Day 20 - Six Hundred miles ahead of Schedule

Tuesday, August 12th - Tallahassee to Alexandria, Louisiana

The day was different than usual. I got to sleep in an extra hour and left for the Harley dealer at 7:30AM. I was able to get checked in before they opened so I was the first job of the day. I sat in the lounge and caught up on the blog, emails, bills, etc. They were able to change the oil, fix the heel shifter and replaced the front tire by 10AM. I had originally planned to spend the day getting the bike serviced and since it got done early I took off for home. This means that I will get home on Friday which was my original schedule.

One of the emails that I received was a confirmation from the sanctioning body that my paperwork was approved and they will send the award in 6-8 weeks.

I had lunch at one of the Waffle House restaurants in Pensacola. I have driven past one of these at least a million times but this is the first time I ever stopped. I drove through Mobile and could see the WWII Battleship USS Alabama. I also noticed that they had a submarine as well as a B-52D bomber. I toured the ship back in 1981 so it brought back some fond memories. A little further down the road I came across and exit for Bayou La Batre. This is the fishing port that was featured in the movie "Forrest Gump" where his friend Bubba was from.

I saw a storm coming up so I pulled over and changed into the rain suit again. It rained for 5 minutes and I drove past the storm. Later in the day I just decided to ride through the rain without the suit since it was just a scattered shower. Tomorrows weather looks about the same.

The visor on my helmet came apart so I used the blue painters tape I have been using as a sun visor to tape the one side that came loose. I am hoping that this will work until I get home. By the way, I did this repair at 75 MPH

I unfortunately hit Baton Rouge around rush hour. Other than an accident I got through relatively quick and crossed the Mississippi River around 5:00 PM. I had dinner in Lafayette to wait out sunset and then drove another 90 miles before calling it a night. I covered 600 miles today so this put me back on schedule. I took some time and re-planned the remainder of the trip so I will be stopping in Oklahoma City and Gallup, New Mexico before returning home.