Capitol Offences

Day two started early out of Lake Charles.  No gator attacks, so that was a HUGE plus.  We headed east to Baton Rouge.  Two hours later, we found ourselves at the Old Capitol Building in the Capitol  of LA.

Since it was Monday, and some nitwit decided that monuments/museums/etc are closed on Mondays, we were VERY excited to see an open gate to the capitol grounds.
We weren't able to go inside, but we did stroll around the building and downtown Baton Rouge.  It was hot.  Not Redding, CA 120*F hot, but hot enough.    We TRIED to go swimming.....

We thought about taking a cruise....

Looked at some fountains to trounce around, but didn't....

And ended up back at the capitol. 

Having concluded our business in Louisiana, we got back on the road for a 5 hour drive to............

Tune in tomorrow as the Jolly Camper heads East!!!!!!

Day 1: Equipment Malfunction

Day one:  We left Cibolo with excitement.

  

We left with anticipation.  We expected to beat Houston traffic.  We didn't.  Not even two hours into our journey, we hit a total stand still of automotive muck.   I know it wasn't even two hours because the kids were watching Top Gun and the sudden halt came right about the point where Goose dies.  I was near tears for several reasons.   Oh well.  Nothing I could do about the traffic.  Or Goose.

Movie #2 was Book of Life. I hadn't seen it before. I still technically haven't seen it,  but I've now at least listened to it once all the way through. That's the downfall of the van DVD system. I hear a lot of movies.

I digress. Sorry. Two solid movies into our travel and we made it 155 miles.  Not even to Houston.  Katy.  We drove 4 full hours and made it to Katy.  We stopped for IHOP and gas.  Baton Rough wasn't going to happen.   Kayleigh checked the atlas and found camping near Lake Charles, about 2 hours east of our original goal. We drove in, and started looking for a tent site.  

The sign in red warning us of gators had us mildly concerned and more "super tired and we have to worry about gators"  giggly.   By midnight thirty we had the tent up with the mattresses inflated and had realized that one of the mattresses was. ....FLAT! 

Gannon and I slept on the ground, but I think we were both too tired to care.
A few  equipment malfunctions were not going to crush our hopes for a fantastic vacation!

We got up in the morning rearing and ready to take the day!  

Day 2: NOLA

New Orleans.  The Big Easy. NOLA.  The City the Care Forgot.  We started bright and early in our Wal-Mart parking lot.  With a dead battery.  No joke.  No problem, as we got a jump very quickly and were able to enjoy some Wal-Mart doughnuts while we waited for help!  We drove to the French Quarter and parked.  We putzed around Jackson Square and the French Quarter, just taking in the sites.

Unfortunately, we didn't have a great experience with The Crescent City.  Just crossing Bourbon Street, we were greeted by the smell of vomit and stale alcohol.  The entire city reminded me of peopleofwalmart.com.  There was voodoo practice, palm readers, and tarot card readers on every corner.  We were briefly chased by a transvestite.  Wearing fishnet stockings.  At 10:00 on a Sunday.  This momma was NOT impressed.  

We trekked to St. Louis Cemetery #1.  There, we saw Nicholas Cage's future final resting place, as well as a menagerie of historical grave sites.  It was an "interesting" place to visit.

Thankfully, it started raining!  A beautiful, torrential, cleansing rain.  

We left New Orleans.  I doubt we'll return, but we had fun none the less.