Update 15 - 1/13/01
We spent five days in New Orleans, enjoying the hospitality of Bill and Erin while taking in the sights, sounds and tastes of this unique place.
Too full to eat any more, we continued east along the Gulf Shores. We quickly left the busy urban traffic and began riding along the shore with beautiful white sand beaches and placid emerald water. Many of the beach front homes in eastern Louisiana and Mississippi are older historic structures that served as vacation escapes for wealthy land owners during the 1800s.
Approaching Gulfport, Mississippi, we began seeing a lot of new construction along the shore, and huge casinos dominate the landscape. One of the casinos, constructed to look like a square rigged sailing ship, is visible from miles away.
Near Mobile, Alabama, we turned south and crossed the long bridge to Dauphin Island where we spent a pleasant evening and enjoyed a really great seafood dinner. The next morning we caught the ferry to the mainland at historic Fort Morgan, where we followed a narrow spit of land toward Pensacola. New construction is booming along the coast near Gulf Shores, with many new high-rise condos and hotels being built.
In Pensacola we visited the National Museum of Naval Aviation. It is a huge display of aircraft from historic old planes that made daring flights across the oceans to modern jet fighters. We spent several hours there. Seeing it all would take several days.
As we were leaving, the museum staff called the local TV station and they did a story about our trip that aired that evening.
East of Pensacola we enjoyed the hospitality of Jerry and Margaret in Fort Walton Beach. They have led tours all over the country, and shared many interesting experiences with us. We spent an extra day with them, waiting out a heavy rain storm.
As we rode east toward Panama City, the seashore began to change, looking more and more tropical, and the placid gulf waters change to rolling breakers. Due to the unusually cold weather this winter, many of the more sensitive plants have been covered with plastic to protect against freeze damage. We are really looking forward to getting to south Florida where we hope to find warmer conditions!
George and Sharon Miner
Vancouver Bicycle Club, Vancouver, Washington
2000 da Vinci Global Venture towing Bob Trailer
Free as the Wind - Our one year self-supported tandem tour of the USA, Mexico and Canada
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