Mile 228: Baton Rouge -- Go Tigers!?

Finished off the night in New Roads at the Daiquiri Diner (common here). The diner didn't serve food, but had a lot of daiquiris mixed with grain alcohol and other deadly sins; and there was video poker. We found the Cypress hotel nearby. Checked in at midnight.

Started the long walk back to the levy. Tried to hitch unsuccessfully, and stopped for some cajun Boudin balls, delicious spiced seafood and rice in a fried ball. Our friend from Jay Place's, the owner (and bartender), who's a cop by day, saw us roadside and picked us up. He'd just checked the hotel for us. He'd had people checking out canoe all night. So, I got my first ride in the back of a cop car.

We filled up on drinking water and pushed out. Made it 20 miles downriver. Hot and humid (in the 70s). Found a small spot dock amidst high walls of drift wood. Real Louisiana swampy looking. Peaceful crickets all night. And the glow from industrial complexes far off like a sunset. We had to wait until noon for the dense fog to clear off the river. We made Baton Rouge in 3 hours. Past oil pipes, billowing factories. and coal ports. Pretty ugly. A start of the reality to come. The rain finally hit (and hard) as we were docking. All the hotels were pricey and miles away. Luckily a manager in a grocery store took a risk (guess I'm a risk) and kindly put us up for the night. Awesome! Now lets check out the pubs.