Sunday, February 14, 2010

14th Feb- Baton Rouge to Crestview Florida

What a beautiful morning it is, the sun is shining and blue sky is everywhere and not to cold either as we left the outskirts of Baton Rouge.
We rejoined Interstate I-10 and headed East past the road turning to New Orleans and in the direction of Mobile where we saw very briefly before entering a longish tunnel under the city lots of floats and people preparing for a parade which unfortunately we could not attend. On the roads through Louisiana and Mississippi you travel over miles and miles of swamps on causeways which go on as far as the eye can see. Along the road we saw a deer chewing on the grass and as you approach Biloxi there is sign after sign extolling the benefits of gambling in particular casinos with over 500 slot's which pay well? We also noticed that immediately we entered Florida the quality of the roads improved dramatically compared to Louisiana and Mississippi. The roads in Texas are also first class and beat Elmbridge Borough Council by miles
At one pm we stopped for a Subway lunch in a large truck stop and it was really quite an amazing place with saddlery being sold along with all types of clothes and the usual snack foods and also a place for the truck drivers to do the laundry,have a shower and an adult store across the road if they get lonely.
We finally arrived at the Hampton Inn at Crestview which is right by the freeway but the rooms are fine and also quiet. After a cup of tea we headed off to a place Jennifer had seen on the map called SKY RANCH and sure enough it was a housing estate with a small aircraft runway running through the middle of the houses. The houses had garages and also small aircraft hangers per lot. Not very attractive though.
Back to Crestview where we stopped a Publix supermarket and bought some food for tonight which we will eat in the room and also a bottle of Chardonnay which is chilling away in the bathroom sink covered in ice and water which we will enjoy on this Valentines Day.
Tomorrow we head of to the Gulf Coast for a day and half of checking out all the recommended sea side towns.
Just one thought though, whilst driving in the New Orleans area we saw cars painted with the words 'WHO DAT' which has become the nickname for the New Orleans Saints whilst another car said the Saints are World Champions, I think he means USA champions as no other country enters the series. Oh well some Americans still
think that the USA is the only country in the world !! As Monty Python would say 'SAY NO MORE'