A cool 72° when we left this morning; the highway sun was  hot, but the breeze we created by pedaling kept us cool and shade trees were always a plus.  The highway was sparsely populated by cars and homes, but the homes we did see were impressive.  For days we’ve been seeing signs for “swamp tours”, but this is as close as we want to get to a swamp tour.

Not sure when in the morning it hit, but the road conditions deteriorated.  We are pretty sure we had entered Alabama at that point; the state just waited a few miles to post the sign (near fresh pavement).

After 15 miles we turned on what looked like a rural road, but was called a highway or Alabama Scenic Byway Coastal Connection.  We drank in the singing birds and homes with yards so large, they could be mistaken for a golf course.  Of course, with backroads comes a few turns and humps and bumps, a small price for the quiet roads.  As we entered the town/village of Bayou La Batre, we wished we’d not had breakfast; fresh shrimp and oysters were being advertised everywhere…rightly so.  It was a working mans town, so Mardi Gras beads everywhere, seemed very out of place.

Once out of town, we traveled several miles of straight road filled with not a lot to see.  A small bridge over the West Fowl River and we were on Mon Louis Island.  We could not see any water, but the homes and churches reflected the proximity to the sea.

Another straight stretch of road, brought us to a six mile causeway with a long view of the four mile bridge over Mobile Bay; plenty of time to contemplate our big climb.  One last stop before the bridge to catch this bird, so still we originally did not think him real.  As we approached the high ridge over the channel, it was like looking up on a rollercoaster.  Thankfully, the breeze that had swirled around us all day, remained at bay (pun intended) and once again the view at the top, spectacular.  Just at the bottom of the bridge we found a restaurant touting the “best food on the island”.  We split a Shrimp Club Po’ Boy (our first), amazing; the shrimp were so huge and delicious…..this will not be our last.  We only had a few miles to our hotel, so stopped to pick up a (happy hour) refreshment and met this crew from Tallahassee biking to the west coast and then north.  Their enthusiasm and innocence reminded us of our first tour.  The couple miles we trekked to our hotel were wonderfully peaceful.  Not sure how we picked our hotel, but the setting was amazing,except for the view of the bridge we just crossed.The only way to top the 45 mile (no humidity, no wind day) was with food and wine.  We shared a Seafood Gumbo, an amazing Spring Salad and a Seafood Sampler with (definitely the best) fried oysters, shrimp, cobia and calamari.  We grabbed a quick ice cream, just before enjoying an amazing sunset.  After all, this is a must in the “Sunset Capital of Alabama”.

Good Night!