It was supposed to rain all day today, but I headed out of the hotel with high hopes for a reprieve in the afternoon so I could get a quick bike ride in. After some spitting rain while I tooled around the Covington farmer’s market, the sun came out and it was simply a beautiful day. I went to Madisonville for some maritime history and background before taking the bike out for a ride along the Tchefuncte River. I started at Fairview-Riverview State Park. No National Parks Passport cancellation stamps here, but man, was it pretty. I snapped this photo from a short trail that leads from the river, through a swamp, ending at a boat ramp. And a sign to watch out for manatees. Huh. Anyway. The river was so shiny and the landscape so varied and the RVers so friendly. Lots of folks were there crabbing, but apparently, there just aren’t any crabs in the river this season, so people were trading numbers of places in town that could provide crabs. I then rode through Madisonville and along Highway 21 to practice some highway bicycling for future trips. I learned a couple of things: shoulders are you friend, listen as hard as you look, and ride in a straight line.