On Day 8 I loaded up the Cycle of Education and rolled out towards the North Shore of Lake Pontchartrain, north of New Orleans.  The ride was a good one, with the exception of the torrential ten-minute downpour I endured near the end.  On I-10, before passing Baton Rogue, I always enjoy riding the 23 mile-long raised bridge across the Atchafalya Basin of the Sherburne Wildlife Management Area/Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge/Bayou Des Ourses Area.

To get out of the downpour, I stopped in Hammond, LA and ate at perhaps the dirtiest, nastiest restaurant I have ever had the displeasure of eating in.  "Ryan's" is a grease-trap of an American food buffet, with bathrooms most any (even) undomesticated animal would shy away from! 


Mandeville, quite to the contrary, is wonderful.  The North Shore was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina, but it is largely rebuilt today.  New construction along the water shore is raised up on stilts at least 13 feet high.  Most of the homes are majestic, with beautiful wide stairways leading to the front doors.  A peaceful but lively park fronts the water for several miles across the street from the homes and less frequent businesses established in old homes.

I stayed right next to the water in the home of Skip and Karen.  This home had three feet of water in it during Katrina.  It is now fully restored...as are most of the homes along the shoreline.  Skip and Karen are a great couple who are best friends with their neighbors, Leigh and Gene.  Skip and Karen once lived on a boat for years and sailed the high seas.  Skip was a pioneer in the wind-surfing industry and also worked in a local boat yard for eight years.  His son David made the best gumbo (which I enjoyed for several meals) and his other son Stoffer once worked at the White House for the Secret Service.