Road (trip) Rage
There are days when all the romance of roadtrips goes out the window. Lets say, when you fight with your computer to accept the free wifi WEP at your hotel for an hour yet it still never really gets on, so you finally wait in line to use theirs, and get the directions (very specific) from Google maps, so you won’t have the hassles of trying to find your way. Leaving an hour late, I think, no big deal, as, really I don’t have specific plans, so I stop off at Café des Amis in Breaux Bridge (I am headed back east, so its on the way), and have a great lunch… spicy broiled shrimp on a croissant (super flakey), with swiss cheese and lettuce. Super duper good. The place was homey and fun too. They host a zydeco lunch on Sundays apparently, but being as it’s a Thursday, it wasn’t in the cards for me.
So following my trusty Breaux Bridge to Vicksburg map I head East on I-10 towards Baton Rouge, Zydeco music blasting. Unfortunately, my trusty map failed to tell me that you have to exit onto I-110 to actually catch 61, the route that leads to Vicksburg. So, 20 minutes later when I’m out on the other side of Baton Rouge, I pull off into some random parking lot and try and pull up MAPQUEST instead, on my blackberry, which takes 20 minutes of trying, because the search function is apparently on the fritz down at Mapquest. Anyhow, finally I see the map after zooming like crazy and realize that I-110 is the way to go, and I keep the specific instructions, which say things like… take left exit 2, then take left exit (specifically) 8a! I should have questioned the rarity of two Interstate left exits in a row. Turns out that Mapquest is dead wrong too, as 61 is not on a left exit, and as a matter of fact is also not 8A. deep sigh.
So, now I’m 2 hours late getting to Vicksburg. And still a lot of time on the road ahead. Historic Rt 61 isn’t half bad though, lots of nice plantationy houses, tiny towns, it’s a nice highway, rural enough, beautiful forests, not tons of traffic… would be roadtrip heaven and without my multistop tour of Baton Rouge, I’d have been quite pleased. In Nachez, (pronounce like matches, not like natCHEZZZ-for some reason all the locals keep telling me this, as if they have some psychic ability which knows I’m about to pronounce it wrong. They are right, I am.. but still), I picked up the Natchez (again, like matches) – Trace trail, a top notch parkway which went all the way to Vicksburg. It’s the prettiest thing I’ve seen driving around here. And no traffic. I’d say roadtrip-wise, this isn’t to be missed. Yes, I know its just a road, but trust me.
Of course, to end my lovely day of driving, almost redeemed by Natchez (matches) – Trace Parkway, I get back on rt 61 which comes into Vicksburg and T’s into I-20 West and East, take your pick.. well because there was a sign that said, “DOWNTOWN VICKSBURG, next left” I think to myself….well lets get into left lane, which means we obviously, will be going I-20 West as there are no lefts before hand. So of course, 3 seconds after I get all the way left, the downtown exit for Vicksburg, was a)4 lanes over on the right, b)was merging with tons of other highways at that point, so even if I could pull a stuntdriver move and get 4 lanes over and down a steep rounded incline ramp from going 65 mph, the 12 cars between me and the exit made that foolhardy, and c) to add injury to insult… it was the ONLY Vicksburg exit on this highway… and yep, you guessed it, on this side of the Mississippi!…. so 20 minutes later after having crossed the Mississippi twice and gone back into Louisiana against my will, I finally made it into Vicksburg. GRRRRRRRRRRRR. Whose dumb idea was it to drive this?
Moral of this story: when they say left in Louisiana or Mississippi, they actually mean right. They really do. There is no such thing as a left here. They’ve infiltrated Mapquest and Googlemaps too, so don’t be fooled. Trust no one, and always go right.
Things I did:
Café Des Amis, Bridge Road, Breaux Bridge, right downtown amid the antique shops. I loved it. Double check plus.
Tags: Breaux Bridge, cafe des amis, Deep South USA, Louisiana, Mississippi, Road trip, Roadtrip, USA, Vicksburg, zydeco, Tag Index
jessicab