Arriving in Natchitoches, LA

Another day of driving.. it's a long way from the west to the south. We are starting to wonder if we'll see anything at all on this trip. I wanted to stop at a Whole Foods market to pick up some yummy vegan food, but we missed the exit and it didn't happen. There was no clue for where the exit was for us to get off the I-30 to get to the I-20 somewhere past Dallas, and we spent quite some time heading in the not quite most efficient direction.

Still, we stopped at a Starbucks for a delicious, super sweet and salty beverage which I managed to spill all over myself when I missed my mouth because I was too entranced in Soundgarden's stunning song 'Fell on black days' to drink properly.

A short while later the everlovin' couldn't resist the tempting billboards advertising ribs and pies, and we pulled in for a taste test. Deep fried pies were the order of the day and I ate the delicious sweet potato and pumpkin version, while the everlovin' ate two kinds of meat (pork and beef) with potato salad and coleslaw - salad which seemed once again to not have a trace of a vegetable.

With full belly's we drove on, hunting for the elusive I-20, driving through North eastern Texas backwaters, until we eventually found it, close to the Louisiana border. The weather is warmer, the air heavier and more humid, and of course, the landscape more verdant. Stopping at a visitor's centre we haul a cache of travel brochures and hot Louisiana coffee to our car. There is no shortage of things to see and do in this state and the journey is starting to feel full of promise once again.

Bypassing Shreveport, we drive south to the unpronouncable Natchitoches (which I've coined Nachocheese), the oldest town in Louisiana. We missed the exit for that town too, so turned off another exit to see if we could find a place to stay in Flora (not actually a town), Provencal (an actual town, but no accom) and Hogard, (where we waited for an hour for a car crash victim to be airlifted off the road) before arriving full circle in Natchitoches. Which was lucky because it is a gorgeous town.

This town has large, beautiful houses, a French chic feel and a lazy looking river moseying through town. Many of these stately homes (one of which starred in Steel Magnolias) are Bed & Breakfast operations, but we couldn't find one with an available room - and none of them probably would have fit our budget anyway. We ended up in a $45 motel room so white trash that even we looked too posh to be staying there.

Dinner was in the historical district at a pub, I had cajun potatoes and a zucchini dip with deep fried pasta. Deep fried pasta is actually not that great, and I will soon learn that even I can get sick of deep fried food.