We got to Mobile and there was a HUGE traffic back-up going into the city from the west on I-10. Then we ran into a similar back-up on the our side of the road west of Mobile going OUT of the city. Took us half an hour to go about 5 miles. Found the motel about dusk

I think part of the problem was Mardi Gras - there were big celebrations and parade in town. I had to take a smoking room as nothing else was available. I tried several hotels before I found even that.



There were people all over the lobby of the hotel playing games.

We left for dinner and found Dick Russell's BBQ.



It was definitely a local establishment. I had a BBQ chicken sandwich without the bread and had a biscuit instead. Bob had the sandwich with the bun and fries. He thought I had wanted fries too, so he shared his. He had an apple pie a la mode for dessert and I had a peach cobbler.



It was delicious.

Then we got totally lost and couldn't find our way back to the hotel. This was because we had wandered around in the dark going through parking lots trying to find a Mexican place that we saw the sign from the hotel but never could get to and finally using access roads along what I think was a previous I-20 exit. It was quite dark and a little rainy. I had left the GPS in the motel so we couldn't use that. But eventually we saw something we recognized and got back there.

March 5th - I gave Bob his birthday present from me this morning and teased him about being three quarters of a century old.

I don't know if it is because I put on my nightgown in the dark a couple of days ago and in the morning found it was inside out and backwards, but the weather today has been terrible.


Originally I had thought I would look at the lighthouses around Lake Ponchetrain. But given that it is the weekend before Mardi Gras, I didn't want to go near New Orleans and the two I thought I would see were on the south side of the lake. I decided just to go see the lighthouse on the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse which could be seen from the end of Main Street in Madisonville.

We headed out. It was raining off and on. We got to Main Street about 11:30,



but about a mile and a half from our objective, the road was completely covered with water - to the depth of about 8 inches judging by the fact that we could see the yellow lines through the water. But Bob refused to go any farther.

We turned back and decided to go to the museum that we saw just before we were stopped by the high water.





This proved a very interesting museum



(interactive river pilot area)





Display of some of the furniture and personal items from the Tchefunete Light Station.