24 April 2014
Poplarville to (South of) Vancleave, MS
79 miles (Total Miles = 2,345)
She’s walked out of the Mississippi pine woods across from where we’ve stopped by the side of the road for lunch and she looks like she wants to talk. Yep, here she goes:
Odd Forest Lady: Hi ya’ll, how ya doin’? I just got lost in them there woods. I’m so glad that gal in her truck stopped when I flagged her down and gave me directions. I said to her that I wasn’t dangerous even though I’ve got this here baseball bat stickin’ out of my backpack.
Us: Hi
Odd Forest Lady: I drive up from Biloxi ev’ry day and walk these woods and I ain’t never got lost before. That’s what I get fer bein’ adventurous, takin’ a trail I ain’t never took. I was just walkin’ and walkin’ and walkin’ and ain’t no one around and then I started yellin’ “Is there anyone out there?!” and I ain’t heard nothin’ or seen no one.
Us: Oh
Odd Forest Lady: Ya’ll from around here?
Us: No
Odd Forest Lady: Well look at you on those bikes. Ya’ll bike a lot? Cuz there’s a bike trail down the road there where my car is parked. I usually walk that trail and it’s got a restroom but today I walked this other here trail and got lost. Where ya’ll headed?
Us: Vancleave
Odd Forest Lady: Vancleave?!? Well I’ll be. That’s far. Vancleave? My. Ya’ll need directions?
Us: No, we have a map [unlike you, Odd Forest Lady]. What’s the baseball bat for?
Odd Forest Lady: Oh, ya know, you never know when you’re gonna need it. Ya know, to whack a snake or if there’s a crazy person out there in them woods.
Us: Uh-huh.
And with that we decided that there was indeed a crazy person out there in them woods, one that just walked out of them with a baseball bat sticking out of her backpack, so we started to cycle away wishing we hadn’t told her where we were going, hustling because we figured with us on bicycles and her on foot we had a pretty good head start on her before she could get to her car, and discussing Kathy Bates’ performance in Misery, hoping the Odd Forest Lady ain’t never seen that picture show.
Where is the photo of Crazy Forest Lady?? Crackin me up!
Both Mississippi and Alabama had decent roads for cycling and less dogs 🙂
ROFL totally in stitches about mad forest lady. Love the pic of breaking camp in the dewy morning. Happy memories. Did you Photoshop De’ into the back of that there wagon? The mangey dog looks cute though. Looks like a nice place to cycle.