Day# 8: Dauphin Island, AL- Moss Point, MS 41.2 Miles

We resolved yesterday's issue of no hotels or motels on our map (only camping)  for close to 200 miles(but at a small cost...more on that later).

We had a pretty late start today (8:00- ish) and we knew it was a mistake when we stepped out of our hotel into the heat. While it was slightly cooler than it has been in the past few days, we realized that the extra 30 minutes to an hour makes all the difference in terms of the temperature. We biked 1/2 a mile down the road to pick up some cinnamon buns and danishes for breakfast (to be eaten later). We continued on our way towards the bridge to get to the other side of Mobil Bay. Upon reaching the bridge, we came face to face with a 8%- 10% grade arch over the bay (picture of the bridge below, and video of my dad huffing and puffing and giving his rendition of the Little Blue Engine also below). We fought our way up and were thrilled when the next few miles after the downward side of the bridge were completely flat. We stopped in a nice gas station to fill our waters and found that along with the popular beef jerky and other preserved animal products, they carried pickled pigs- feet (yes, real feet in a jar). Unfortunately we didn't get a picture of this, but it was pretty gross and we decided no one would want to see that anyway. We stopped for lunch in Grand Bay, AL and continued on our way at 2:00pm. This is where our "genius" plan came into effect. Last night (after blogging) we realized that the maps had us avoiding highway US- 90 (which we have been following for most of the trip) by cutting North- West. We decided that if we followed US- 90 from Grand Bay Alabama (the map had us going there anyway), we would hit a nice strip of hotels. About an hour after we left Grand Bay, we did it again! Yes, that's right, the Sloyer men had crossed another border...this time into Mississippi, the 'Birthplace of America's Music' (according to the welcome sign... see below) We stopped a few miles down the road from the Welcome to Mississippi sign to figure out which hotel we wanted to stay at. Upon asking the shop keeper for the easiest directions, we encountered perhaps the strongest Southern accent we have ever heard (it was almost impossible to understand every word he was saying). He was also one of the friendliest people around. We sat on the picnic bench outside of the store for a little while, and we soon learned the slurred/ mumbled speech was not unique to the shop keeper. A handful of people stopped to ask us about our trip before entering the store, and each time my dad and I had to ask them to repeat a word or two. We got on our way and headed towards the Best Western Hotel in Moss Point, MS where we are going to spend Shabbat.  We would have taken a picture of the Welcome to Moss Point sign but half of it had bullet holes through it (which would have been a cool picture) and there was also a dog barking at us from the driveway next to the sign.  

Everything is working out so far regarding our improvising and leaving the mapped route (we still need to get back onto the map eventually (in the next few days probably). However, we now know why the maps had us avoiding US- 90. The roads were pretty bumpy, covered in glass and nails and other debris, and the shoulders had deep grooves to warn drivers that are drifting off the road - not a lot of fun for parts of your anatomy while riding over those groves for a few miles. We picked up some food from a small convenience store for Shabbat and we are settling into the Best Western in Moss Point, MS.

BIG SHOUT OUT: To our cousin Adina Falk!! Mazel Tov to you and your entire family on your Bat- Mitzvah!! We love you a a lot and we are so sorry that we're missing it. Good luck tomorrow :)

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Check out our route at the link below:Dauphin Island, AL- Moss Point, MS

Check out a video of some of our route at the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Elliotsloyer#p/a/u/0/Z-u-wFO0kbk