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Published: July 30th 2022
Bourbon Street
Alive, loud and bright. I was awake early and after lying in bed for a while debating some early morning photography of downtown, I eventually decided to get up and go for it. There was plenty of time to get there and I had a rough idea where to go on The Allen Parkway, where I remembered seeing some parking alongside Eleanor Tinsley Park as we drove past on our way to Montrose.
I parked (free parking until 9.00am) and walked along the edge of the park to the Rosemont Pedestrian Bridge. I couldn't have parked further away if I had tried, so it was quite a long walk alongside a lot of parking space. Sadly, I'd made the same mistake I made the last time (see
Planet Mars is Calling ) and my lenses were still cold from the air-conditioning so they kept misting up.
It was lighter by the time I started walking back so I went through the park itself, which was starting to come to life with dog walkers and early morning runners (at least the heat is partially bearable at that time in the morning). It is actually a very nice park and it was a very pleasant walk back, so perhaps
Downtown Houston
Sunrise from Eleanor Tinsley Park. I had parked at the right place after all. There were various sculptures, the Police Department Memorial and the Love Lock Bridge, where people apparently lock a message in a padlock and attach it to the wire mesh that surrounds the bridge.
I got back to my car and "Houston, we have a problem!" Don't worry, the car was still there, but I have been using my mobile phone as a satnav and there was only a 3G mobile signal, which wasn't fast enough to download the route back to the hotel. I had to get in and drive until I either found a Starbucks / McDonalds with free wifi or I got a 4G signal or I managed to find a way onto the I-45. There was absolutely no chance of the latter. Very surprisingly for an American city, I didn't come across either a McDonalds or a Starbucks, but I did eventually get a 4G signal and the satnav came to life. It was a very convoluted route back to the I-45 and there were no signs anywhere that would have helped.
Having now done the "Houston, we have a problem" challenge, my next challenge is
Tolerance (Plensa) Statues
Some of the sculptures in Eleanor Tinsley Park. "Is this the way to Amarillo?", but that will have to wait until we're in West Texas.
Today we are hitting the road for a road-trip to New Orleans - a mere 346 miles and 5 hour 19 minute journey.
We headed west out of Houston and eventually got on to Interstate 10, which would take us all the way to New Orleans. There was a toll road to get there, but luckily we had paid for the toll pass so we didn't have to worry. That said, the toll pass cost us over $100 for the two weeks and the tolls were $0.52 and $0.40. Unless there are some serious tolls later on, something tells me that we have been ripped off in a massive way. At least we don't have to try and work out how to pay the tolls as they are all automated barriers (which will probably involve another app).
A part from when it came to Beaumont, Lafayette and Baton Rouge, the Interstate was completely straight. At one point we drove 30 miles and there was not a single noticeable bend in the road. We had a few breaks to change driver,
Love Lock Bridge
Some of the locked-away messages. one at the Beaumont Walmart, one at the Lafayette Macy's and one to fill up with fuel ($40 to fill the tank - half what it would be in the UK). A Walmart is always part of our road-trips. As usual my wife needed to drag me out of the bakery section. We also stocked up on water and some snacks. One of the things that always shocks us about Walmarts in America is that they sell guns alongside the groceries and, this being Texas, we expected more guns than ever. There wasn't - just a shelf full of air-rifles.
We crossed a river that marks the state boundary and entered Louisiana. Both states are completely flat (we have literally not seen a hill the whole time), but whereas Texas is relatively dry, Louisiana is very wet. The contrast was stark and almost as soon as we crossed the border it promptly started to thunder and rain. Also, much of the ground is swampland and huge stretches of the road were elevated on long bridges. It was significantly cooler though, which will come as a huge relief (see
Defeated By The Heat).
Like Texas, the roadside in Louisiana is covered in
Police Officers' Memorial
Early morning light on the memorial. all the advertising - along with all the lawyers were religious messages, anti-abortion messages and all sorts. One sign read "There are no dangerous weapons only dangerous people". I'm sorry, but those people are considerably more dangerous when they've got a gun in their hands!" These are all subjects to be avoid around here though.
We found our hotel, checked in, changed rooms (apparently the people who use the booking websites get the worst rooms) and then headed out.
The first thing we noticed is the architecture. The French influence is huge and it was exactly as we had visioned New Orleans to be.
We walked down to Bourbon Street and it just hit us - the sounds, the smells (mainly weed), the crowds, the activity and all the brightly coloured, luminous signs. Every few meters there bands playing drums and trombones who seemed to be going out of their way to be as loud as possible. To say it was "happening" was an understatement. Along with the climate and the architecture, it is hard to believe that we were in the same country as Houston. Oh, and there are all the French place names, although, unlike
Walmart Bakery
I needed to be escorted away. Quebec, they had the good sense to ditch the language (see
Sharing Our Entire Life History).
We had looked at a hotel on Bourbon Street, but it had warned that it would be noisy. Again, understatement.
We chose a fish restaurant and had something to eat. Afterwards we stopped at a couple of shops. We bought a few things in one, but had to wait for the guy serving to finish dancing to the loud music before we could get served. And we turned down the offer of some drugs a few times on the way back to the hotel.
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