Crossing the Mighty Mississippi

In case you didn't know, Model A enthusiasts are an amazing bunch of people! We are modifying our daily mileage goals, as well as our original planned route slightly to reach certain cities and events that we have been invited to. The first of these is in Maysville, GA. We've also heard from other "friends we haven't met yet" in Guilford, CT and Kelly, Iowa. For those "old" friends we may miss due to the changes in our plans, we'll catch you on one of our many other travels later when we pass through again. To our new friends, we'll be in touch as we get closer to your towns.

26 May 2009 Sulphur, LA to Baton Rouge, LA 168 miles

Being in Louisiana is a challenge for me--I don't know how to say the names of most everything I see...thank goodness for maps with the spellings on them...We drove into Lake Charles and stopped for some photo shots along the shore—this is a huge lake--simply beautiful! Opelousas, LA, gave me the first real feel of the bayou and what, in my imagination, I pictured Louisiana to look like. We crossed the Atchafalaya River and the National Wildlife area there. Just after we crossed the river, the highway passed by numerous groves in the swampy water, part of it over an old causeway. I’m not sure, but from the signs posted, I think a “bayou” is similar to how they use “slough” in Sacramento. Every bayou we passed looked just like the delta waterways.

Shortly before we hit the Mississippi region, there was some road construction along the highway. The crews had to lay down miles of 12x12 boards—David thinks they were about 30 feet long—just to drive the equipment on because the area was so swampy. We crossed the Mississippi, and inadvertently turned south—I think through an area we probably shouldn’t have been in. We were looking for somewhere to eat…when a local police officer turned around and started following us, we just kept going and ended up it a safer part of town. (I like to think the cop was making sure we got through ok.) Just by chance, we ended up back at the Mississippi River Frontage area, where the museum is, as well as the USS Kidd (ship and museum), and the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino is moored. We found a place to park and ate at a place with a view of the river and then walked down to tour the USS Kidd. While we were eating, the first of several rain showers hit.

Henry poolside in Baton Rouge, LA