{"id":23846,"date":"2018-05-10T21:13:58","date_gmt":"2018-05-11T01:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=23846"},"modified":"2018-05-10T21:22:40","modified_gmt":"2018-05-11T01:22:40","slug":"day-26-thursday-may-10-pascagoula-mississippi-to-dauphine-island-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tourdebocrie.com\/?p=23846","title":{"rendered":"Day 26. Thursday, May 10 – Pascagoula, Mississippi to Dauphine Island, Alabama"},"content":{"rendered":"

A cool 72\u00b0 when we left this morning; the highway sun was \u00a0hot, but the breeze we created by pedaling kept us cool and shade trees were always a plus.\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 The highway was sparsely populated by cars and homes,\"\"<\/a> but the homes we did see were impressive. \u00a0For days we’ve been seeing signs for “swamp tours”,\"\"<\/a> but this is as close as we want to get to a swamp tour.<\/p>\n

Not sure when in the morning it hit, but the road conditions deteriorated. \u00a0We are pretty sure we had entered Alabama at that point;\"\"<\/a> the state just waited a few miles to post the sign (near fresh pavement).<\/p>\n

After 15 miles we turned on what looked like a rural road,\"\"<\/a> but was called a highway or Alabama Scenic Byway Coastal Connection. \u00a0We drank in the singing birds and homes with yards so large,\"\"<\/a> they could be mistaken for a golf course. \u00a0Of course, with backroads comes a few turns and humps and bumps,\"\"<\/a> a small price for the quiet roads. \"\"<\/a>\u00a0As 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.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0It was a working mans town, \"\"<\/a>so Mardi Gras beads everywhere, seemed very out of place.<\/p>\n

Once out of town, we traveled several miles of straight road filled with not a lot to see. \u00a0A small bridge over the West Fowl River and we were on Mon Louis Island.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0We could not see any water, but the homes\"\"<\/a> and churches \"\"<\/a>reflected the proximity to the sea.<\/p>\n

Another straight stretch of road,\"\"<\/a> brought us to a six mile causeway with a long view of the four mile bridge over Mobile Bay;\"\"<\/a> plenty of time to contemplate our big climb. \u00a0One last stop before the bridge to catch this bird,\"\"<\/a> so still we originally did not think him real. \u00a0As we approached the high ridge over the channel, it was like looking up on a rollercoaster.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0Thankfully, the breeze that had swirled around us all day, remained at bay (pun intended) and once again the view at the top, spectacular.\"\"<\/a> \u00a0Just at the bottom of the bridge we found a restaurant touting the “best food on the island”. \"\"<\/a>\u00a0We split a Shrimp Club Po’ Boy (our first),\"\"<\/a> amazing; the shrimp were so huge and delicious…..this will not be our last. \u00a0We only had a few miles to our hotel, so stopped to pick up a (happy hour) refreshment and met this crew from Tallahassee\"\"<\/a> biking to the west coast and then north. \u00a0Their enthusiasm and innocence reminded us of our first tour. \u00a0The couple miles we trekked\"\"<\/a> to our hotel were wonderfully peaceful. \u00a0Not sure how we picked our hotel, but the setting was amazing,\"\"<\/a>except for the view of the bridge we just crossed.\"\"<\/a>The only way to top the 45 mile (no humidity, no wind day) was with food and wine. \u00a0We shared a Seafood Gumbo, an amazing Spring Salad\"\"<\/a> and a Seafood Sampler \"\"<\/a>with (definitely the best) fried oysters, shrimp, cobia and calamari. \u00a0We grabbed a quick ice cream, just before enjoying an amazing sunset.\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 After all, this is a must in the “Sunset Capital of Alabama”.<\/p>\n

Good Night!<\/p>\n\n\t\t