Day 39 - Escape from Baton Rouge

Ted Yates
Oct 17, 2017
2 min read

Our trek out of Baton Rouge was a little harrowing. We tried an alternate route that Dr. Nick had drawn up. It definitely was safer than the route we came in on and we rode in mass. The Louisiana drivers were patient and we escaped without incident, much to our relief.

(No telling what John might find along the road)

We had to backtrack 20 miles before we could get on the road to our next destination, Jackson, LA. It was a short ride and day but of course I lengthened it by having a flat tire about 10 miles out of town. I've now had 6 flats but I'm nowhere near the record. Some riders have had over 15.

The little village of Jackson was a hospitable place. We stayed at a Presbyterian Church that was a historic landmark and was established in 1852. I slept right in front of the pulpit. It's amazing how well you sleep in a church.

Earlier in the day we met Scotty who offered his house to us so we could take showers. He told us the history of the town and he even called the local restaurant to make sure that they had catfish for some of our group. I was looking forward to having red beans, rice and sausage. It was a meal usually eaten on Mondays because this was wash day in the south so this meal was easy to prepare on such a heavy work day. I learned this from Cindy who is from Mississippi.

We ate at Miss Coup's Diner. She has owned the diner since 1961. She sat at a table and barked out orders to the cooks and hostess who pretended not to hear her. It was comical and I really enjoyed talking to the staff.