November 27, 2011

Louisiana is a weird state.  On our way through earlier this week, we concluded all the state has to offer are casinos, strip clubs, and Waffle Houses.  On our way out, the strangeness was amplified.  Perhaps we were road weary or even hallucinating from hunger, considering we'd ran long and foolishly had decided to wait until we were on the other side of Baton Rouge to stop for breakfast.  Hallucinations aside, we were unsure how to handle this intersection.  Is the right lane ambivalent to the intentions of its users?  Are drivers at risk if they choose to turn left from the right lane?  Perhaps another lane deems it "OK" to turn right from the left lane and these left-turn drivers are at risk for their casual decision.  We made it through the intersection with little difficulty, but the fact remains: Louisiana is a weird state. 

November 26, 2011

What do runners do when it's raining too much for a long run?  They go to a running store or two and buy new shoes, an IT band strap, and new running threads.  Well, at least that's what we did today.  With a long run planned for this morning, another jaunt around the lakes of Baton Rouge, we were disappointed to wake to a cold drizzle, which quickly turned into downpours throughout the day.  We first visited Varsity Sports, a local running shop.  After hemming and hawing over whether I should buy some new road running shoes, I finally caved and got a new pair of Brooks PureFlow for my 3M half marathon training and more frequent road runs.  After a stop at the Louisiana Science Museum, we made our way to the outlets for a spin around the Nike Factory Store, where I bought a new pair of long running pants for the upcoming cold.  While all of the new gear made the lack of running today just that much more irritating, it also upped the excitement for a long Sunday run. 

November 25, 2011

In an effort to avoid the Black Friday madness, we opted to explore the city of Baton Rouge today.  Our first stop was the Louisiana State Capitol building, which happens to be the tallest capitol building in the country, much to my dismay.  Although tall, the small building houses both the House and Senate chambers, as well as senator, representative, and staff offices.  After a few minutes of exploring, we made our way to the top of the tour for a breathtaking view of the city, the Mississippi River, and the nearby refineries.  After a failed attempt to visit the former state capitol building and a relaxing lunch at an open air cafe, we made out way to the Houmas Planation about half an hour outside of Baton Rouge.  After an admittedly disappointing tour of the plantation, we made our way back for dinner, a friendly game or two of euchre, and a movie.  A perfectly relaxing Friday in my book.

November 24, 2011

Nearly everyone has a Thanksgiving tradition, whether it be traveling to a new part of the world, splitting into teams for a family game of touch football post-feast, or sleeping off the tryptophan with the chatter of football commentators in the background.  For me, the only real tradition that has survived over the past six or seven years is the annual UT-A&M football game, which conveniently has a kick-off shortly after everyone's Thanksgiving indulgence.  This year's game was bittersweet.  These two fantastic football programs have met for the past 119 years on Thanksgiving for a storied and sharp rivalry game.  A great deal of lore, superstition, and tradition surrounds the entire game, including the Aggie's yell practice and the Longhorn's hex rally.  This year, however, was the last of all of this for the foreseeable future as Texas A&M will be joining the Southeastern Conference starting the 2012 season.  With a winning record for this game under its belt, the Longhorns still wanted to send off the Aggies with a stinging defeat, but the capacity to do so was dubious with inexperienced quarterbacks, an inconsistent offensive line, and the loss of Fozzy Whittaker.  Somehow, however, the Longhorns closed on the Aggies early lead and, with three seconds left in the game, kicked a game-winning field goal to settle the score between the schools.  With a 76-37-5 record, the Texas Longhorns left the rivarly behind in College Station with a defeated Aggie team in its dust:  enjoy the SEC Ags.

November 23, 2011

After about an hour of driving today, we arrived in the heart of New Orleans: the French Quarter.  Considering I had expected ceaseless parades and music through the streets thanks to my overactive imagination, I wasn't too surprised to find an incredible amount of activity, music, and dancing on nearly every corner in the more well-traveled parts of the French Quarter.  We walked Bourbon Street, witnessing the best New Orleans has to offer, it seems, explored the St. Louis Cathedral, and relaxed over beignets and cafe aut lait at the historic and famous Cafe du Monde.  After filling up on the powdered sugar-dusted French donuts, we made our way to Magazine Street, a charming neighborhood with shops of the variety akin to South Congress' in Austin.  We strolled up and down the street, stopping in at the few shops that had yet to close for the Thanksgiving holiday.  To cap off the trip, we stopped at Theo's Neighborhood Pizza for wine, chicken pesto pizza, and, for me, the most incredible pesto veggie sandwich I've ever had.  With the aid of a lazy Wednesday at our disposal, New Orleans made for a wonderful day trip with wonderful company!  

November 22, 2011

After my afternoon classes and a not-so-quick stop at Whole Foods for lunch and road snacks, we were off for our Thanksgiving vacation.  We made our way to Highway 290 and started on our way to Houston for a turn at Interstate 10, headed east toward Baton Rouge.  The drive was fairly uneventful, save for a lovely bit of traffic through Houston, but that was to be expected.  A few stops along the way in Winnie (for gas), in Beaumont (for dinner), and somewhere on the other side of the Texas-Louisiana state line (for drinks).  Probably the most exciting stop, however, was at the Texas-Louisiana state line for a harrowing mid-road trip photo shoot to commemorate my first driving across state lines.  Perhaps less than mature, but I was genuinely and unexpectedly excited for my first trip across state lines as the driver.  It's the little things in life, right?  

November 21, 2011

With at least sixteen hours of driving ahead of us, I figured it might be good to get my oil changed and have Brutus checked out.  Further, my "Check Brake" light was still pinging on every few miles.  I hadn't the chance to have it re-rechecked since my last visit with Midas, so I rolled the two visits into one.  My estimated hour wait, however, turned into somewhere between five and six hours, as I was told they hadn't done their job the first time around and now were waiting on parts delivery from their storage.  Although the mechanic had told me Midas would cover the cost of a replacement sensor the last time I popped in on the shop, he attempted to charge me for the replacement sensor this time around.  Not one for shenanigans of this sort, I explained to him what he had promised me a few weeks earlier.  With some finagling, he agreed to not charge for labor and take a percentage off the cost of the sensor.  I still think I shouldn't have been charged at all, but at least I won't be driving to Louisiana with the incessant pinging!