The End in Sight

For six days we did this journey and on the seventh we rested, well sort of.  Our last night coming into Raymond, MS was long and tedious.  We kept pedaling and pedaling and it felt like we would never reach our destination.   Finally we spotted the trail with a white ribbon that led to our BnB "Mamie's Cottage".  We had no idea what we would find here.  We knew we were coming to the end and the rain just kept falling.  We had hopes for a wonderful bed and for me a tub to soak in.  When we walked our bikes up the path going

around the corner we found a beautiful site.  A very old unpainted antebellum home with great charm and beautiful landscaping.  Beside it was a little white cottage that was so very inviting.  We got to the gate and it was almost surreal, as if there was a mist and we had gone back into time.  We noticed another couple with bikes around the cottage and realized we were sharing the accommodations with fellow bikers.  I anxiously got into the cottage to see what amenities we had and much to my surprise and happiness there was a jacuzzi tub.  More than I asked for.  I stripped those wet clothes off and started running the water only to find that the water was brown.  At this point that would not stop me.  I immersed myself into the brown water and soaked for a good 45 minutes.  It was still too short.  Our stay at Mamie's Cottage was so comfortable.

The next morning we awoke to more drizzle and more rain in the forecast.  To my excitement we had a beautiful breakfast on gorgeous Mississippi River Basin Pottery Plates, then the owners took us on a tour of their beautiful historic home.  John and I were thrilled to learn the history of this area. The couple that we were sharing the cottage with were also getting
ready to head out on the Trace.  So as soon as we could we packed up and headed on our way.  The other couple got a head start, but even at our snail pace our road bikes caught up with their mountain bikes.

The day was cold and as we went along I had to stop to warm my feet up as they were going numb from frost nip.  John would gently hold my foot in his hands and blow on it to warm it up.  He took such good care of me as we went on down the road.  Every 12 -15 miles we would stop and he would massage my back so I could go a little longer.  Our next stop would be the final stop and we had finished our epic journey.

We arrived in Natchez a couple hours later than planned due to having to stop for my ailments.  But once we saw the End of the Natchez Trace sign we had more energy.  We got our pictures and headed toward town to our final destination.  Our BnB in Natchez
was exquisite.  John had planned to have a grand finale for me if I'd made it, and it sure was.  Absolutely loved the place.  There were several rooms to this cottage and several other people to share with.  Our bed was an antique "Rice" bed that came up halfway to my trunk.  At first I had a hard time getting up on the bed, and of course John's long legs accommodated easily to it.  We found the bed stool and I hoisted myself up to a most luxurious sleep.  We celebrated with pizza in the room and were out cold.

All along the way our journey reminded me of our marriage.  We started off a bit rough, trying to figure out how to do this, just as we did in our marriage.  Then things started going easier, but we still had
some challenges, but we kept on going.  We met people along the way that would encourage us.  And as we went John would help me and I would help him, but we kept going.  Our reward was so sweet at the end.  We were able to rest and do the things we enjoy, exploring a town,  checking out their history and enjoying the food.  Our travels back to our car was much easier than we anticipated.  So all and all this was a fantastic trip.  Would I do it again?  John told me as we went, this is kind of like "Childbirth" It was long and taxing and painful, but you forget all that and after a little time you want to do it again.

Our marriage has been that way too.  I would do it all again and enjoy my time with my best friend.  A quote I recently found really says it best, “The older I get, the less time I want to spend with the part of the human race that didn’t marry me.” -Robert Brault   Each of our journeys should be like this.  We just need to be encouraged to continue.  Thanks for joining me.