2018 Road Trip - Day 01
Tuesday 09.04.18 - From Spring,TX to Bossier City, LA
My wife & I are on a quest to visit all 50 states by the time we are 50 years old. Well, 51 if you count Washington, D.C. for the bonus round. We collect a license plate & a shot glass for each one we visit. We are a little over half way there. To further accomplish this task, we set upon an 18 day road trip, covering 10 different states. This whole trip was a celebration of our 5 year anniversary.
= license plate
We started the day by dropping off Delilah at her best friend Sadie’s house AKA Chloe's Bark and Stay Dog Sitting and Dog Boarding.
Next, it was time to fuel up the truck, mail off a few sales for our Etsy shop, Shelly's Select Salvages, redeem my Whataburger rewards for a free "taquito", and run some errands for the in-laws before meeting my dad for lunch.
Now about that lunch....
We met up with The Old Man at Pit Row Pit Stop, in Livingston, Texas. He ordered the smothered steak with double mashed potatoes. He told us that he had been craving this dish for awhile, so it was a nice surprise they had it as the daily special. It was nice to see old grumpy smiling.
Shelly had the bacon cheddar chicken fried steak sandwich with onion rings. It came with a huge piece of chicken fried steak, bigger than the bun. She loved the giant crispy bacon. It looked really good, I was a little envious.
Continuing my hunt for the perfect burger, I chose the bacon cheeseburger with grilled onions and a side of fantastic twice fried french fries. The bacon was perfect and the grilled onions were a great addition.
After lunch, we made our way towards our final destination of the day, Bossier City, Louisiana. Along the way, we stopped to photograph several roadside attractions. Shelly found a website that lists directions, a few pics & interesting facts about the various items. The first of these was VFW Post 6521 in Corrigan, Texas to see their tank.
Next up was the Giant Roadrunner Mascot at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas.
Our next stop was a bathroom break at the Relay Station / General Store in Bethany, Louisiana.
When we finally arrived in Shreveport, Louisiana, there were several more things to see...
After that refreshing tea, we were served a basket of 4 different breads along with 3 different butters.
Now this might sound a little pretentious, but my deconstructed salad was great. The menu doesn't actually describe it as such, buts that's the way it was served. The dressing was tasty, & the Cajun bacon was delicious, I just wish there was more of it.
Shelly had this to say about her wilted spinach salad, "There was a good amount of bacon. I felt the salad was built upside down, I wished the spinach was on bottom."
About her French onion soup, she says, "It had a rich beefy broth. I like the 2 cheese blend topping, & all the croutons added good flavor and texture."
The crawfish chowder, I had, was crazy good. Meaty creamy deliciousness. I should have had this as my entree. It really was that awesome!
We decided to share a sensational steak. We ordered the ribeye & added the andouille sauce - the steak was cooked perfect, juicy, nice char, and tender. The sauce was good but not what I was expecting. Instead of the claws, I wish they had used just the meat.
When we told them that we were celebrating our anniversary, they surprised us with a complimentary dessert!
After dinner, it was time for bed. The next day we headed towards Tunica, Mississippi. Stay tuned for that tale...
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| Our map to track our progress |
Here's where we've gone so far:
38/51
1. Alabama 🥃
2. Alaska 🥃
3. Arizona
4. Arkansas
5. California 🥃
6. Colorado 🥃
7. Florida 🥃
8. Georgia 🥃
9. Idaho 🥃
10. Illinois
11. Indiana
12. Iowa 🥃
13. Kansas
14. Kentucky
15. Louisiana 🥃
16. Maine*
17. Massachusetts
18. Mississippi 🥃
19. Missouri
20. Montana 🥃
21. Nebraska
22. Nevada 🥃
23. New Jersey 🥃
24. New Mexico 🥃
25. New York 🥃
26. North Carolina 🥃
27. South Carolina*
28. Ohio 🥃
29. Oklahoma*
30. Pennsylvania 🥃
31. South Dakota 🥃
32. Tennessee 🥃
33. Texas 🥃
34. Utah 🥃
35. Virginia
36. Washington 🥃
37. West Virginia
38. Wyoming
🥃 = shot glass
* need shot glass & license plate
We started the day by dropping off Delilah at her best friend Sadie’s house AKA Chloe's Bark and Stay Dog Sitting and Dog Boarding.
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| I had a hard time getting Delilah to look at the camera |
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| Delilah & Sadie (photo by Chloe Jones) |
Next, it was time to fuel up the truck, mail off a few sales for our Etsy shop, Shelly's Select Salvages, redeem my Whataburger rewards for a free "taquito", and run some errands for the in-laws before meeting my dad for lunch.
Now about that lunch....
We met up with The Old Man at Pit Row Pit Stop, in Livingston, Texas. He ordered the smothered steak with double mashed potatoes. He told us that he had been craving this dish for awhile, so it was a nice surprise they had it as the daily special. It was nice to see old grumpy smiling.
After lunch, we made our way towards our final destination of the day, Bossier City, Louisiana. Along the way, we stopped to photograph several roadside attractions. Shelly found a website that lists directions, a few pics & interesting facts about the various items. The first of these was VFW Post 6521 in Corrigan, Texas to see their tank.
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| Corrigan VFW tank 1000 N Home St, Corrigan, TX 75939 |
Next up was the Giant Roadrunner Mascot at Angelina College in Lufkin, Texas.
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| Angelina College Mascot - Giant Road Runner 3500 S 1st St, Lufkin, TX 75901 |
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| Angelina College Mascot - Giant Road Runner 3500 S 1st St, Lufkin, TX 75901 |
Our next stop was a bathroom break at the Relay Station / General Store in Bethany, Louisiana.
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| Relay Station LLC
9029 US-79 Bethany, Louisiana
|
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| Relay Station LLC - Eagle Statue 9029 US-79 Bethany, Louisiana |
When we finally arrived in Shreveport, Louisiana, there were several more things to see...
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1158 US 80 Shreveport, Louisiana 71101
|
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705 Elvis Presley Ave., Shreveport, LA
|
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James Burton Statue
705 Elvis Presley Ave., Shreveport, LA
|
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801 Crockett St., Shreveport, LA
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800 Mc Neil St Shreveport, LA 71101
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Our final destination for the day is the Bossier City Casino Hotel - Horseshoe in Bossier City, Louisiana. We were booked into a terrific room #2015.
Here's a little pro tip... Shelly & I both are credit card holders with Caesar's Entertainment. We generally pay $20 or less per night, (including full service hotel amenities) thanks to our Total Rewards status. When we plan these road trips, we try to stay at as many of their properties as possible.
Here's a little pro tip... Shelly & I both are credit card holders with Caesar's Entertainment. We generally pay $20 or less per night, (including full service hotel amenities) thanks to our Total Rewards status. When we plan these road trips, we try to stay at as many of their properties as possible.
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| Hotel lobby |
For dinner, we had reservations at Jack Binion's Steak House.
I need to take better notes because as I am writing this, I can't recall the names of our splendid waitstaff. They went above & beyond to accommodate our every whim. The restaurant had a tea that I had never heard of or tasted before. It was a rosemary citrus tea, that was delicious. It was so good that we requested "to go" cups, so we could enjoy some in our hotel room. Our waiter returned to our table with 2 huge plastic soup containers for us to take with us. It was enough for me to even enjoy on our journey onto our next stop.
I need to take better notes because as I am writing this, I can't recall the names of our splendid waitstaff. They went above & beyond to accommodate our every whim. The restaurant had a tea that I had never heard of or tasted before. It was a rosemary citrus tea, that was delicious. It was so good that we requested "to go" cups, so we could enjoy some in our hotel room. Our waiter returned to our table with 2 huge plastic soup containers for us to take with us. It was enough for me to even enjoy on our journey onto our next stop.
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| Rosemary Citrus Tea & Water |
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| BREAD & BUTTER Oven-Roasted Garlic Bread, Zucchini Muffins, Portuguese Style Dinner Rolls, & Lahvosh Armenian Cracker Bread |
Now this might sound a little pretentious, but my deconstructed salad was great. The menu doesn't actually describe it as such, buts that's the way it was served. The dressing was tasty, & the Cajun bacon was delicious, I just wish there was more of it.
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| BLT SALAD Bibb Lettuce, topped with Applewood -Smoked Bacon, Boiled Egg, Diced Tomatoes, and Fresh Avocado Ranch Dressing |
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| WILTED SPINACH SALAD Baby Spinach, Shaved Mushrooms, Red Onions and Eggs with a Bacon Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing |
About her French onion soup, she says, "It had a rich beefy broth. I like the 2 cheese blend topping, & all the croutons added good flavor and texture."
The crawfish chowder, I had, was crazy good. Meaty creamy deliciousness. I should have had this as my entree. It really was that awesome!
 |
| CRAWFISH CHOWDER WITH CRAWFISH BEIGNETS Sauté of Crawfish and Vegetables, special Seasonings, finished with Cream and Fresh Stock, served table side |
We decided to share a sensational steak. We ordered the ribeye & added the andouille sauce - the steak was cooked perfect, juicy, nice char, and tender. The sauce was good but not what I was expecting. Instead of the claws, I wish they had used just the meat.
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| PRIME RIBEYE STEAK 20 oz. Flavorful Char-Broiled Ribeye |
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| ANDOUILLE AND CRAB BLACKENED CREAM SAUCE Sautéed Andouille sausage, Jumbo Gulf Crab Claws finished in a Blackened Cream pan sauce |
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| Complimentary Chocolate Covered Strawberries |
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