I could get some gas there, but didn't.  Last time I thought I needed gas, I still had a gallon left, so I kept going, feeling sure that we were getting to the outskirts of N.O. soon and there had to be gas there.  Well, we finally did get to a station and still had a gallon left!  So, we filled up and continued on into N.O.  However, the street we were on was being repaved.  They had ground off the top layer of both lanes, for miles, but had not paved any yet.  So, we were dodging holes and manhole covers, in the rain!  Could it get any worse?

We were getting hungry and I needed some alcohol at this point, so we decided to stop before going to the hotel.  We made a slight detour and ate at the Abita Brew Pub, in Abita Springs - home of the Abita Brewing Co., a local craft brewery.   It was nothing special, but the Turbodog beer was good.  We finally got to the hotel and the car is a mess, but decided to clean it tomorrow.  Off to bed, where I was awaken in the middle of the night by tremendous booms of thunder and lightening that lit up the room, even with the shades drawn, and rain that seemed to last for hours.  How could there be any rain left in the sky??!
I got up this morning and the car survived, and not even too wet inside, but is pretty nasty outside.  But, it is clearing up and might be nice the rest of the weekend.  We're off to breakfast, will clean the car, and then go see N.O. before the reception tonight. 

The Abita Brew Pub

What a day!