Checking Out and Heading Home

On Tuesday morning, I awoke before dawn and checked out of Boudreaux's Boarding House. I headed back toward Baton Rouge because there were still a few boxes that I wanted to stamp into there. On my way through Baker, the "police photo squad" was out snapping pictures of speeding cars. I REALLY hope they weren't getting me!!

I made it to the capitol grounds in Baton Rouge on this foggy morning. I stopped to admire the water and the birds, then off to find the boxes!

I started off by looking for BIG BANG IN A LITTLE BOX. This one was very cleverly hidden and on a sunny day, probably provided a great view. After wiping off the gun powder, so to speak, I went hunting for THE LA SENATOR. One part of the clue says you are supposed to be able to see the capital building, but with the fog, it was impossible. I did find the senator there and easily stamped in. It was nice being there early with not too many people around!

After this, I headed to the LSU campus, where I wanted to find a puzzle box. I drove around LSU a bit and thought I'd found the right place, then doubted myself. I kept driving a little further, then decided I needed to get back on the road. As it turns out, I was in the right place the first time. I should have pulled around the back to find the box....I guess I'll have to go back!!

After this, it was a pretty uneventful drive to Lake Charles. In Lake Charles, I went to the Sam Houston Jones State Park to look for a box that might not be there and to plant my own. I felt like the trail heads were hard to find at this park, so if you go there, keep your eyes peeled. I drove around one of the circles one time, then on the second time around, found the orange trail head. As I walked along this trail, I discovered that I'd started at the wrong end. Luckily, this was a 1.6 mile trail and not a 5 mile trail! I hadn't anticipated this hike, but I was game for it. When I finally got to where the box would be, of course, it was no where to be found. I hiked back down the trail a little ways to hide my Flying Turtle. I hope he will feel at home here for a long time!

Now that I'd finished my boxing for the day, it was time to get back on I10 to head east. I went a little bit different way back to the interstate, following the signs for I10 East. When I got to the first ramp, the police had it blocked off. Oh dear. Plan B. I drove around a little and finally found another on ramp. Oh dear. Blocked again. The problem with being here is that I was on the wrong side of the water and had to find a bridge to get over. I backtracked and headed west and got on I10. When I got to the bridge, the bridge itself was blocked off, and I was forced to take the exit. I wasn't sure what to do next, so I decided to pull into a parking lot and get online to see if I could find out what the problem was. I was able to pull up the Lake Charles news and it turns out that a truck carrying propane had overturned on the bridge and it was going to take at least 12 hours to make the bridge passable. Phooey!

I called Blue Butterfly and let her know what was going on, then whipped out my LA map and found a way to get to the I210 loop. I drove across town to the highway and saw that it was stop-and-go traffic because everyone else was doing the same thing I was. I wanted to make sure that I had plenty of gas, so I filled up, then joined the crowd. The traffic was slow, but I finally made it out of Lake Charles and on into Beaumont. I decided to stop here for the day, which was around 4:00 and get some rest.

On Wednesday morning, I drove straight back to Navarro County. I'd finally made it home!