Another mostly sunny day with temperatures between the mid 70’s and the mid 80’s. Winds were light. The evening was very pleasant.
Day’s distance: 261 miles
Total trip distance: 5,490 miles
I departed New Orleans about 10am after getting my bike out of the parking garage and loading it up. Heading east on Hwy 10, then turning onto the ‘Chef’s Highway’ (Hwy 90), I was soon east of Lake Pontchartrain and into Mississippi.
Hwy 90 hugs the Gulf Coast on a sometimes 2-lane, sometimes more concrete road in generally good condition. Where Louisiana had more wetlands, Mississippi seemed to be more forested. I passed through Gulfport and Biloxi, mostly taking in the sights.
I did stop at The Shed, off Hwy 57, for lunch.
This was an interesting place, lots of character …
and pieces of wisdom here and there. I liked this one stapled to one of the rafters.
During lunch, I was trying to locate a good campground for the night. Turns out there was a great campground near Destin that was able to accommodate me, Henderson Beach State Park. It was starting to get late, so I stayed on Interstate 10 through Alabama and headed for the park.
As I pulled into the park, the sign said they were full, but I asked anyway. They called a nearby campground for me but they, too, were full. Since it was late, the folks at Henderson assigned me to an ’emergency site’. Turns out that was full, but then they had a last minute cancellation and so I was in (again). Lucky !!!
It was expensive for a campsite ($30) but totally worth it. Each site felt private and the bathrooms were big and clean, there were laundry machines available, and an amazing path that was used as private access for the campers to the beach.
The sand here is much whiter than the sand near Corpus Christi.
There was a sign on the path that indicated the original 2-lane Hwy 98 was much closer to the beach.
Glad it isn’t there now 🙂
Just a few more days to Key West. I’m getting excited to arrive. I’m actually one day ahead of schedule and will likely arrive on Monday, instead of Tuesday.