Through Rain and Sunshine, from Houston to New Orleans

Flood Alert!

Well there was a choice, of course, but we decided to risk it. We had our bikes packed, and we took off at 8:30 am from Houston heading to New Orleans. Half an hour later, we found ourselves in the middle of a rainstorm that flooded the highway. The traffic was put on halt by the police in some places and we even received a flood alert on our phone. That’s when we were convinced that this was serious. We shoved our way through streams and pools of water until we reached a gas station on the other side of the highway. We were all drenched; the rain caught us by surprise and we didn’t even have the chance to put on our waterproof ponchos.

Entering New Orleans

Uncertainty is part of the Journey

For almost an hour, the rain didn’t stop. We had our hotel booking in advance and we still had more than 185 miles (300 km) to kill. It wasn’t the first time we had ridden in the rain, so we decided to resume our route to New Orleans as planned.

Necessity is the mother of invention

Chantal, as usual the practical thinker, grabbed some waste plastic bags from a nearby shop and we wore them beneath our clothes, as well as the waterproof ponchos, for good measure. On the road, the rain drops hit us in the face and felt like bullets made of steel. We kept our faces shielded behind the motorcycle windshield or else we would have got shot! After driving for two hours in the hail and rain, the sun rose. We started sweating and steaming and life felt like it was getting better, but after an hour of sunshine, the rain resumed. It was very funny but exhausting to go through even heavier rain than before. At least Mother Nature gave us a one-hour rest; how generous!

The Lebanese way

Through the rain and sunshine parade, we were determined to press on to our destination. At 4 pm we reached the Wyndham Garden Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was a hell of a ride, but thankfully we made it in one piece! At times when we were driving, big trucks were passing us and showering us with water from their tires. Often, we couldn’t see more than a few meters in front of us due to the eerie fog. As if that was not bad enough, in the pouring rain we hit heavy traffic and had to sit waiting for the jam to subside. Being the Lebanese we are and knowing that in California it’s usual for motorcycles to pass between the lanes, we decided to save ourselves and drive through the standing traffic. Little did we know that there were police officers two cars in front of us who quickly put an end to our escape plan!

Mother Nature gave us a break…
…all soaked up and wet

Reaching New Orleans

The Bar waitress collecting tips for the Blues Band

New Orleans, what a unique and crazy city that has stood the test of time. Located near the Gulf of Mexico on the Mississippi River, this city is famous for its round-the-clock nightlife. We took Uber and headed to the heart of the action. We spent the night hopping from one bar to another in the French Quarter, enjoying the live-music scenes along Bourbon Street and indulging in the spicy “N’awlins” Cajun and Creole cuisine. With every sip and bite you tasted the flavor straight from the melting pot of French, African and American cultures. From street art to refined art galleries, a twist of carefree madness and craziness is what distinguishes this fascinating, fun city. If you’re a fan of sea life, take the city car to the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas on the Mississippi riverside and enjoy spending time at this urban zoo.

The Bride and Groom of New Orleans…Congrats guys!

On the road again…

Dining at the French Quarter in New Orleans

After two unforgettable days in New Orleans, we had to get going. It felt good to be back on the road again. We took the coastal road until we reach Destin Beach in Florida where we had an exquisite seafood meal…and a beer of course. Located on Florida’s Emerald Coast, the area gets its name from its beautiful, clear green water. Destin beaches have extremely fine, soft sand, so if you’re a beach-walker or your kids enjoy building sand castles, stopping there for a couple of days would be a good idea to spend some time with your family and friends. Unfortunately, due to our time limitation we couldn’t stop there for more than an hour and a half. We had to reach Panama City’s Rodeway Inn before sunset and the sky was getting darker with what seemed to be the chance of showers, so we did not want to risk it.

Lighten Up

Around 7 pm we reached our destination, a nice place but far from any type of entertainment. That’s when “The Resourceful Chantal” got her Eureka moment; let’s do laundry! For this trip, and due to the limited capacity of luggage, we decided to pack some of our old clothes and we got rid of them on the way. It was a good strategy to lighten our load with every day we spent. For this reason, we had few pieces of clothes for laundry.

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Lawayn Next