Got in to Natchatoches about 4:00 yesterday, after a run of great weather and great roads, with no significant construction delays and decided to finish the run into New Orleans, as it was only 200 miles more. So I got into the hotel about 8:30 p.m., in time to meet up with some of the other early arrivals as well as Big Daddy and the First Lady. God bless Garmin and its Nuvi gps device, or I may never have found New Orleans, let alone the hotel. Elizabeth flew in about 4:00, so she was here to meet me.

Weather could not be more perfect. Yesterday late afternoon, coming across the Atchafalaya waterway into Baton Rouge everything was absolutely gorgeous. The light, cypress growing out of the water, everything just stood out starkly....Bigeaux Lake, Atchafalaya river, Henderson swamp, Whiskey Bay, Bayou Teche....this is it: bayou country. Air is very low humidity for NOLa, and it feels very much like Hawaii right now as I sit outside typing with a cuppa java.

Agenda today will include doing laundry and finding a carwash for the bike...can't stand it looking so ugly when all these shiny chrome horses are rolling in for the get together. Have about 30 people from various states (Wisconsin through Florida—I'm the only West coaster, although one couple is coming in from Utah, which used to be the West Coast ( a long time ago.) At 5:00 there's a free open air jazz vocalist concert by Irma Thomas in Lafayette Park. Then perhaps its over to the French Quarter to get in some more music. Going to try and hear a lot of music on this trip!

Big Daddy and the First Lady are wonderful hosts as usual, and have gone to a lot of trouble to put together ideas and directions for doing whatever people feel like doing—sort of an unstructured event with guidelines ;)