Hey guys!
This morning I kind of slept in. We had made plans the night before to wake up around 7 am so we could be on the road around 8:30 but Dad let me sleep late so we left around 11:00am (oops). We had omelettes and toast for breakfast before we packed up to leave for Baton Rouge, Louisiana. My Aunt Susie has a friend there for us to stay with who runs a therapeutic horse center near Baton Rouge so we decided to try to get there by sunset. After we left Dr. Mike’s house, we spotted a RE/MAX office just outside of Pensacola Beach so we stopped in for a minute to say hi and to get signatures for the flag!
After the office in Pensacola we drove for about five minutes to a AAA store to grab a few maps: one of Louisiana and one of Texas but since they were out of maps of Louisiana we just had to rely on the GPS to get us there! The next hour or so we just rode until eventually we came to an exit advertising an IHOP, a restaurant that had been on my “Places to See” mental bucket list since the dawn of trip-planning time. Dad was okay with stopping there because IHOP is a large sponsor of the Children’s Miracle Network which is what we are riding for. We pulled into a nice spot right next to the window so we could see the bike perfectly and stand guard from the restaurant. I ordered chocolate chip buttermilk pancakes and dad got a crêpe with spinach, eggs, ham and some special French sauce that I don’t know how to spell or pronounce! We got a side of hash browns to split as well.
After lunch we were back on the highway, riding west towards Baton Rouge. We chugged along until the sun began to go down. By now our route had changed so that we would head through New Orleans (Dad really wanted me to see it) on the way so that we could find a Cajun recipe for my teacher Madam Miller because in school right now, we are learning about the Acadians and how they became the Cajuns so she wanted me to go through New Orleans and grab a Cajun recipe to show the class when we got back. We crossed the long bridge into New Orleans RIGHT at sunset and it was amazing because there was literally every color of the rainbow there! It was awesome!
We looked around New Orleans for a place that looked… authentic. We searched and searched and searched until we came across a place called “Tom’s School of Cooking,” and we were super excited! A cooking school was sure to have a recipe or two! Just as we finished parking the bike we heard the “Click!” of their front metal gate. They were closed for the day! We continued with our search and stopped at a big outdoor café called “Café du Monde” and found the perfect recipe for my teacher: Beignets!
Experiencing a bit of “New France” Culture in Baton Rouge, Louisiana!
Beignets were brought to Louisiana by the Acadians. These were fried fritters, sometimes filled with fruit. Today, the beignet is a square piece of dough, fried and covered with powdered sugar. They are served in orders of three. And they are delicious! After this, we left New Orleans and came straight to Baton Rouge. It was a bit chilly now, which was a shame after such a nice warm day so we pulled over at a McDonald’s to warm up and use their wifi for a few minutes before venturing out once more. We love McDonalds’ free wifi!
We soon made it to Shelley’s house but after many doorbell rings and knocks she wasn’t there. We left and rode around town looking for a place to pitch the tent or maybe a fire station to sleep in and found another McDonald’s and did some more emailing and tried calling Shelley using Skype. It was now close to 10 pm and getting cold outside. We returned to her home and knocked/rang again and there still wasn’t an answer so we migrated back to McDonald’s for a burger and a hot chocolate. After this we tried the house one more time… and success! Shelley had been at a play and had returned home… Exhausted and in need of sleep, Dad and I crashed there for the night… More info soon!
-Holly J
P.S
Sorry about not writing yesterday but I was just too sleepy…