NOT! Never...She never uttered a word… not one… She had a right to, of course, but… true to form she just stoically let it slide. I'd known better, even while it was happening, so it didn’t surprise me a bit when I realized what was going on… I'd actually expected it. She’d been sitting outside under her cover for over two weeks through warm and cold, wet and dry, and with those a teensy bit of neglect by her partner… I’d even parked her with only half a tank of gas…
Given her druthers, she’d have been out strutting her stuff and doing what we do together… I, on the other hand, had a few things to attend that did not involve her. Sure, I could have wrapped everything up much sooner, but then I wouldn’t be me if I had… I’m going to blame that danged ol’ recliner, but truth be told… it’s all on me.
She ran a wee bit rough when I first cranked her up, and she did have to clear her throat once she fired. Only for a second or two, however, as soon enough she was running as smoothly as ever. I could hear her brake pads ‘drag’ just a bit, too, as I pulled her forward, but that disappeared in short order, like all the other tell-tale signs of ‘rookie-ness’ in her rider! Yes, I did, of course, apologize profusely to her and beg her for forgiveness… She’s heard it all before…
We headed out on another campaign, and that was where we chose to place our focus. We can’t undo the last couple of weeks, but we can make things better by just being mobile and remaining upright. Back roads were in order, as we didn’t need to hurry. There is a weather system that poses a threat to our nice ride, but we’ll just have to pick our way through the moistness as best we can… Either that or remain at my land-lady’s house… with my tush firmly planted in that… you know…
It was a great day to be out and about! Partly cloudy skies with just enough sunlight to keep the chill out of the air and the roads dry. I didn’t really need my chaps, but I didn’t want to store them either, so they remained on all day… Much more and they would have had to be dealt with, though! My leather jacket throughout the day had more and more zippers opened until they were all passing through as much air as they could… We called it a day when we arrived at the El Governor Motel in Mexico Beach, FL. Does any of this look familiar?
World's smallest police station… Carrabelle, FL
Gulf of Mexico
Merriment inside the lounge…
Found a volunteer to take my picture
Thought there would be a giant plum of steam when the sun dropped into the gulf… nope…
There is a fish-gumbo cooking contest thing going on there this weekend, so I was actually lucky to even get a room without a reservation. I did, however, and I even sauntered down to the lounge for… whatever I could stumble upon… Lots of folks in there, but mostly couples or groups, so… I did what I often do… had a couple and returned to the room… Up early the next morning with an easy load-up and departure… We were underway by 8:30, unlike the first morning, when I hadn’t managed to get us going until 11:30! There was no need to rush, but…
I like to ‘put a few miles in the bank’ when it can conveniently be done, and when there is a potential need. Weather is always unpredictable to some degree, and forecasts are… ummmm, unreliable as well. A chance of rain is in the forecast for central and eastern Texas and for Louisiana for pretty much the rest of the week. Now, forecasters just adjust their predictions when things change, and pronounce themselves ‘on the money’. Riders, however, must make adjustments, too, and… well, we all know about that, right?
I like to ride as far as we can ahead of foul weather, so I have more options available… Being further along on our path could be the difference in making it ahead of rain or getting caught out in it. Since we’ll be riding west for the next couple of weeks, being further along should also have the added advantage of shortening any rain delays… It could also be the difference in rain passing us during the night instead of catching us out on the road. No need to rush, really, but a dawdle here and there could prove risky…
The first-half of the second day was pretty much like the first day had been… Nice temps, dry conditions, although it was rather humid, and plenty of sunshine… So much so, in fact, it warmed to the point I had to shed the chaps, and seriously consider storing the jacket, too. By the time the temp had climbed on up there, we had reverted to traveling on the super slab to get by Pensacola and Mobile, and having the jacket draped over the T-Bag and secured with a bungie cord makes for sleeve-whipping and strange shadows, if the job isn’t done just so… I’d rather delay that tricky operation for a more serious need…
Another reason for departing when we did… is Baton Rouge, LA. Weekday traffic, most especially late afternoon traffic, is risky business for sure! Heavy, moving either too fast or stopped, and nerve jangling like most other cities are. My guardian angel has been fretting quite a bit lately about all the stress I’ve caused her, and she is now very concerned she could lose her job! She’ll be able to breathe a sigh of relief, now, as our current plan calls for us to scoot through that gauntlet-run mid-day on Saturday…
This day concluded with us stopping for the night in Diamondhead, MS. It wasn't late by any means, but I was getting warm, plus tired and weary… A good night's sleep would surely work wonders…
DDT
