A Hundred Christmas Trees and A Palace

In the late afternoon it was hot. I turned on the air conditioning and hoped it would cool down when the sun set. There's no cross ventilation in the van. 'Round 5PM I came to Lafayette. General Lafayette is remembered with respect in Virginia also. His namesake didn't slow me down. I kept on to Jennings, self proclaimed Oil Capitol of Lousiana. I needed to pick up a few supplies. (That's what we pioneers call medicine, food, water.) Jennings didn't do much for me either. On to Lake Charles. Along I-10 approaching Lake Charles, it's darker than midnight. I don't like driving at night but I hoped for more than Jennings as a rest stop. There was a fierce head wind suddenly and I knew a bridge was close. I don't like bridges when it's daylight and NOT windy. I held my breath and said a little prayer. "Please, Lord, don't let me fall off into the water. Not for me, Lord, but for Danny and Nala. They haven't done anything bad." At the top of the old I-10 bridge, I took in my breath sharply and forgot my nerves. There, on the west side of the lake and river, were the bright, white lights of a hundred Christmas trees rising high into the darkness and to the left, a neon palace, called L'Auberge. I was so taken aback by this surprise, I got off at the wrong exit, which turned out to be fortuitous as it took me through the forest of lights and nearer L'Auberge...near enough to realize it's a casino hotel. I took a good look from a distance and got back on the Interstate. When I parked for the night, I went to sleep thinking of that sight and wondering what I was REALLY looking at. About 30 minutes later the fierce wind became gale force, the rain came down in torrents and the sky was split with ferocious lightning, over and over, for a couple of hours. Nala is a calm cat. She's happy all the time. I found her flattened on the bed, so terrified she couldn't even hide. When I picked her up, she was stiff and motionless. I put her under the covers with me. She didn't move for an hour after that storm ended. Danny's deaf, so for him it was just another good night's sleep. Tomorrow I'll be in Texas. I'll have to consider whether I like Louisiana, but I'll miss it.