New Orleans to Alexandria

It is very confusing here in the States with all the borrowed names. Alexandria, Odessa, Athens, Carthage, Moscow and that's not forgetting all the English towns and cities. Not satisfied with borrowing the names wanting to get their moneys worth they use then several times. Just how many Salems, Athens, Washingtons, and Yonkers there are I don't know, but on this trip I have seen quite a few.

However lets get back to today's [Tuesday, 16th October ] trip. A rather short day in terms of miles (219) and an easy route. Drive north out of New Orleans, head for Baton Rouge, then continue north until to reach Alexandria.

The only complication was that Gary wanted to drive across Lake Pontchartrain. A single bridge 26 miles long crossing the lake diagonally. Twenty-six miles of clop, clop, clop as we drive at about 70mph across those expansion gaps in the concrete surface. Two small and one large humps to let the boats pass under is about all to break the monotony.

That's not quite true. Pelicans gliding just above car height at the side and parallel to the bridge were quite a sight. I took several photos, missed them each time. I won't bore you with pictures of clear sky!

From here we headed for Baton Rouge crossed the Mississippi and continued north.

Passed fields of sugar cane.....

saw our first oil pump.....

crossed a bayous, low swampy land with raised roads and long bridges...

across the Atchafalaya River...

through some open country......

negotiated a few minor motorway interchanges....

to arrive in Alexandria about an hour early for check-in.

We filled in time at a shopping centre. I picked up a few things for the camera and a couple halloween items for Emma and Jessie. The shopping centre was interesting in that it consisting of groups of shops separated by car parks. The whole complex covered a large area such that you drove from car park to car park to do your shopping.

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