New Orleans

Here I am in New Orleans.  I kinda feel like I’ve cheated… but who wants to bike 600+ miles in this ungodly heat when you can ride in a car?  Not me.  My couchsurfing host in Statesboro, Russ Pate, was kind enough to offer a ride down to the Southeast Vipassana Center yesterday (which, by the way, is probably the coolest thing anyone has ever done for me).    From there, I hitched a ride with 3 guys to New Orleans.  One of them is going to Austin this weekend, and has offered me a ride.  Another has offered to let me stay at his house until I leave (he’s leaving for Kenya on Tuesday).  Once I get to Austin, I will stay for a few days, then my cousin will be picking me up to take me to Weatherford (40 miles or so west of Fort Worth).  So basically I’m only biking 83 miles of the first 1000+ miles of this trip.  I am overwhelmed by the generosity of these people.  Maybe I’ll make it to Burning Man after all.  So much for the oil cleanup part of this adventure.  I hear there are microbes that will be able to fix everything up real quick… I hope that works.  I can’t think of much else to say… I shaved my head the other day, including the beard.  I left a shamwow at the Vipassana center, but I think I can do without it.  I look forward to exploring the city over the next few days, this was the main city I wanted to visit on the Gulf coast.  Things seem to be going my way for a change.