Day 5 was rainy, y’all! That photo was the last moment without rain until the final 10 miles of the day. We might have reached the road trip survival mode at this point and are implementing all three of the primary suggestions I have for traveling with a toddler.
Overview of Day 5
We started the day with overcast skies and my mother saying that there wasn’t any rain in the forecast. I think the forecast she heard was wrong. So was the radio station forecasts my dad heard repeatedly saying there was a 30% chance of showers? Maybe they meant it would rain cats and dogs with intermittent showers?
Miles traveled
We traveled 440 miles today, as I mentioned predominately in the rain. Even with the weather, or I guess because of the weather, we made pretty good time.
What we saw
Did I mention it rained? Rained a lot? That is what we mainly saw along the way. The weather discouraged stopping to see anything along the way but that doesn’t mean I didn’t spy a few things along the way.
The journey started with many bayous and swamps and the start of a lot of spring green buds popping out of tree branches. Peeks of purple and yellow flowers dotted the landscape from Lousiana, through Mississippi, and into Alabama. There is also an amazing number of rivers along the way, too.
Both Lousiana and Mississippi have casinos in abundance for those that want to stop along the way and spend some spare change. Starting off in Shreveport with the Red River lined with casino after casino. Just a bit into town, right of the interstate is also the Independence Stadium, home of the Independence Bowl.
A friendly piece of travel advice, watch out in Monroe, LA for the speed trap, it looks like they set up there often. The local and state police were out in full effect through most of Louisana, we saw more police there than East Texas. We kept the speed down, mainly guess of the rain. 😉
As we eased our way towards the mighty Mississippi River we passed through a town with one of my favorite names, Tallulah! And then it was across that mighty river, which was certainly churning on this Thursday morning. Wilhelmina spied the riverboat, which happened to also be a casino and got pretty excited. And then it was more rain.
As we made our way across Mississippi my hatred of driving in the rain grew and grew, and I may have started to grumble a bit about the weather and traffic. The crankiest person in the car though decided to take a nap, which meant we could aim for a hotel with a pool for the evening.
We passed into Sweet Home Alabama and kept trucking. Just between Tuscaloosa and Bessemer City, the weather gods decided that I needed a little bit of sunshine. The same could be said of our destination for the night.
Where we wound up
As I said, we aimed for Bessemer City, AL and that was the final stop for the night. Indoor pool in the hotel, check! The desire to leave the hotel immediately after stepping foot in it, check!
Ugh, that pool and my subsequent shower were gnarly. Therefore, I highly discourage anyone from staying at the Country Inn & Suites in Bessemer. I honestly thought about throwing away our bathing suits, which would have been a shame since Wilhelmina looks so cute in hers!
Pants worn
For Day 5, I rocked one of my favorite magenta and navy pairs with rectangles and a comfy Randy that matched. Wilhelmina had a Sloan with a beautiful floral pattern, I think she owns more
Need to fill some voids in your collection? Hop over to my friend Kristin’s shop to fill them.
Thanks for following along! If you missed a day here are some quick links to each day:
We are in the homestretch and Newberry, SC is the next stop!
