Cajun country

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Alexandria, Louisiana

We head south to avoid the upcoming severe weather warnings, the weather maps show a large yellow and green band starting In Oklahoma City going NE all the way to  ending Quebec.  That would have been our path to Tulsa.

This gives us more time to enjoy Louisiana, which is much greener and forested than I had imagined. The highways are mostly elevated about wetlands it seems.

It has been as flat as we expected since we left New Mexico.   The highest “viewpoints” are often the highway overpasses or bridges over the train tracks.

We make a lunch stop in Shreveport and try out the Cajun sampler on the banks of the Red River.  Gumbo, jambalaya, crawfish, catfish and meat pies are the highlights. The blackened catfish was really good.  I know that I am really going to enjoy this next week of yummy new foods.

We make it to Alexandria and walk to the updated levy park and through their old town.  It seems to have a large art center here, which unfortunately is not on full display over this Easter weekend.  We walk by a shop selling fancy church clothes and another sells police uniforms.  Our hotel is across from the church block, which contains a beautiful Catholic cathedral and the Baptist Church. 

We learn about the southern military exercise of Sept 1941 where over 400,000 soldiers trained in central Louisiana before they knew their lessons learned would be used just a few months later.  We stop in at the historic Bentley hotel where General Patton and others stayed to plan their exercise.  This afternoon the ornate two-story lobby is the scene of an intimate wedding.

We leave the newlyweds alone and head back to our place.  The bike comes off the car and since we aren’t sure if it will fit in the elevator, we have to use the fire exit stairs.  Glad we are only on the second floor.

A good traveling day.  Tomorrow we head to the capitol and historic New Orleans.