Mississippi!

We had a shorter ride today than previous days at about 72 miles. This is our average for the trip and after our two long days, this mileage was very relaxed. Noah, Josh, and I were doing great on time and zooming through the ride. We stopped for an early lunch at an incredible chicken spot and had the best sweet tea ever.

The second half of the ride was on the coast of Mississippi, and we stopped by a City of Biloxi firefighter festival near the local Hard Rock casino. We got to talking with the locals and they told us that the casino opened shortly before Hurricane Katrina and it was completely ruined except for guitar statue out front. It had then been rebuilt but most of the neighboring lots had been abandoned. They also directed us towards the Mississippi Hurricane Katrina Memorial which was extremely powerful. It included a twelve foot wall which stood in remembrance of the 12 foot surges and some of the victims' household items. These trophies and other everyday items impacted us greatly.

When we arrived at the host we took a walk to the beach to unwind and relax but instead got chased home but a wicked rainstorm. We then decided to embrace the rain and partake in a yoga session in the parking lot. The night ended with tacos and a debriefing on New Orleans, and what conditions we'll be riding into tomorrow and building with for the rest of the week.

Unrelated note- Mom and Mac are keeping it locked down at FGCU.