Thursday October 13, 2011, 76 miles (122 km) – Total so far: 1,090 miles (1,754 km)

We started the day with a fruit filled breakfast from a nearby grocery store. We had oatmeal and split a quart of fresh cut fruit. And I found my favorite juice – carrot. After a small bike repair we got a late start at 9:20. But it was a nice restful morning. We rejoined 190 West and had a nice ride through pine tree forests and wildflowers. We paralleled a railroad and watched two trains pass by. The hills were challenging but fun. We stopped for lunch in DeQuincy, another nice small town. We moved off of Hwy 190 and moved onto LA 12. The entire part of this trip after the Mississippi River has been excellent shoulders and respectful drivers over dozens of bridges. This led into the Texas border where we stopped for several pictures. We looked all around for a campground but couldn’t find one. Beaumont was another 25 miles west so we took a southern route 10 miles away to Orange for the closest motel. We found a motel at 6 after another long day. And guess what – a Mexican restaurant next door! I’m starting to see a pattern here. There was a washer and dryer on premises so we did laundry the real way and not in our tub. After 76 miles the tacos and Dos Equis beers were great. Tomorrow we will go west and north to join the ACA trail.