M I S S I S S I P P I

We are in Poplarville, Mississippi. We rode in the rain most of the day. The cool rain felt good in its way. Our clothes were soon soaked. The wet shorts caused some chafing. There were diffuse flashes of lightning and distant thunder, not close enough to cause any worry. Today makes five days out of six with a flat tire. Churches are scattered fairly closely here. A church porch made a good sanctuary for changing the tube. I neglected to mention that St. Francisville was once the capital of the Free and Independent Republic of West Florida. In the summer of 1810, rebels overcame the Spanish garrison at Baton Rouge to establish the Republic of West Florida. The new nation adopted a constitution based on the US model. The flag was a white star on a blue background. They had an army with a patriotic marching song. US presidemt Madison declared that West Florida (which is now part of Louisiana and Mississippi, not any part of present-day Florida) was part of the Louisiana Purchase and sent a governor and garrison to take over. The West Florida government was, at first, inclined to resist, but eventually acknowledged the annexation. The Republic lasted 74 days, start to finish. We had one of our best lunches of the trip yesterday. Surprisingly, it was at the Valero gas station in Clinton, Louisiana! They had terrific fried chicken and stupendous spicy meat pies. Our night in St. Francisville was at a slightly seedy but very comfortable b&b. I could have spent much more time there. We were warned that the campground here at Poplarville is dirty and run-down, so we made arrangements to stay at a rental cottage instead. I knocked on a door to ask for directions to our b&b. "it's that way", both replied, pointing in two different directions, both wrong, as it turns out. Steve went out to get chiliburgers for us to dine on en suite. Our hero!