Day 27 -- Wednesday, May 27

Come morning, I did, as promised, take my new friends for beignets. It was a fun time and it was nice to have some company but the road was calling me, so I said my goodbyes, loaded up the Escort and headed west, bound for Arcadiana and, beyond that, Houston.

I had intended to spend a day or two in Cajun Country but I really didn't have a feel for how to find what I was interested in: some authentic Zydeco or Cajun music. I had hoped to get lucky and find Boozoo Chavis playing in some local dance hall but I had no tip on how to get this sort of info. I stopped at the Lafayette Visitor's Center and the Jennings Chamber of Commerce but both places were steering me towards the very places I had seen advertised on billboards along the highway and they all looked way too touristy, so I gave up. I did stop in Jennings for a late lunch at Boudin King, a famous spot for this Cajun delicacy, and enjoyed not only a helping of boudin but also fried okra and some shrimp gumbo. Mighty fine eatin'.

Onward toward Houston and a couple of days spent with my good friend, Jana. As I pulled into Beaumont, Texas, I heard a warning on the radio about severe thunderstorms up ahead - torrential rains, high winds, hail, and lightning a-plenty. I couldn't decide whether to hole up right there, some 90 miles from Houston or forge ahead, taking my chances with the weather. In the end, the prospect of a free night's lodging, as opposed to the cost of a night in a motel (no way I was going to tent it in that weather!) convinced me to take my chances. Everything turned out fine, too. The lightning was incredible but it stayed to the north as I drove along the storm's edge. In fact, during the entire drive into Houston, I had this incredible electric tempest to my right and a starry sky to my left. Pretty strange.


Continue on the American Odyssey.
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