The rains of the Gulf Coast

We had some pretty good plans for our time in Louisiana. Our next stop was in Baton Rouge, a short drive from Lafayette, and there was an opportunity to see some of the surrounding sights. We started with a famed local cafe which was closed when we arrived.

With the rain coming down we chose a nearby burger shop and had some chili fries and got back on the road.

Pictured; wet things

We figured that if the rain didn't get any worse we would make a detour along the River Road and see some of the old plantation houses before looping back up to Baton Rouge for the night.

Pictured; very wet things

The driving was pretty intense. At no stage did the rain let up and we learned that Louisiana drivers will maintain their speed regardless of the conditions. The River Road was, we figured, a better bet. It would be off the highway and less hectic.

This was not correct. Across the Mississippi and away to the south, the roads were covered with water. Every corner had us planing through puddles. After just moments we turned around and made for Baton Rouge.

The bridge we used to cross the Mississippi

The town itself was charming. Our hotel had fresh cookies in the lobby and a restaurant around the corner had Creole-style tapas dinner. The Jambalaya balls were a bit of a highlight.

It rained all night.

The rains of Waikiki

When we booked Honolulu as our first stop, we didn't plan for rain. Rain is what we got, though.

Rain and a view.

We spent the morning of the first day darting between doorways and through malls, trying to find a dry path from the hotel to the beach.

I could never remember the way to the beach, even though it was right there.

We came up with a plan to manage the time change - stay awake until midday, sleep for a little while, and head out for dinner. By morning we would be on Hawaiian time.

Alison was excited - her dream of all filtered coffee, all the time, was coming true

The plan was a good one. The time difference from Brisbane to Honolulu, and the eight hour flight, combined to make the change pretty easy on us. It took a little while for our body-clocks to catch up, and we had dinner quite early.

Dinner was at Cheeseburger in Paradise because of course it was.

James was excited - his dream of all cheeseburgers, all the time, was coming true.

After dinner it had fined up enough to finally walk along the beach. Waikiki beach is dominated by hotels and shopping malls, but a short stretch of beach between Diamondhead Crater (the subject of the next post!) and the high-density buildings provides beach access for the regular punter.

Far; crater. Near; punters.

We took the opportunity to explore the maze of stores and hotels and eventually found ourselves at what appeared to be the pool of the Sheraton hotel, which nobody attempted to stop us entering and which did not even have a fence (in Australia you would be fined so much). Perched in illicit deckchairs, we got some photos of a stunning sunset.

Pictured; stunning.

With no attempt made to eject us from the premises, we resolved to return the following evening for a sunset cocktail. But our first day in Hawaii was done, and we retreated to our own hotel.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Norway

With thanks to Tiff for the photo