Day 60: The Gulf Coast

We reluctantly packed our bags and moved on from Pensacola Beach today. The forecast was for perfect weather again (mid 70s) and no rain, but had reservations in New Orleans. En route, we stopped at a couple of very nice visitor centers on I-10 (entering Alabama and Lousiana; we bypassed Mississippi's). All the eastern states I've visited have great welcome centers as you enter on the freeways, staffed by helpful people, filled with brochures and visitor information, and with clean restrooms and comfortable sitting areas. Not true in the west.

Our southern experience today was a late lunch in Slidell, LA (just northeast of New Orleans). We hadn't yet dined at a Waffle House, in part because I figured the gluten free options might be nonexistent. It turned out I was wrong. As we entered the restaurant, we were warmly greeted by Melvin, a man in his late 50s. When he learned we were from Oregon and had never visited a Waffle House (they are ubiquitous in the South), he brought us a free calendar and a hat for our daughter. I discovered there are plenty of gluten free options, and had a great grilled chicken, apple, and pecan salad (I could have had half the items on the breakfast menu, but decided to eat a little healthier). Chick-fil-A, Waffle House, Cracker Barrel, and Hardee's (which is the same as our Carl's Jr.) are all as commonplace as Starbucks in the Northwest.

By evening we had arrived at our lodging, located between the Garden District and the CBD (Central Business District, or downtown), and only about a mile from the French Quarter. We drove 216 miles today. 8,031 total miles now.

The only Welcome Center I've seen in the U.S. with signs in a second language (French in this case). I saw similar welcome signs in Quebec.

Our view of the Gulf of Mexico from our Pensacola Beach hotel.

A view from our boutique hotel near New Orleans' Garden District. It's actually a unique older hotel in a great location, and with plenty of character.