It has been a while since I've ridden on I-10 heading east. In particular, I was curious to see what the stretch of interstate looked like crossing the Trinity River basin since Hurricane Ike. Sure enough, along I-10 through the Mont Belvieu area, there was considerable grassy, reedy debris pushed up against the median barrier for many miles. This would indicate that the tidal basin washed up over the interstate along here. There were crews and bulldosers working the southside shoulder to remove debris that had been pushed up against the eastbound lane's shoulder barrier. This hurricane really made a mess of things! Tons and tons of debris!
My original plan included getting some AMA Italy Grand Tour points, but I decided to cut those out of my route...I just can't get enthusiastic about this particular Tour. The AMA World's Biggest Grand Tour, on the other hand, has captured my fancy and I'm continuing to add things to the collection. But before I collect my first one of the day, I took a detour in Lafayette to collect a national park stamp at the Acadian Culture Center.
The 18 or 19 miles across the Achafalaya Basin are always a high point for me, riding across western Louisiana! Too soon I was back on solid ground and headed toward the bridge across the Mississippi River. I stopped at my usual favorite Shell station just before the bridge, to fill up and grab some lunch. This gas station/truck stop has some of the best fried chicken anywhere!
A stop at Frostop Root Beer stand for a photo of the root beer mug and my bike was next on the itinerary. If I hadn't just eaten lunch, I would have taken a few minutes to go inside, maybe get a root beer, but I was very full, having eaten two pieces of fried chicken and topped it off with a package of Snowballs. Comfort food!!
Then it was on toward Covington where I got a shot of Ronald Reagan...a statue, that is. World's largest statue of the 40th president of the United States. Poor guy! He stands with a cheery countenance, waving to an empty and sad little park, tucked back in a small little neighborhood.
From there I headed straight south across the Pontchartrain causeway into downtown New Orleans. I wanted to get a photo of the world's largest non-retracting domed stadium...the Superdome! It has been at least 13-14 years since I've been across the lake on this long bridge, the longest bridge in the U.S. to go completely over water. And I'd never ridden it by motorcycle.
When I reached land on the south side, it was an easy 2 miles to get onto I-10 to head into the downtown business area of N.O. I'd been in the Superdome area many times, so had an idea of where to get the photo. The exit ramp put me exactly where I wanted to be and, after getting the shot, I rode around the dome to Poydras street and cruised along for a few blocks to see how it had recovered from Katrina. It was vibrant and busy with afternoon rush hour traffic, which was very good to see. I worked my way back over to Loyola St and then up onto the freeway to I-10 again to continue east. Judging from the very heavy traffic on I-10, I would say that N.O. is back!
As I rode east of N.O. and into New Orleans East, however, it was obvious that this side of town has not recovered after more than two years. Many abandoned, boarded-up, and vandalized apartment complexes sit along the sides of the freeway looking derelict and forlorn. There appears to be no work being done to reclaim this side of town.
Once I got out of New Orleans East, traffic began to thin out somewhat as we crossed Lake Pontchartrain and headed toward Slidell where I got off and got gas one last time before my stop for the night, 50 miles down the road.
This has been a very uneventful ride today. Even traffic on I-10 seemed a little lighter than usual, except for the rush hour traffic through N.O. Gas stations had plentiful gas and I paid as little as $3.39 for premium in two states (LA and TX) that have some of the highest gas taxes in the country. I was often the only customer, or one of only a couple of vehicles at a pump which is not typical for a weekday along the I-10 corridor. Because the gas stations were nearly empty, I had none of my usual conversations with strangers while at the pumps or inside. It made the day seem very quiet.
Tomorrow: getting a couple of national park stamps along the way, then Chiefland, FL for the night.
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