Monday, December 18, 2006

Weekly Travel


Weekly Travel

We left bright and early at 5:00 AM and decided to have a long driving day. Houston is closed to the border of Texas and Louisiana so it wasn’t long till we were leaving Texas. We had wanted to tour the New Orleans area, but decided against going there. They are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Katrina and we thought it best not to visit at this time. Graham did most of the driving while it was dark and then we switched. The Baton Rouge area is largely bayou. Soon after I started driving the main interstate was totally built "above" the bayou. I chuckled at the signs that said "alligator infested waters, do not attempt to cross by swimming in this area". Nice. The entire road was above the swamp. Two lanes one way and then a large open span with two lanes going the other way. One of the most interesting stretches of highway I have ever driven across. There was also no passing allowed on the road in that stretch and trucks had to stay in the right lane. Once past Baton Rouge a bit, we headed north on I-55. This runs all the way through Mississippi and up into St. Louis which was our eventual destination for our next game. We just kept driving and driving. I did more driving in one stretch today than I have since we left home. It was nice for Graham to have a break. It was straight highway all the way. Once in Mississippi we were in Jackson before we knew it. It was going good, so we kept going. It was finally getting to be the end of the day so we stopped in the northwest corner of the state in Tunica. It was right on the Mississippi River. It felt good to drive through two states, but it was time to stop and have a break. We stopped at a campsite near one of the huge casinos there and stayed for the night. We had a day off the next day and played some cards. We stayed that night and got up the next morning and drove the short distance to Memphis. It was Sunday morning and someone had recommended the Peabody Hotel’s Sunday brunch. It was a very old hotel and very ornate inside. There was an amazing selection to choose from at their brunch. I took some pictures and they don’t do the hotel justice. It was all decorated up for Christmas and there was a large fountain in the lobby with five ducks swimming around. They didn’t look happy about the whole thing since there were small children running around scaring them. We did a very quick tour on Beale Street and checked out some of the famous blues bars such as B.B. King’s where we heard a lively 85 year old guitar player. Some of the buildings are very run down and old looking, but there are still a number of music bars with a variety of artists that play there. We were in Tennessee briefly while in Memphis but stayed on I-55 and soon were in Arkansas on our way to St. Louis. It was a short drive and we were in the state of Missouri. St. Louis is on the far east side of the state so it was pretty well straight up from Memphis. We decided to have a short driving day, so stopped after driving three hours near Sikeston Missouri. The weather was much warmer and we didn’t have to have the furnace on at night anymore. The countryside was much like at home. Flat areas with cultivated fields and a few hilly areas with bush lots full of oak and cedar trees. There were lots of different cattle in the fields too. I got my first look at some Brahma bulls. They were grey and they were beyond huge. They were massive. I thought the texas longhorns in Texas were big. I sure wouldn’t want to ride one like the rodeo riders do. They were big and they even looked mean.

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