Going back to Houston... Houston...Houston!

(See song reference link here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fhroMutidg)

With an early start of 8am, it was anticipated to be a 3pm arrival at the target for the day Houston, TX.

The days drive would backtrack slightly on I10 and take I12 around Lake Pontchartrain to the north of New Orleans. This brought back memories of the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and how it flooded and left so many homeless.

The scenery was unveiled this time(last year this sections was rainy and foggy) to reveal the beauty of the bayou as I10 hovered over the river on the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge .

There was some unusual roadkill in LA including a peacock, pig and coyote mixed with the usual possum and fox or two. There were no Mardi Gras beads placed on them as is the RAGBRAI custom, and the speed we were going did not allow for this tradition to be fulfilled.

After Batton Rouge it was Theresa's turn at the helm. She had not driven the RV since her memorable driving test in May where she was only passed after Kevin got a lecture from Bruce about everything she had forgotten during the test. The next 120 miles would be a good retraining ground. However the winds were gusting from the southwest causing the RV to be a bit tougher to keep centered in the lane. Her grip tightend as each 18 wheeler passed and sucked the RV into their draft. Theresa was exhausted after 2 hours of fighting the wheel so she gladly turned over the controls to Kevin to continue thru the Houston gauntlet. Drivers were notably aggressive, dodging in and out between cars and cutting right in front of the RV from the right lane causing few expletives shouted from Kevin. One driver even deserved a might blow of the horn to let them know their move was not appreciated. The horn was seldom engaged and to Kevin's surprise it stuck making the unappreciation continue until he frantically got it to stop!

The roads were bumpy and full of potholes, which left one to wander what LA/TX tax money was spent on... surely not road repair!

Finally the turn was made off I10 to the WestLake RV Resort where the Smitanic will call home until Thursday AM. The 'resort' was really an RV parking lot with a small pond in the center. It had Full hook up and the designated site was next to the 'lake' and park gazzebo.

Tomorrow will be a well deserved 'chill' day! Supplies need to be restocked as well as bikes removed from the Jeep so it is unencumbered for trips into Theresa's meetings on Tuesday-Wed. It was unanimously noted that daily mileage should be kept to no more than 250 miles in order to not wear on the two drivers!