Tuesday started off great although the weather deteriorated throughout the day. It was a little chilly but we had layers on so quickly warmed up. The first 10 miles of our ride was on a beautiful country road surrounded by fields. The only challenge was driving by a tractor with a chemical sprayer with the wind blowing the spray our way. Dale yelled for me to hold my breath as we approached and we went by as fast as we could. We both showered well later as we did get some chemicals on our skin and clothes. The traffic on the road was so minimal that Dale and I could ride side-by-side for a large part of it. We both enjoyed that. We then turned onto MS-12 which is more of a highway. There wasn't much traffic so we were able to go fast on the nice road and with minimal stress. We stopped so Dale could take a picture of cypress trees in the water with algae build-up which was neat looking. After travelling through the town of Belzoni, we picked up MS-12 again and things got a little more challenging. A busier road with no shoulder. The forecast for the afternoon was rain and the sky was getting darker. We put the lights on our bikes to flash to make it easier for drivers to see us but soon it started to rain. The temperature had dropped to 43 degrees by then and we were wet, cold, nervous and basically ready to stop. We had a plan to meet up with Marie 5 miles ahead and again there she was - a beacon of light for us. We stopped and loaded our bikes and called it a day after 39 miles.

It was about 1pm and Dale and Marie had seen signs for a "catfish" museum in Belzoni so we decided to drive back. It closed at 2pm and we made it back with 35 minutes to tour the museum. We were the only ones there and the host did her best to answer all our questions. She did a great job and we all enjoyed the visit. She sent us to Papa's restaurant for lunch and suggested we get the catfish sandwich. Again, we were the only ones in the restaurant. Dale took my picture in front of the catfish on the wall. Our waitress was tickled that we did that as she was the artist who had painted it. It turns out that they only had enough catfish thawed for one basket so we ordered that and other things for lunch. We all tried the catfish and it was good. It was a memorable restaurant as there was some drama in the kitchen and there was no hiding it - screaming ensued, strong language used and one person stormed out. We think it was all about the lack of catfish thawed. We had lots of apologies throughout the rest of lunch and still enjoyed our meal.

We then headed to our B&B in the tiny shadow of a town, Hollandale, MS. The B&B is in a building on Main Street and is the only active building on the block on either side of the street. We've seen a lot of towns with empty storefronts the past two weeks... The inside was fine although after a walk down a long, dark hallway we came to our little efficiency of two bedrooms, a sitting area and bathroom- all lacking windows (or smoke detectors). It was a little disconcerting. It also turns out that you have to tell them ahead of time if you want breakfast so we are going to be on our own tomorrow. Later that evening Marie ended up calling the host to let her know that rain-water was coming through the ceiling in the lobby. Doubtful we will be back.

But it wasn't all bad. We were fortunate to get about a day's ride from the Mississippi/Arkansas border, stayed relatively dry, warmed up, and enjoyed each others company.