It took us two days to get home from Terrell, TX. We hit the super slabs, I-20, I-49, I-10 & I-12 on the first day and landed in Mandeville, LA at the home of our our friends, Skip and Karen.

We had our usual morning coffee break. This time the gas station had a Dunkin Donuts, our favorite brand of coffee.

We stopped for lunch at a Love’s and had a chat with the guy riding the old Softail in the foreground.

He had come down to Louisiana from Denver to visit his brother, who gave him the bike. Despite the fact he hadn’t ridden in 25 years, he was riding the bike back to Denver. He admitted, “I think I’m not as tough as I thought I was.” We wished him safe travels as he departed.

We found a picnic table around back and had our usual lunch. I think we were sitting at the break-table where employees come to smoke.

We arrived at Skip and Karen’s late afternoon. Their original home was hit by Katrina and again in 2012 by Isaac. The second time they decided to build a new home on stilts.

The breezeway below the house provides a nice, sheltered space for cars and motorcycles.

That evening we attended a birthday party for one of the neighbors. We had a delightful time chatting with everyone and enjoying the pot luck dishes. We stayed too late to work on this blog.

The next morning we were up early, had breakfast, said goodbye to our hosts and got back on the road.

We had a morning coffee break as usual. We enjoy riding a couple of hours after breakfast then pausing for a second cup of coffee. We generally ride 160 to 180 miles at a stretch when we are on the interstates, so our breaks are a little longer and more relaxed.

Just before lunch I noticed that Beth’s bike was making a lot more noise when she accelerated. We stopped to inspect the bike. I discovered the right muffler was very loose. I tried repositioning the clamp, but I just couldn’t get the clamp to tighten enough.  I put it back together and Beth rode with it just as it was without any problem.

We ran into a little rain in the panhandle of Florida in the late afternoon. We put on our rain gear and pushed on despite the heat, humidity, and discomfort of the rain jackets. We stopped for a picnic supper and arrived home about 9 p.m. Again, I was too tired to work on this blog and set the final chapter aside while we attended to the business of life-after-vacation.

We want to thank the organizers and helpers who made this year’s Shark Week possible and so enjoyable. Thank you Troy, Kimberly, Zachary, Bill, Tracy, Frankie, Ron, Richard, Donna, and everyone else whose names I have unintentionally omitted.

I pulled a muffler clamp from inventory yesterday and that one snugged up tight.