So, we headed to Louisiana. The plan was, fly into New Orleans, rent a car, head to Baton Rouge for the weekend. We got in later than was expected, all our flights had been delayed. We found where we needed to go to rent a car. It was hot. I wondered “How do people work around here without sweating all day?” Turns out, they just accept that sweating when working outside is part of the deal. Both rental car people we worked with outdoors were just soaked, looked like they’d stepped out of the shower.

We’d ordered a perfectly normal and small car, assuming that wandering around with limited parking would be easier that way. But, what actually happened? They upgraded us to a Dodge Challenger.

Look at Mr. Ink’s face! He did have some hesitation because of the size of the car, but in the end decided to do it. I am not sure it was the best decision. Here’s what happened. When we agreed to the upgrade, the car was in the dark garage, it’s black, and was covered in water as it had just been washed. Mr. Ink checked it over for cosmetic issues and noted a few. We then headed out to Baton Rouge. When we got to our hotel, the car was dry and in the sun. I noticed sizeable dents on it. And immediately I worried we’d been scammed and there was nothing we could do about it. I took photos right then and there. And then I tried not to worry too much about it. We parked the car in Baton Rouge and didn’t use it again until we left. Everything was in walking distance.

Baton Rouge was the first indication that food in Louisiana is out of this world. Everywhere we ate, despite doing no research on restaurants whatsoever, was so delicious! Mr. Ink said he’d never eaten in an area where there was so much spice, but that’s right up my alley. I love spicy and flavorful food.

On the last day, I was so enchanted with the food that I ended up just taking photos of Mr. Ink and Food.

That’s Mr. Ink with a “gutter punk” burrito at a place called Juan’s Flying Burritos. The food there-out of this world! Like usual. Then we stopped into Brocato’s, a long established and much loved italian pastry and gelato shop. Had to try their cannolis of course, as they are said to be “the best.” They were, indeed, extremely delicious. Mr. Ink had some gelato too, and that was wonderful.

We didn’t plan a ton of our trip. We planned some key things and then just decided to wander. In Baton Rouge, I saw this huge mural, I originally thought it was painted on the side of a building. But, when I looked closely, it seemed to be swaying in the breeze. So, I told Mr. Ink we’d need to get a closer look. It was crocheted! The entire thing. A very large Finished Object!

I’ve got more photos and stories I’ll save for another day. But, as a follow up to the car issue, which we had spent a great deal of time worrying over, when we turned in the car we told the guy checking us in immediately what had happened. I told him I’d taken photos as soon as we got parked. He asked to see them. He checked the date on our paperwork and he checked the date and time on my photo. He called it good and moved us on. So….if you ever run into a situation such as this, do that. Take the photo immediately as soon as you notice and offer it up when you turn your car in. And, in the future, we’ll be looking over the car much more carefully. It turned out it wasn’t a scam, but we worried the entire time.