Day 11: We’re Not in Kansas Anymore

Rode 521 miles, Posted by the Bug

Today was supposed to have been a 325-mile ride to Vicksburg, Mississippi, but our early start (to beat the heat) got us there by lunchtime, so we stopped for a quick salad, only to discover that the four of us had become three. Turns out Blue got separated in the traffic, and wound up stopping in a different place.

We managed to reunite at a Wal-Mart Supercenter just east and a little south of Jackson, MS. (Hey, don’t laugh! It’s clean, got air-conditioning, food, sunscreen, magazines. A person could live in there!) Since we were now on the road to Hattiesburg, we decided to make it our destination. Once again the lovely Mrs. Bug came through and found us a brand, spanking new hotel (Courtyard), and we are ensconced in luxury. Actually the Bug is ensconced (with pizza); the others are somewhere having supper.

The Harley atlas prescribed today’s “scenic” route, but, to be honest, there ain’t nothin’ scenic about eastern Arkansas, nor the particular corner of Louisiana we cut through, nor—sorry Pastor Ron—U.S. Route 49 through Mississippi. We did pass a couple of sizable lakes (although they might have been mirages), with good ole bayou style to ‘em, right down to those half-sunken trees that hide gators in their shade. That’s when it hit me that we had transitioned from the Midwest to the Southeast: we’re looking for gators instead of deer. Bull hit the, er…Robb’s eye when he noted that day before yesterday we were in Colorado and now we’re in Mississippi.

It’s fitting that we’re spending tomorrow night in Seaside, Florida, where Jim Carrey’s “Truman Show” was filmed. Fitting because the last 3 days seem surreal: We’ve gone more than 1,300 miles on two wheels over three days in temps averaging from 105-109 degrees during the day. Maybe Ed Harris is somewhere overhead, fooling us into thinking we’re in Hattiesburg. Maybe we’re really still in Kansas. Oh, Auntie Em!