August 17, 2008 Mandeville, LA; Memphis, TN

I had never driven across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, and the thought of a 26-mile-long bridge didn't really appeal to me, but I wanted to try the Broken Egg Cafe in Mandeville, so after I checked out of the Westin Canal Place hotel, I drove into Metairie, and then onto the bridge. I couldn't recall having ever been on a bridge where the other side wasn't visible as I headed across, but gradually, the north shore of the lake began to appear, misty and foggy at first and then clearer. Mandeville was old, shaded with oaks and dotted with historic homes, and it reminded me somewhat of Bay St. Louis as I remembered it before Hurricane Katrina. It was a Sunday morning, and very quiet, but there was a crowd of cars and motorcycles around the Broken Egg Cafe, and I had a brief wait for a table. The breakfast was very good indeed, and then I headed out for Memphis, taking I-12 west to Hammond, and then I-55 north. In Jackson, I stopped for coffee at a Starbucks, and then headed all the way on into Memphis.