May 3, 2013 Prentiss, MS

Well we thought by staying an extra day at the Rocky Creek Inn we would outsmart the rain..........well that didn't work! Yesterday we rode from Lucedale to Hattiesburg. It was a straight shot up Rt 98. Rt 98 was a busy four lane highway. The weather was overcast with threatening skies. We had a nice tailwind so we were able to move along pretty well. We didn't want to stop much because of the rain on the way. We stopped once for a snack at a truck stop. The road had some nice rolling hills on it, that got tiring toward the end of the day. We opted for a Motel 6 in Hattiesburg due to the weather. On the way to the motel we stopped at a grocery for salad fixins for dinner. We found the motel without any trouble. No sooner had we checked in then the rain shower come! Whew glad we were inside. I did some laundry while Hap did some maitenance on the bikes.

Leaving Lucedale MS

Hap's bike ready for rain!

Diane's bike rain ready!

Flooded river after 8 inches of rain!

As you can see from the pics above, our bikes had their rain suits on! We put rain covers over our panniers to help keep out the rain. We also have all of our clothes packed in plastic bags. I hate having wet clothes so we make sure that doesn't happen. That's no fun!

This morning when we left Hattiesburg, the skies were threatening again but we were hopeful. There was a Waffle house next door so before leaving town we ate there. Then we headed off to ride on a bike trail, Longleaf Trace. It is a 40 mile trail from Hattiesburg to Prentiss. Our original plan was to ride to the end of the trail and then go an additional 30 miles to a campground. About half way up the trail we stopped and ate at a wonderful restaurant. Hap had homemade chicken dumpling soup and I had vegetable. Mmm... good! But that's when our luck ran out and the sky opened up! We put on our rain pants and jacket for a cold wet ride. The temps were in the 60's. After all the riding we have done in the 80-90 degree temps, it was really a shock. At one point we both looked at each other and said "I think we need to stay inside!" We stopped to call a motel that was in Prentiss but my smart phone had no service. Hap, who has Frontier service (I have ATT), used his phone and called the number we had for Longleaf Trace headquarters. Thinking they could look up a number for us. We ended up calling the local bike shop. I asked them if they could look up the phone number for us and he did. As we were calling we decided that it didn't matter too much how much it cost, we were pretty wet at that point. When the lady said $45 (including the tax) we said ok, but we both said this is going to be a great place............... We were pleasantly surprised when we got there. It was a really nice place! Lucky us. So here we are warm and dry in Prentiss, plotting our strategy for the next few days. The rain is supposed to stop. Temps are supposed to be cooler. So let's hope... we are heading for a campground near Jackson and the Natchez Trace tomorrow. We'll see.....

It's rainin Diane.............

Yep it's rainin!

Longleaf Trace in the rain...........

We're havin fun now!

Our island in the storm!