Cavaliers cruise the coast on a ride to Ocean Springs

The Cavaliers took a spectacular Sunday ride to the Mississippi coastal burg of Ocean Springs to eat well and indulge in a little culture.

The Nov. 10 ride began at the Phoenix, which has become our new rendezvous point. Four bikes showed up right on time for our 10 o'clock departure.

-Poncho rode his 1996 Harley Electra Glide Classic
-Alan rode his 1996 Honda ST1100
-Mark rode his 1998 Honda Shadow 750 named "Bettie"
-David and Michael rode David's 1996 Honda Gold Wing SE

Before heading for the coast, our friends Adam and Dale showed up in Adam's Bronco to tell us that the New Orleans Bear and Bear Trappers Club was hosting a bake sale. So we headed over to Franklin Avenue and the four bikes roared up in front of Big Daddy's. Our arrival created a bit of a stir, with shouts of, "Here come the Cavaliers!" Quite a few pictures were snapped while we loaded up on cookies and other yummy baked goods. Then we saddled up and roared off as quickly as we came.

We had a wonderful ride out the old Chef Menteur Highway, past all the old fishing camps with all their funky signs. It was a beautifully warm and sunny day, if a bit breezy at times. Alan suggested a detour, so we took the Port Bienville turnoff and toured a wonderfully twisty road that wound up taking us along the coast through Waveland and Bay St. Louis. After a brief gas stop,we said goodbye to Alan who had to head back to the city, and then we headed across the bay toward the coast. Crossing the water we suddenly discovered nature's air conditioning as the temperatures dropped from the mid-80s to the mid-70s. It made for a wonderfully cool and pleasant ride.

The ride along the beach couldn't have been nicer. Michael had never been along the Mississippi coast before, and he kept commenting on all the beautiful homes. He said he'd never seen an area with so many beautiful houses, each different from the other.

When we got to Ocean Springs, we stopped for a marvelous lunch at Bayside Gourmet Restaurant on Government Street. Adam and Dale picked up their friend Paul in Biloxi and they joined us for lunch. If you're ever in Ocean Springs, I heartily recommend this restaurant for breakfast or lunch. All the food was wonderfully prepared from fresh ingredients, and they had a wide selection of choices on their menu. The meal alone was worth the ride.

But as we planned, we made another stop in Ocean Springs at the Walter Anderson Museum. Anderson was an unusually prolific local artist who suffered from schizophrenia and spent weeks or months at a time on the barrier islands off the Mississippi coast. His work was beautiful and charming. We particularly enjoyed the murals in the small cottage and the Ocean Springs Community Center that are both attached to the beautifully designed museum.

After our tour we stopped for a few photos in front of the museum, then said our goodbyes to Alan, Dale, and Paul. Then Poncho, Mark, Michael and I hopped on our bikes and headed west into the intense setting sun, following the coast road back into the city.

This was certainly one of the nicest rides the Cavaliers have done. Good friends, great food, fine art, and a splendid ride. Who could ask for more?