Thursday, November 5, 2015

Lafayette, Louisiana

    Whew, summer type weather hit the Gulf overnight and the humidity was so thick the air could support a small child.  Combine that with the salt air we had a swamp in the camper this morning.  The windows were dripping with salty water and my bedding was sticky.  Yuck.  We closed up and turned on the air conditioning to dry things out.
    Our drive towards New Orleans took us on a highway that wandered between the bayous and rivers along the Gulf.  The area near Galveston was all oil industry and shipping.  We could see oil derricks out in the Gulf serviced by lots of helicopters.  Huge ships carried oil and containers.  A long line of trucks carrying containers headed for the port.  It was a really busy place.
   Then we went over a very high, very long bridge and got into an area of harbors full of fancy boats and beautiful, huge homes set up high on piers.  Everywhere the water was high from the rains last week and we went through two areas that had been hit by tornadoes.  I am so thankful that our only problem with all this bad weather has been having to stay in an ugly, muddy campground.
    We crossed the state line into Louisiana and went to the Visitor Center which had no RV parking. Before stopping there we looked for a Interstate Rest Area but there is only one on I10 in all of Louisiana.  At the little Visitor Center we found an area for viewing alligators.  We were also warned of several poisonous snakes and insects.  I have never been so cautious about where I put my feet (or any other part of my body) when I am outdoors.
    We have now officially filled in three more states on our travel map - Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana.  We have also found the folks who speak another language - Southern.  The Texas accent was pretty mild, but Louisiana southern drawl is thick, really thick. We will see if we understand anyone at all when we hit New Orleans or should I say, "Nawlins"

No comments: