Day 4 – Sweet Home Louisiana

Kansas City to Louisiana

Date: Monday, July 27/09
Gas: $2.299/gal
Cost: $50 USD to fill
Destination: Independence, MO to Shreveport, LA
Distance to travel: 543miles
Time to travel: 9 hrs 33 minutes
Departure time: 9:00 am CST
Arrival time: 6:45 pm CST

Today we drove in the rain through the Ozark Mountains. We were worried that they might be too steep for the uhaul, but it was fine. Good thing we went that way because we saved a couple of hours, and the scenery was very nice, unfortunate that it was raining- that doesn’t help the picture quality.

I might add that I am very frustrated with the iPhone camera, it takes so long to load and the time between photos is too long. I always miss the photos I really want. I just can’t seem to figure out the interval between taking my finger off the button and the shutter opening. Plus now the photos I take out my window are blurry. I guess it can’t handle motion of 75mph.

When we stop to fill up and have bathroom breaks it is starting to feel like Belize, warm & humid. Very nice!

The Cat
Pixel was not very happy today, she was restless and crying this morning, and slept under my seat all afternoon. She only ate a bit of dry food when I put it on her carrier. She didn’t drink any water or go to the bathroom – only urine.

The uhaul
This truck is great, except for 1 thing. It takes 20-30 minutes to fill it with gas. I guess that’s because of the way the gas tank drain is bent because you can only get 20 cents in the tank at a time before the pump shuts itself off. A safety measure? Perhaps. Annoying? Definately.

The hotel: Best Western Chateau Suites
Cost: $120/night
Amenities: king bed, microwave, wireless Internet, continental breakfast, extra deep tub
Notes: the 1st place Elvis Presley played a live show

Pretty nice place. Look at the photos…

Brad and I went down to the “lounge” for our complimentary drink, but all I really wanted was some milk to mix a chai latte with. They didn’t have any milk, so we had juice. We tried some of their happy hour snacks-fried chicken, empty mozzarella sticks, cheeze whiz sandwiches, and chicken salad. Hmmm good thing I had that 6 foot sub earlier.

We just relaxed and watched tv, I did a bit of work and tried to google our route for Tuesday, but the Internet kept cutting out. There was a good lightening storm all night.

We got up early and Brad went to try the continental breakfast, not as good as the one in Kansas city. He said the woman in charge was like a cross between a drill sergeant and aunt jemima. We have an impression for you to listen to below. You have to use QuickTime to play the audio file.