Denham Springs → Fountainebleau → Buccaneer (state park) → Gautier → Gulf (state park)

[amw]

Today i took it easy in the morning. I posted my Texas food pictures and futzed around till almost 11. I continued down 190 to Hammond, which proved to be more grueling than expected for the first half of the ride because it was a busy road with no shoulder. Louisiana drivers barely make an effort to give cyclists room. I guess they're just used to

Comments

[meowmensteen]

It's kind of like that with some of the churches up here, but reeeallly like that in the south. Especially during church camp. I'm so glad that stuff isn't a part of my life now. It was overwhelmingly creepy, even from the inside.

[amw]

Yeah, i mean, i don't want to police how people choose to worship, but i do get the sense that centering religion in your life that strongly and viscerally, it feels unhealthy to me. I got the same feeling when i joined my ex at anonymous meetings, that these folks have placed recovery so much at the center of their lives that they've just replaced one addiction with another. I suppose it's better to be addicted to Jesus or the 12 steps than drugs, but it still seems to me like they're not really living as full and rewarding of a life as they could be.

[jenndolari]

Funny thing about the Kolache/Pigs-In-A-Blanket naming in Texas. Most places straight up call them Kolaches

[amw]

I always thought a kolache was more like a danish! I've been trying to avoid using that name because it seems so weird to use it for what my brain says is a hot dog bun, but if i say hot dog bun in English, people think i just mean the bun. Food naming is weird.

[jenndolari]

"BBQ is basically just the burger of the south."

This is very true, and at least int he Hill Country, there's a chain that celebrates that. Bill Miller's BBQ is basically a fast food BBQ chain in San Antonio and Austin.

I kind of miss it, personally, because while I rave about Lockhart BBQ, for me, there's no bad Texas BBQ - so lower end fast food BBQ is good for a quick dinner. I really miss having that.

[livejournal]

Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!
Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ.

[dadi]

I can only thank you again for taking us with you on this trip. I am living vicariously through your posts experiences I'll never have and it is so fascinating!

[coercedbynutmeg]

I really don't understand the utter lack of tent campsites, especially when RVs are eyesores, create traffic, and just suck.

My husband went to Officer School in Pensacola, but not long after he graduated the place got pummeled by Hurricane Ivan and they relocated a lot of their commands up to Newport, Rhode Island. There are still a lot of naval aviation folks down there, though, and Air Force folks as you head towards Fort Walton Beach.

[amw]

I'd rather be stationed in Pensacola than Newport! That said, the hurricanes are a constant presence along this coast, you see reminders of it everywhere, from the stilt houses to the abandoned buildings or wreckage still being cleaned up. From a strategic point of view it's probably not a great plan to keep too many troops in such a volatile region.

I've been seeing a lot more tents since i got to Florida. In fact, Florida feels the most like BC than any of the states i visited yet in the sense of appreciation for the great outdoors, in the traditional (i.e. not RV camping) sense. I wonder if it's something that state government really needs to promote so that people there get the value of experiencing nature in a bit more of a raw fashion?