Did a bit of stealth camping before we began our final push to New Orleans. Headed out early which is good because we had a few set backs during the day, like this dirt (sand) road, and our first flat. 
Bonjour Louisiana, another new state for us.
Saw this guy trying to cross the road and had to save him from certain doom. 
Finally rolled into NOLA where we will stay with a friend for a few days before we move on.
Another smooth day with our fair share or bike paths.
Passing through Biloxi we stopped at Good Karma Cafe for some amazing Indian food. Everyone we meet is super friendly and someone even picked up our tab for us!
Maybe a few too many mosquitos at night but aside from that we can’t complain.
Tough getting back on the bikes today as it always is on the second day. We knew the biggest climbs on this tour would be over bridges, but these are doozies.
Made a new friend.
Another new state.
Camping in Shepherd State Park.
After spending a few days in Pensacola with our friend Dan, we started riding.
The roads were great. Wide shoulders and a stretch of maybe 15 miles of bike path. Spotting a small alligator was definitely a highlight.
This is our first visit to Alabama.
The day ended with a ferry ride across mobile bay to camp on Dauphin Island.
Bikes are all boxed up. We’ll see how United does dealing with them.
UPDATE: Bikes made it. Set them up outside the airport and were on our way. 4.5 miles to where we are staying with a friend.
So our idea last year to ride from Pensacola to New Orleans was cancelled, but it was for the best because now the plan is to continue on to Austin. Neither of us have been to the south, hopefully we find some good vegan food. Should be about 900 miles, so at 50 miles per day on average we should get there in about 18 rides. Catching up with friends in Pensacola then we start pedaling in a few days. Check back for some periodic updates.
With the ride behind us we were ready to relax but still made the most of our time in Saigon. We did a lot of wandering around. The city is very different from the rest of the country. It has an eclectic mix of traditional and more modern architecture, but the ones that really stand out are the old, French colonial buildings.
We stopped by the War Remnants Museum. It included a large room of the horrible effects of Agent Orange on both the Vietnamese and Americans. The museum included the obligatory war machine display out front that we have come to expect from all such museums here.
We took a day trip out of the city to the Cu Chi tunnels. It was a bit touristy but worth it. The tunnel systems were extremely complex and impressive. We passed on the chance to fire an AK-47 but crawled through a 60 meter stretch of the tunnel.
We were told several times that the tunnels had been widened to accommodate Western tourists. Nonetheless, we still found them a bit claustrophobic.
Although vegetarian restaurants are all over the place here, the prices are closer to back home and it is still often difficult to explain vegan food. That being said, we certainly found some dishes to enjoy.
We also had the chance to dig into some new fruits. Rambutans may be the craziest looking fruit we tried.
Custard apples, possibly Jasmine’s new favorite.
Durian is a bit infamous for it’s strong foul smell and acquired taste. We had to give it a fair try and really wanted to prove the naysayers wrong, but it really does taste like a fart.
The view justified the overpriced drinks on the 23rd floor bar of the Sheraton.
Although we certainly enjoyed the drinks as well.
In order to combat the heat we took advantage of the pools at a fancy hotel.
We may have hung around too long.
A local bike shop had some boxes and they are all packed up.
We took the opportunity to enjoy our last bowl of Pho today.
And taste our last cups of Vietnamese coffee. Though we had to bring in our own soy milk to the coffee shop.
It’s nice to be away long enough to miss your home and we are ready to say goodbye to Vietnam.
We made it!
After 1,164 miles the journey is complete. We had a lot of good times and some tough ones as well but it’s a trip we will never forget.
We still have a week here in Saigon to relax a bit before we head home. Thanks to everyone who kept track of us over the past month.