I actually sleep late, but am out by 11.. its raining as I pack up the bike, grrrrrr. Hurrah, it stops just before I leave.
So today I will ride all the way to NOLA.. New Orleans, LA.. the Big Easy.. Crescent City. Just under 290 miles, so another longish ride.
I will be entering Louisiana and crossing the whole of the state to NO which is on the eastern side. I start out on the interstate, then turn off for petrol and when I get back on there is a traffic jam… I can’t sit in this, it is just tooooo hot. I turn off the interstate and am on HW190, which I have to say is far more interesting than the interstate so I decide to stay on it for most of the journey.
Suddenly I cross the state line…
So its See y’all Texas and Bonjour Louisiana.
It is very humid and after a few miles I start to see lots of black insects who are, of course, suicidally splattering on the bike and me… again. These are not like the butterflies and when I stop I see they are all copulating… really, get a room… sheesh! Well, I assume that is what they are doing because they are all paired up arse to arse.. oh maybe they are gay ones! Yet again I and the bike are covered in squashed bugs. I am riding without a helmet so I feel like they are in my hair, ugh! Can’t wait for a shower..
Hang on, whats the helmet law in Louisiana? I did look it up a couple of days ago and now can’t remember. I’ll have to check again, but I need a wifi signal and here I am in the wilds of LA without a Starbucks in sight!
I pass through places with fab names such as Elton, (does John live there?), Basile and Eunice…
I then enter the town of Lawtell. Ah, there’s a MaccyD, I stop there for the wifi connection and a burger. Yep, just rode about 40 miles breaking the law, LA is a helmet state.. ooops!
As I come into Opelousas.. I think what a fabulous name.
They have actually physically moved old buildings onto this heritage site to preserve them, it was really interesting. A large part of it was dedicated to the former high school with lots of references to high achieving students.
I then pass over the Mississippi again at Krotz Springs; who thinks these names up I wonder.
Past Lottie, Livonia, Erwinville and crossing the Mississippi again to head south into Baton Rouge. I am thinking to stop here for the night, but…
maybe not! It might be the route I have entered the city by, but it is really industrial; oil refineries and huge electrical stations, not really somewhere I want to stop so I decide to carry on a little further to try and find somewhere to stay as I would rather like to enter NO in the daylight and its getting dark now.
I decide to rejoin the i10 at this point to try and get as far as possible towards NO before I stop.
As I’m bombing along I see a sign for the plantation that Cat and Dustin recommended I visit so I leave the interstate here thinking I’ll find a motel nearby then I can visit tomorrow before finishing in NO. I am riding for ages down a very, very dark road.. I mean there is nothing so as soon as I can I take a left turn and head towards NO. I didn’t even see another signpost for the plantation so goddess knows where it is.
In the distance I spot a possible place to stop for the night… it’s very well lit at least… oh hang on, its a bloody oil refinery… Ha! I’m obviously pretty tired.
The next major habitation is Kenner on the outskirts of NO.. ok I’ll stop here. I see a Days Inn up ahead so I pull in to see if they have any vacancies. They do but it’s $80 a night… what! I have been paying around $60 with tax before so it seems very high, so I say thanks but no thanks. Outside in the carpark I decide to pay for some data and search booking.com for somewhere to stay. I’m now only 12 or 13 miles from NO so decide to book myself in for a night in NO… I just need to get there then I can look for something on AirBnB as I want to be right in the thick of the tourist area, the French Quarter, as I don’t want to be catching trains and buses etc. like I did in LA because as good as the transport was I do think the time spent traveling meant I missed some things I wanted to see.. e.g. the Hollywood Sign. I want to spend 3 nights in NO and have full days to explore the city and see everything that I want to.
I get a room near the airport and when I arrive it’s a real dump…. honestly, I can’t seem to get it right sometimes. Thankfully it’s only one night and as I am arriving very late, 10pm again, it won’t be a long stay… I do keep a very wary eye out for the dreaded bed bugs though. Yet again the wifi doesn’t work, some of the light fittings don’t work either and the water in the basin tap is tepid… sigh… I just need to go to bed. But, before I do I use my data bundle to check out AirBnB and find what looks to be a lovely place right in the French Quarter; it’s a bit pricey but given this and past experiences I am prepared to pay that bit extra to be safe and comfortable, the only downside is no parking so I hope they will know somewhere for me to park the bike safely. I have to wait for a reply, which obviously I won’t get until tomorrow so its off to bed now.. nite nite zzzz
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