2-15-15

We woke up to a dreary day today. On and off drizzle and gray skies. It was a good day to sleep in a bit and have a mid morning breakfast.

Cabin fever set in about 1 PM so we decided to take a drive south. We followed the levy for more than 30 miles and never saw the river. We did spot a couple places one could scale the levy on a bike and rid the top. We finally walked up one of those only to find out we were still quite a distance from the river. Our view was blocked be trees and dense brush, so we returned to the Burb. Opposite to levy was mostly grassy cattle ranches. After a few miles they all looked the same.

We were determined to see the Mississippi, we returned to Baton Rouge and followed river road until the river seamed close by a we didn't see any trees. Sure enough, once we topped the levy we found a brick walkway that appeared to stretch the entire downtown shoreline. Just below was an unobstructed view of the river. A few barges appeared to be anchored out and as we stood there one appeared from the north, quietly floating south steered by its following tug. When you see these on TV or photos of them the length is deceptive. They are very long! Perhaps the length of 5 or 6 football fields.

I took a few photos, but they were not impressive. The gray sky washed out the color and contrast. It wasn't the best day to see the Mississippi. Maybe Ruth and I will return another time when the weather is better.

2-16-15

Even when you are traveling the country taking in all the wonderful sites and attractions and have a comfortable motorhome to sleep and eat in, occasionally you need a time out to take care of yourselves. Today was that day. Ruth and I both wanted haircuts and the laundry was piling up.

Into the Burb and we programed Garmin for shopping Mall. As we traveled along I spotted a Super Cuts style business and in we went. Both Ruth and I got wonderful cuts and had the friendliest stylists you could ask for. Each of our conversations were interesting and informative. Note to self: When you need to know all the ins and outs of a town or city, go get your hair cut. Had we done this a couple days ago, we could have gone to the best Restaurant in town and seen a few more attractions. Not all was lost though. We did get directions to a Cajan Restaurant that is on our way to Houston. When I ask why she would travel 80 miles for Cajan food, she responded it's on the way to her sisters and it's the best she can find. Good enough for me.

By the way I did follow Garmin 8 miles further to the Mall. Turns out it was a strip mall with a pizza shop, neighborhood grocery store and Judo lessons. You can't always trust Garmin to think the same as you. I wanted Macy's, Sears, and Best Buy.

After two tries at laundry mat, I punched in coin laundry and found one. With that task complete, we returned to Gracie.