Driving Through The Bayou

We are headed for New Orleans, Louisiana today. Our drive will take us over the bayou country, along the highway with its edges verdant and swampy. I say "over" the highway as the stretch of I-10 we will cover is largely bridges over the swampy ground below, that ground being too wet and boggy to support any sort of highway or roadbed. And there are gators down there too. It's a nasty stretch, and must have been hell for those constructing this stretch of highway.

I've been to New Orleans in the past, and have had great fun there. Katherine has not been there before; I am looking forward to showing her some of the beautiful antebellum homes in the Garden Quarter, some of the above ground cemeteries, and, of course, the French Quarter. One of the great joys for me in this trip is that I get to show Katherine places where I have been in the past, places which bring back many fond and fun memories for me.

This whole trip has been a sharing experience, one where she gets to learn about me and I get to learn about her. It's a trip which combines both the old and new, the known and unknown. For me, much of this territory is old ground; I've traveled a lot in the States. While Katherine is well traveled internationally, most of her US experience has been limited to planned tours, those which would be considered safe and appropriate for a single woman. The trip is a bit more of an adventure, for both of us.

The drive itself will be part of that adventure today. It's hard to understand the size and shape of bayou country until you see if for your own eyes. I imagine, in my mind, the early Europeans first coming here with their horses and armour. I imagine the local natives in their pirogues and canoes, looking at these strange human creatures struggling through swamps where every branch and pond held creatures that would bite, kill, and eat them.

It's a lot easier for me to make this trip than it was for those early explorers and settlers. For them, this land would have been hell. For me, it's pleasing, pleasant, green, lush, and an easy drive.