The Dreamin' Diaries

Baton-Rouge, LA to Maringouin, LA

...do it for the journey...not the destination!

Wayne Boozer

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Is there anything in Livonia and Maringouin, LA?

Not really.

But, it’s a decent Sunday afternoon ride.

I have oft lamented that being an early riser is a lonely malady, but it runs in my family, and my family members live close to me. If I sleep past 8:00 then my mom and my uncle, both of whom live down the street from me, must be sick. Regardless, I normally share my misery with my hapless friends by calling them at the butt-crack of dawn just to say hello.

So I get the customary 8:00 in the morning doorbell ring on Sunday morning from my uncle, who owns a 1997 Kawasaki Vulcan 1500. I call it his “big-assed bike” because it’s a heavy beast. Uncle was feeling antsy that morning, and I had forgotten that in-passing, I had told him that I’d take a morning ride with him.

Never say anything in passing to my uncle and expect him to forget it….especially if it involves getting up early in the morning. Just ask my ex-roommates.

So, shirtless and with the first cup of coffee in hand, I answer the door.

“Lets go”

“huh?” (keep in mind, I JUST woke up by the pleasant sounds of my doorbell ringing at ‘stupid-o-clock’ AM.

“We’re riding, right?”

“Yeah, whatever.”

….so here I am, powering down my coffee, scrounging for breakfast and putting on some gear to go to Parts Unknown, Louisiana. Now, having been there, I can still call Livonia and Maringoin “parts unknown”. Why? There’s nothing out there. Granted, the ride is nice though. I live in South Baton Rouge, mind you. I call it the ‘ass end of town’ because if you’re headed west to east on I-10, my exit is the last one that counts as “still in Baton Rouge”.

So off we went; taking the scenic route through “Historic Highland Road” to get to the downtown area. Highland is nice because it’s always shaded, has some really nice (and expensive) homes to look at and you get to pass through LSU’s campus to boot. It’s very pleasant. From there, it’s an easy shot to River Road (yes, THAT River Road) from Stadium Drive. You won’t spend long on River Road because you’re actually approaching I-10 at the Baton Rouge side of the Mississippi River Bridge.

On a side note, folks, I’ve talked to a lot of folks that have power problems with their VLX’s on bridges……I ain’t never felt it……so regardless, you have to go over the Mississippi River Bridge. It’s fun. Once off, make the immediate right turn in to Port Allen…..keep straight through (blink hard and you’ll miss Port Allen, by the way), and you’ll wind up at the “old bridge”.

I have no idea what the real name for the ‘old bridge’ is….but we locals call it “the old bridge”.

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You won’t actually get on the old bridge since you’re going towards Livonia, but you
can catch it on the way home, if you wanna go the long way. Basically, all ya do
is get on LA 190 and go.

Fortunately, it wasn’t an over-hot Louisiana day, and it was actually quite pleasant.
You’ll pass by areas like New Roads…which is worth it if only to stop at
Satterfields’ Restaurant.

Satterfields was not my destination though, Maringouin (specifically) was. A couple
of streets into Livonia and you make a left turn to a very windy road….I believe
it’s Highway 76.

Map of Maringouin

Now don’t expect to go for the destination, as I’ve repeatedly already said. This is
a trip that you’re just making for the journey, unless you just happen to know
someone in this one-horse town. The town sign has a mosquito on it.

That’s pretty scary.

They have ONE cop that patrols....Period…..and he looks old.

If you go though, don’t show up hungry…..you’ll starve til youget to the next town.
But, stop at the general store called “Life Saver”and tell the really big lady with
dredlocks that Ms. Rose’s son (that’s me) sent you. She’ll treat you to a bottle of
water and let you chit chat in the store to get out of the heat for a while.

Now if you want to have fun, go through Rosedale to get back to I-10.
It’s shaded windy and fun. Careful though. A couple of those turns will
sneak up on you. Interestingly enough, when you get to I-10, you’re only
15 short miles back to Baton Rouge; so you can high-tail it back to
civilization pretty quickly…..

…but who wants to do that? You’re on a motorcycle for cryin’ out loud……
get off on the Highland Road exit, cut over to Nicholson and from there hit River Road
…..take River Road back to South Baton Rouge.

Now THAT’S more like it.

All in all, it makes for a good 2 – 3 hours of Sunday morning riding. Keep your camera
with you….since now I have to go back and take pictures ofthe signs I saw that said
“Goats for Sale”. Where else but South Louisiana do you find stuff like that?

This is all practice folks….this fall is the big trip on the bike toCanyon Lake, Texas.

More trips to come!!

Wayne

Photos Courtesy of Wayne Boozer

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