Saturday, April 27, 2024
157 Miles. We left Starkville Mississippi with a few sides still to hit along the Natchez trace. We had decided to take the time hit these two last nights and then go ahead and start heading back towards Georgia. We just didn’t have enough time. Instead of skipping what we wanted to see just to make the whole Trace, We’re gonna follow back up in the fall and finish out the lower half still seeing all the sides we wanted!
Check out the videos from this ride!
Loading up and Heading Out
We loaded everything up, I had to slow us down for a little bit because I had to find a store and then we headed back to the Trace to continue on. Every morning that we had on the Trace was a very nice temperature. 
Typical Krystal and Her Credit Cards!
I haven’t known Krystal for very long, maybe a year or so, but one thing for sure she sure plays with her credit cards a lot on every single trip I’ve ever been on with her. So I decided to go ahead and start documenting these special moments. When I don’t have my camera ready to, freeze those pictures those moments in time, I grab her cards out of her hand and throw them back down on the ground so she can pick them up again so that I can get them pictures.
This lady holds onto her credit cards about as well as an inexperienced fisherman trying to hold onto a trout in the in the middle of the stream!
The Cypress Swamp
This was one of my favorite stops. I love the Cypress trees and the Tupelo trees. I also love wetlands and swamps, so being able to walk on the boardwalk at this location was probably one of my favorite moments on the trip aside from the Rosenbaum house!
It was also fun to see the expressions from the other girls, I don’t think they had ever experienced a landscape like this in person. They were pretty impressed by the tree sizes and how they adapted to the ability to grow in water. We also talked about the Cypress knees, I think we all walked away with our own theory on what they did. or did not do!
I am definitely showing more images of this site than is needed, but this one moves me! I love the swamps. I love cypress trees. I love the tupelo, especially Van’s Tupelo Honey! ❤️ I love they built the boardwalk across this wetland. It allows you to embrace it more when you are in it! I loved being at grad school at LSU with these types of landscapes. How can you not love Louisiana? The best ecologies, food, history, and culture all right there you. All you have to do is DIVE into it!
Sometime my OCD comes out . . . . blogging, dishes, Louisiana . . . . they don’t have to mesh to tick my ticks! hehe
The Reservoir Overlook
This site was a great spot for us to have a little stop at. We also saw a group of guys who were riding across the US, they appeared to be foreigners based on their patches on their vest.
 a couple of us took some time to ourselves just to reflect, a couple of us sat around and visited with the local people who were there on site, and then some of us ran after the Bulldogs that we saw nearby. 
The Hiccup . . . Bike issues!
After leaving the reservoir overlook, we started to head back, making our way back to Meridian, Mississippi. After about 30 minutes to an hour, we started to have a couple of bikes with issues. Let the fun begin!
Puppy
We were riding to the gas station and Puppy pulled up beside me, or slowed down  rather, and said, “I hear a strange noise from my bike.” I heard it as I was riding beside him. We both agreed we needed to pull over right then! 
Lane
As soon as we got, stopped and started trying to figure out how best to approach Puppy’s issue, we noticed that Lane was standing by her bike, freaking out because her handlebars had fallen.
Process of elimination . . .
So, with all of my time writing, I’ve had some experiences of how to best start to handle breakdowns or mechanical issues while on trips. The first thing you have to do is consider all your options, and then analyze, which of those options are actually viable avenues to pursue. Here are some of the things that we considered while we were broke down with multiple bikes. Our mango was to get the bikes to a safe place so that we could figure out our next move. 
- We thought about towing both bikes. We have insurance that would cover toes to the nearest Harley dealership. It would cover the person who carried the insurance and anyone they were with on the trip. The only trouble with this was that the closest Harley was Jackson, Mississippi, instead of Meridian, Mississippi. We were about 30 miles shy of being closer to Meridian where we broke down.
- We considered calling a tow truck directly and possibly using AAA as well. This process did not result in any Ford movement hardly at all. People were on hold the entire time we were figuring this out, and the tow truck would be a longer wait too. We kept this as an option, but continue to explore.
- We also considered finding a U-Haul, renting a truck loading the bikes and then driving them home for them to be repaired there. there was no U-Haul rental anywhere near our broke down location.
The end solution
Our final solutions for things took a little bit of a turn. First there was a man who was taking off on his bike and it stalled out right where we were broke down while he was going to the gas station before heading out on his ride, Kerry Brown. He circled back to make sure that we were OK. Living locally, he offered to let Jason‘s hang out at his house until I was able to come back with the trailer. Julie and I took off on our way back to Atlanta Georgia with the throttle wide open.
Meanwhile, at the same time Krystal and Lane took off for the Harley Davidson in Meridian. Lane needed to get her handlebars tightened up. They made it there and when Julian and I made it to Meridian and we decided to see if there was a U-Haul locally there. By this time, Kelli had offered to just drive Puppy to Meridian H-D too.
Julie and I found a local U-Haul Kerry B. redirected to take Puppy to get the truck and help him load his bike. Julie and I circled back to meet up with Krystal and Lane, and the plan was us all to come together at the hotel there in Meridian where we could stay before heading out The following day to make the rest of the way home. 
Meridian H-D and for the Night
We made it to the hotel in Meridian, Mississippi, and the first thing Lane got when she walked in the door was two sodas. Puppy was on his way to the hotel after he picked up the U-Haul and then they loaded his bike onto it. We were going to meet there and then hit dinner together. We were all so tired at this point, with Logans Steakhouse being right across the four lane road, we rode the bikes over there . . . . Glow lights and all!!
He found us . . . . still smiling after everything. ❤️ I couldn’t have found me a better man! 😘
I have never had a man that would, after he just blew up his motor on his bike, still be smiling so us girls could continue to have a good trip! He is the best man ever!
It is all about the YETI today!! At least that is the story for Lady Lane!
Lane had been on a mission for the past couple of days to find her a Yeti. She had her big ass cupholder put on and she needed a way to keep her cokes cold. She was going to find that yeti or die!
This was the funniest thing to me. We had bikes breaking down all around us, hers included, and she was still going to find that friggin’ Yeti! ❤️
Ya better watch out . . . . the fanny pack is next!
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