Day 116 on the Mississippi River

Day 116

October 3, 2022

Monday

LRM 138 (Reserve, LA)

2157 miles completed

24 miles today.

Today I get to talk about some more nice people that live on the river.

I am in an industrial corridor. There are barges and ships and working tugs and pusher boats everywhere. Both sides of the river are just parking lots for barges, interspersed with loading and unloading facilities.

I announce my presence and my intentions on the radio and paddle on. Sometimes someone will acknowledge. Usually I just have to watch out for boats and stay out of the way. Sometimes a loan tug will slow down or stop while I pass so as not to create too much wake. But usually not. More often than not the river is full of chaotic waves coming from every direction. This weighs on me mentally and physically.

At 4:30 this afternoon I saw a spot of sand on the beach between an unloading facility and some barges. I paddled in to get out of the way of a tug bringing a barge in to be unloaded. On Maps I saw that there was a restaurant across the levee and less than a mile away. I pulled my kayak well away from the water and tied it off to a piece of stainless steel wire coming out of the ground. I got my wallet, put on my shoes, exchanged my wide brimmed hat for my UT ball cap. I climbed over the levee and followed the road 7/10 of a mile to the Kajun's grill. That’s where I met Charles, Dwanda, and Sharika Chopin. They own/run the Kajun's Grill. Charles told me the special for today: Fried pork chop, red beans and rice, cornbread, and salad. I said: “I’ll have it.“

I was not disappointed. They don’t sell beer so I had a Diet Coke with ice.

Dwanda is Charles’ wife. Sharika is Charles’ sister. Deanda is the cook.

Everything was delicious. The beans had three kinds of meat.

When I told him my story about paddling the river they were really impressed. They refused to take payment for the meal. They wanted to take selfie’s.

We took selfies. We also exchanged phone numbers and sent text messages back-and-forth. I gave them the link to my blog.

Charles took me to a convenience store so I could buy a couple of beers.

Then he drove me back to the point where I crossed the levee so I wouldn’t have to walk so far. Charles said that if I paddled a little farther down the river to the point just across the levee from the Cajun Grill, there is a bigger sandy spot that would be better for my camp. So when I got back to my kayak that’s what I did. I paddled another mile and camped right beside a huge ship being unloaded. The sandy beach is nice. And it’s interesting watching them unload the ship. But they’re going to work all night and it’s going to be a bright shiny night with lots of noise. I will not need a flashlight tonight when I get up to go pee.