Bridges and Swamps

I’ll never understand how changing lanes at 80 plus miles per hour with a car 2 feet in front of you and 2 feet behind you is safe. But apparently in Houston, that’s the daily norm. Personally, I don’t like being able to see the neck hair of the driver in front of me nor the raging nostrils of the driver behind me – call me crazy but I’ve always felt at least 3 car lengths was safer than 6 inches, but maybe that’s just me. We both understood quickly why Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States.

Not a lot of new things to report from the road today, but a few things that may be of some interest to you. For as grand as the Mississippi River is made out to be it sure goes by quickly. The bridge that crosses it is over and done with in a matter of 30-40 seconds. Now if you want to talk about a bridge – wow, there’s one that runs through Louisiana that dwarfs any bridge I’ve ever seen. Our sympathies go out to the construction workers who were subjected to the arduous task of drudging through the swamp infested area all the while having to maintain a construction-based mindset while building the bridge between Lafayette and Baton Rouge. This thing, I’m not kidding, was at least 40 miles long. It makes the Mississippi bridge look like a simple hop across a stream. More than the length of that bridge stands out though, as we suddenly felt a little closer to home when we came upon a fellow Idahoan in a white Camry. It was odd to see the red, white, and blue plate that sticks out like a sore thumb 2,800 miles from home. It was a pleasant sight for some well-traveled eyes in our own vehicle, and it made me realize just how much cooler Idaho plates are than just about anywhere else. Just a hunch, but I’m guessing like most people in the Southeast, our fellow Idahoan was wondering if all these people down here even know where Idaho is at. If you’ve discussed geography with Easterners, you know that they get Iowa and Idaho mixed up quite often. It makes me want to punch somebody in the jejunum – just kidding, but seriously people, Idaho and Iowa are NOT close, is it really that difficult?!

It’s quite obvious that we’re a few measly miles away from the Atlantic Ocean because you can feel it when you step into the air; you’re breathing becomes somewhat labored. If you didn’t know any better you just might think that one of your lungs has collapsed. The humidity in Boise as we looked it up was 56% on a rainy day, the humidity in Pensacola, Florida (where we’re headed next) was 74% on a partly cloudy day with no rain. Maybe that will give you a clue as to what we are facing for the next 4 days. Don’t you feel so bad for us?! *cough*

Finally, the La Quinta Inn in Baton Rouge was a very pleasant stay. The staff was nice, the bed was comfortable, the ice machine was near by, and the air conditioning worked great. As we drove through Louisiana, we thought about the craziness of actually being in the state of Louisiana. Neither of us had been there before and it was almost surreal to think that we are truly into a week of our honeymoon. While we enjoy the trip of a lifetime, life outside of our month long dream world goes on. I realized this as we watched the news last night and saw that 2 United States news reporters have been sentenced to 12 years in a labor prison in North Korea for “illegally entering” the communist country. As we leave each and every state as freely as when we entered it, our thoughts and prayers are not only with those 2 journalists but with everyone who does not possess the freedoms we do as Americans. I would encourage everybody who is reading this to take a second to think about just how lucky and blessed we are and to look at just where this nation is headed. That is not a political statement, but a statement that has with it a deep-rooted belief that this country was founded on strong moral principles and that the government works for US, not the other way around. Thanks to everyone who has commented and for the encouraging words – it means more to us than we can say in a blog. We look forward to reading your words every night!

From the Road Less Traveled,
Rachel & Josh

Baton Rouge Highlights: another night of Dominos Pizza (delivered to our hotel room!), a close NBA finals game (come on Magic!!), the ability to back your car up right to your hotel door, getting out of San Antonio easier than we entered, a friendly hotel desk attendant, having each other to enjoy this trip with!

License Plate Update: Idaho, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Indiana, Texas, Florida, Oregon, California, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, Illinois, Oklahoma, Maine, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, Alaska, Michigan, Iowa, New Mexico, Arkansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina (go Tar Heels!), Virginia, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York (37/50)