Happy Cinco de Mayo, everybody!! We started off the holiday by eating our usual oatmeal and packing up our tents. We are so grateful that we were allowed to stay at Alley Springs Campground for the night. We had the entire place to ourselves and we all slept soundly.

Our goal today was to bike to Houston (this one is in Missouri although it is in Texas county). The ride would total only about 38 miles, but we knew it would be hilly since we were still in the Ozarks. It was not nearly as hilly as yesterday, but had steady incline the whole way. We climbed several hundred more feet than we descended by the end of the ride. 

Once we got to Houston, we made a Wal-Mart run for some lunch goodies. We then called the Sheriff to find out where Westside Park was (in our Trans-Am maps, it said camping was allowed there). The lady gave us permission to stay and directions to the park. The park was actually just some grassy space between tennis courts, a sand volleyball area, and an outdoor pool. Luckily, there was a toilet and sink on the premises. There was not a shower, however, so we decided to scope one out. 

We first went to the post office to mail some of our belongings home. We all decided that we had overpacked; it was time to streamline our gear. The friendly staff at the post office helped us out and mentioned that they had seen us on the road earlier in the day. 

Next, we stopped by the local school administration office to see if we'd be able to use the showers in one of the school's locker rooms. They were also very friendly. A few phone calls were made and it was decided that we could shower at the middle school. The showers definitely had not be used/cleaned in years, but we had hot water! Rebekah had the most trouble trying to crouch down low enough to fit under the nozzle more suited toward pre-pubescent middle schoolers. But at any rate, a shower is much-appreciated at the end of a day of biking.
 
For dinner, we tried out the local Mexican joint, Cozumel. It was about a 2-mile bike ride from our camping spot and we made it just before the rain came pouring down. We took our time with eating dinner and even ordered dessert, in hopes that the rain would pass. After long enough, it let up to just a sprinkle, so we biked back. 

Back at the camp site, however, Michelle's tent and her stuff inside was soaked. We tried to dry it out a bit, but it didn't work since it was still raining out. We decided that we would all cram into the 2-person tent and put all of our belongings in the other (wet) 2-person tent. It made for a very cozy night of spooning!