Starbucks is Calling Me

We have rain. Soft, steady, gentle rain. Stepping out the door of my RV this morning, I can see so much of Louisiana is swampland. I was in a pond of water two inches deep, not just at my doorstep, but all over the campground.

Misty, gray rain. Halfway through the morning I began thinking about buttoning down my RV and taking it into town to find a Starbucks. And Barnes & Noble. Yes, I will find a bookstore and have a latte'. What a great plan! I haven't had a Starbucks latte' since I left Jackson weeks ago.

Now that I've mastered, mostly, my GPS (Global Positioning System -a small dashboard computer with a screen that checks your location with a satellite and compares it with a data base to tell you where you are and where to go), it is a useful little device. Tap, tap, tap, I tell it I want a bookstore. It lists bookstores, beginning with the closest one. Wow. The nearest Barnes & Noble is 65 miles away. Hmm. The nearest Starbucks is also 65 miles away. Okay, 130 miles round trip at 10 miles per gallon, 13 gallons of gas at $3 per gallon, $39 to go to Barnes & Noble's and have a latte' at Starbucks.

So I'll drive into Lake Charles and see what else I can find, although I am truly surprised that this city of 70,000 does not have a Barnes & Noble's or a Starbucks.

This my friends is a close second. It's not the same, truly, but it is a close second. Books-A-Million and Joe Muggs will substitute nicely.

After a successful stop at the bookstore, we decide to drive through downtown Lake Charles on the way home. Lake Charles' courthouse burned several times until a lasting structure was finally hit on in the early 1900's. Here it is today.

And across the street is a building I guess to be city hall. I love the clock tower.



And just around the corner is a Catholic Church with a palm tree that caught my eye.

The palm tree encouraged me to notice the flowers.

The roses are still blooming in Lake Charles.

And these snapdragons look pretty happy.


Trips to town are always disappointing to Chorro, since he has to wait in the RV while I wander around and he is, after all, the wandering wonder dog. So with considered wisdom, he chooses to nap while I am gone.

Back at the campground, we had time for a fast walk before dark. We met a family of root people. I don't believe we have seen root people since we were in northern Louisiana in November when we stumbled across a clan gathering for Thanksgiving.


This mother apparently has twins. Two little blondies, wouldn't you say?


On that note, the wandering wonder dog and I will say goodnight.

Tomorrow is a new day.