South of the Airport, Between the Train Tracks & the Brewery
February 23, 2022
We were not killed in our sleep, nor did we wake up in a bathtub filled with ice minus our kidneys. So overall the Cracker Barrel experience was “positive”. We’ll probably never do it again unless we can’t find a better place. (Donna & Bill, we suspect your rig has far better soundproofing and a more secure feeling.)
I couldn’t fall asleep, I can blame Artemis by Andy Weir which I finished around midnight and returned to the Keene NH library electronically, but that’s not being fair. I just couldn’t sleep with all the noise and commotion. Susan conked out immediately, but woke around 2AM for a few hours. I woke around 5. So we had the security detail covered by the two insomniacs.
We got up, briefly discussed breakfast at the Barrel but instead found a place down the road, Cafe 431, which I’ll get to later.
First, to Dick’s Sporting Goods and Kohls. Dicks for water jugs to rebalance the trailer, we are way to tail heavy. And Kohls for some warmer weather clothing for Susan. They hadn’t opened yet so she shopped at Dicks. I found some cool weather sneakers also. I had only brought my New England hiking boots, I was dying with the heat.
We left the Barrel around 8:30AM, grabbed gas at a Sam’s Club which wouldn’t let me pump since I’m not a member, but the next guy over, who was raised in Weymouth MA, swiped his card for us. At Dick’s at 8:58AM, out by 9:45, then 20 minutes down the road to Cafe 431 at 9:05AM. I’ll leave that to you all to figure out how that happened. (Hint, refer to the diagram in the previous blog…)
Food was great, they add tons of sugar to the pancakes which is fun, but I wouldn’t want it all the time. We hit the road and headed to Biloxi Mississippi (wow, that might be the first time I’ve typed that, but I remember the grade school song.)
It was a lot of driving today, most of today’s pictures are Susan’s. When she was driving I was updating the “Driving to the West” playlist, it is up to 5 hours now. We even got to argue about American Pie, is it a driving song? Susan thinks it is about the death of Buddy Holley. I think it is about driving a Chevy to a levee. (She’s right, but it is good to sing along, she also knows all the words.)
Stopped at a rest area, I saw Susan shooing a picture so I made it better.
We were going to Biloxi to see the, “Presidential” Library of Jefferson Davis. We’re not big fans of him but it was a place to stay and, well, the place looked beautiful, and I guess we can excuse treason if you have a pretty house.
They said not to call, not to show up until approved, and we had been waiting about 22 hours for approval. So we moved on and found the Faubourg Brewing Co..
The brewery is in New Orleans so we had to drive past Biloxi.
It was around this time I grew tired of the Driving to the West playlist and put Lucinda Jackson’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road album on. Nice album especially for driving through this area.
[Chorus]
All the way to Jackson
I don’t think I’ll miss you much
All the way to Jackson
I don’t think I’ll miss you much[Verse 1]
Once I get to Lafayette
I’m not gonna mind one bit
Once I get to Lafayette
I’m not gonna mind one little bit
[Verse 2]
Once I get to Baton Rouge
I won’t cry a tear for you
Once I get to Baton Rouge
I won’t cry a tear for you[Chorus]
All the way to Jackson
I don’t think I’ll miss you much
All the way to Jackson
I don’t think I’ll miss you much[Verse 3]
Once I get to Vicksburg
I don’t think I’ll feel the urge
Once I get to Vicksburg
I won’t even feel an urge[Chorus]
All the way to Jackson
I don’t think I’ll miss you much
All the way to Jackson
I don’t think I’ll miss you much
These roads just cry out for the music. When it was over, both of us singing along, she had the next pick and choose the Allman Brothers Band, Live from Fillmore East. We didn’t finish it, so we’ll have to restart that tomorrow.
I wanted to map Jackson out, and show your our map, but I can’t, google has a limit of 10 places with directions. I’ll have to find a solution. But for now, here’s Lucinda’s map, we might do this on the way back.
I booked The Fauborg Brewery, thinking it was a micro brewery. It as huge, I’m expecting to see Laverne and Shirley come around the corner.
I had a nice Amber Ale, which is weird, I rarely drink beer, and Susan had an IPA. She also had chicken poboy and I had fried fish and shrimp. Both were very good.
We need to find a campground tomorrow. We want power, water, sewer and laundry aka “life maintenance”. We’ll find something.
Oh, we’re halfway to Phoenix!
Daily: 394
Total: 1,889
Miles/Day: 236.1 miles.
Retrospective
This pace is not sustainable. It is far harder than we thought. We want to hit Phoenix by March 1. But we want to stop and smell the roses also. Rebalancing the trailer has made the rig faster and more stable, but that’s not enough. We’re 15 minutes from the French Quarter and not going there. I know, shouldn’t complain, it is a dream trip. One plan is to return the same way, almost, and see the stuff we missed.