Harvey Rides Again!

May 1, 2021 – Wichita to West Monroe, Louisiana

In his heart man plans his course, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

Oh my goodness. It’s been so long since I’ve blogged that I almost forgot how this whole blog website works! Remember Louisiana, when we had to head north to avoid Tropical Storm Beta? This week we are going back to see what we missed in Louisiana. Only thing different is that we are not outrunning hurricanes and Bruce is NOT biking this time. Well of course Bruce will be biking, his bikes go on all vacations with us, but he will only be biking for recreation. Big difference!

We got Harvey all loaded and ready last night so that we could leave bright and early at 6 AM this morning. But Bruce being Bruce, he woke up at 4 AM so we left at 5:02 AM. Needless to say, he drove and I went back to sleep on the bed. Perks of traveling with Harvey! By the time we got to Tulsa, I was ready to drive. I was a little nervous at first, but soon Harvey felt like an old friend. I should mention here that I had our route planned out, straight down I35 to Dallas and then over through Shreveport on I20 to West Monroe. Bruce nixed my boring route and took us through Tulsa and on mostly back highways across Oklahoma, through the tips of Texas and Arkansas and in to Louisiana to eventually connect to I20 just east of Shreveport. Such a better route! I loved driving through all the little towns and beautiful country. This is America! I need to get back into my photo taking groove. We passed 4 state signs and lots of interesting sites, but without a picture to remind me, I can’t remember what we saw. I would like to blame this on old age, but it’s been my life story.

We rolled into West Monroe around 4:30. Why West Monroe? Duck Dynasty! Although we didn’t actually watch the show because we didn’t have cable back then, I thought it would be fun to check it out. As seems to be the theme in our life, I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought that it would be kind of a compound or something with several out buildings or whatever. It wasn’t. It was a very unassuming building that was basically just a store. They did offer some kind of tour that told about their history, but the last tour was at 3:30. Apparently they have downsized a bunch in the last few years. I guess since the show is over, Duck Commander is only a fraction of what it was, and sells most of their duck stuff online. That’s ok. I’m still glad we stopped.

We had dinner at Warehouse #1. It was fantastic! I forgot to take a picture of my delicious Catfish Sienna & whipped sweet potatoes, but oh my gosh it was good! Ok, in full disclosure, I DID take a picture, but I had already devoured part of it and it really doesn’t look all that appetizing, so I’ll let you use your imagination. Bruce had a seared Tuna salad. We also had Fried Green Tomatoes for an appetizer. Yum! I had never had them before. Probably the reason they were so good was because they were fried (duh!) and had a great horse radish sauce. Apparently this restaurant usually has a long wait but since it was just 2 of us, they found us a little table in the bar, back by the bathroom. This was good for 3 reasons: 1) we got in & served immediately 2) we were by the TV and got to watch the Kentucky Derby 3) we got to see the constant parade of prom girls (who were dining with their dates out on the patio overlooking the Ouachita River) on their way to the bathroom. It was a win-win-win (& one more win if you count the food. Did I mention it was delicious?) This building is around 200 years old. When they restored it and were thinking of a name for the restaurant, they decided on Warehouse # 1 because that’s what was on a sign already on it. Clever!

The RV park where we thought we might stay was full so we decided to boondock back in the Duck Dynasty parking lot because it was level and empty and dark. Perfect for boondocking.