Day 38 - Bayou La Batre, AL to Pensacola, FL (God Brought Me 2 Saints)

Miles Today: 79.35; Total Miles: 2580.9

Today I had 2 worries, the weather and the ferry.

I had to catch a ferry today to cross Mobile Bay in Alabama. The maps give the phone number of the ferry and say that you should always call the day you are supposed to take it because the ferry sometimes closes for inclement weather. This morning it is raining in Bayou La Batre...

So early this morning I called the number and heard that the message was still from the day before. I called my mom and asked her to keep trying the number because the call on my phone costs everytime I use it. She called me back maybe 10 minutes later and said that the lady on the phone said that currently the ferry was open but may close soon if the front they were expecting gets there. Her advice was that I should get there as soon as I could. Within 2 minutes I was out the door riding as fast as I could. It was raining the whole way (20 miles) to the ferry. I have to say although I was trying my hardest to get there, I was a little discouraged when I saw the "Ferry Closed" sign on my way. However, I kept pedalling...

When I finally arrived at the ferry, there was no one around. I took cover under an overhang of a shack near the pier. Right as I got myself settled in, a car rode up with potential ferry passengers. I asked them if they called the ferry to check if they're open. They said, "The ferry is open, they just didn't turn off the sign". With almost 60 miles still to go today, I was a little worried about the speed of getting to the other side and continuing my day.

Soon the ferry pulled up and cars started exiting. After all the cars exited, the teenager working the ferry waved us on. I walked my bike up the ramp and asked him if there was anywhere I could stay out of the rain. He said that there was not. This worried me because the wind was now starting to kick up and I was soaking wet...AND it was 9:30 in the morning so it was cold.

As I was standing there drenched, a car pulled onto the ferry next to me. A guy got out and paid his fare. He looked over at me and asked me if I wanted to wait in his car. He was in the car with his son and the back seat was free. Of course I said, "Yes" and introduced myself. This is how I was introduced to David and his son Tyler. David is retired and Tyler is a first year professor at Illinois State University. They just came down to Dauphin Island (where the ferry was) for some R & R during Tyler's university 'Spring Break'.

When I got in the car I immediately started undressing in their backseat. I said, "Don't mind me, potential hypothermia ya know". They said they understood and it was no problem. As we got to know each other in the car we kind of hit it off. Tyler was a soccer player since kindergarten so of course we had a lot to talk about. Also, both of them have done travelling and have many stories of their adventures. I had a lot of fun listening to their tales.

After about 20 minutes in the car, the ferry worker knocks on our window and tells us that because of the weather they were closing the ferry but it might open as soon as the rain blows over so we were welcome to stay in the car and wait it out or we could de-board the vessel. David turned to me and said that they are staying in a house just about 3 minutes from the ferry and if I want to I could follow them and put my clothes in the dryer at the house and get something to eat while we wait out the ferry. This was the beginning of a VERY interesting day...
When I got out of the car to get my bike the wind was whipping about. It was VERY cold and I soon was shivering. I followed their car on my bike. They set a great pace and we were there within minutes.

This house was absolutely gorgeous. It was in a gated community and was right on the water. David showed me the dryer while Tyler got on the computer to check the weather radar. As I was debriefing myself, David said that I could take a hot shower if I wanted to to get warm. I said, "Excellent". He then asked me what I wanted to eat. As I was taking my shower, he heated up soup, hot chocolate, made me a turkey sandwich with wheat thins on the side. He also cut up an orange for a side dish. I could not believe these guys. What a blessing!!!

After the shower, I warmed my insides with the soup and hot chocolate and gobbled down the turkey sandwich with no trouble. We all talked and shared our travel stories. These guys have really lived life. I had so much fun listening to all of their adventures.

Tyler saw on the radar that in minutes the storm will have passed. Unfortunately for us we would miss the ferry because it leaves at a predetermined time and we were passed that time. David and Tyler said, "Oh well, we could just take the alternate route around Mobile Bay and drop you off where the ferry would have originally (on the other side). This ride would take us almost 2 hours where the ferry ride would just be 35 minutes. I could not believe this. Now to be truthful, these guys were going to Pensacola anyway but the trip to the ferry on the other side was an additional 40 miles out of their way so this was truly an unselfish act.

We loaded my bike in their car and we were on our way. For the next 2 hours, we continued our conversation. David told me that they were Christians so when I called my mom to tell her my story and she said, "I'm not surprised, I prayed that God would be with you." I said, "Yeah, I think they are."

When we finally got to the other side, David and Tyler left me off on the dock and wished me well. Although the rain had stopped the wind was unbelievable. The dock was about 20 miles west of Gulf Shores on a penisula. I was getting hit with wind from every direction. It tired me out sooo much. After leaving David and Tyler I still had another 54 miles to go. That was the LONGEST day of the whole trip (mentally). I arrived in Pensacola (finally) at 6:30 pm. I looked for the 2 motels that were listed on my map but neither existed. I was really in trouble because it was starting to get dark. I saw a cop inside a Subway Subs shop and asked him where the motels were. He pointed to a street and said they were just up the road. Because of the time of day and my TOTAL exhaustion, I settled on staying at a Crown Plaza motel for $150/night...OUCH!!!! I will never forgive myself for that one.