And the story begins…
Over SIU’s spring break, Rolly decided to go on a trip to Texas. However, he forgot all about his friend, Max. Max was lonely because Con left too, so he decided to go to Louisiana for spring break, and he left on Friday to make the long 8 ½ hour trip. He passed a truck full of college students with a sign, probably on their spring break too, headed to Florida (ask me what the sign says, and I’d be glad to tell you in person). This made him smile because he wondered what all of his friends back at SIU were doing for their spring breaks. A few hours later, he made it to Louisiana... not much longer!
When he finally got to Monroe, Louisiana, he stayed with a friend named Donald who was nice enough to show him all around this historical state. He visited Grambling State University (home of the Tigers and a historical college), Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, LA (where Donald introduced him to a few friends), and then to New Orleans! A trip to Louisiana would not be complete without a trip to New Orleans. On the way, the 2 stopped in Abita Springs. Max heard there was a tasty during made in this city, so he asked Donald if they could stop (luckily Donald said yes).
He thought the town was very nice and he enjoyed his stop, but he couldn’t wait to see New Orleans…. so, on they went. Once the pair was back on the road, they came to a bridge that was 20 miles long! It crossed one of the largest lakes in the Unites States, Lake Pontchartrain.
It was the longest bridge Max had ever seen. 20 minutes later, they were in New Orleans. Max had never seen so many colors and so much history in the same city. Everyone wore these colorful beads around their neck (no matter what time of the year), and there was beautiful architecture and wonderful food. It was then that Max decided he didn't want to leave anytime soon.
And then, he tried the beignets (pronounced ben-yays). Beignets are pieces of fried dough that are topped with powdered sugar and served with tea. They were the best treat he had ever had. He thought they looked like a doughnut, but Max had tried doughnuts before and they didn't taste this wonderful.
After the Beignets, Max and Donald ventured to the famous Bourbon Street. Every house was a different color and there were decorations and people until the eye could see.
He loved being there, but unfortunately his time in New Orleans had to come to an end soon. He did, however, have to make 1 more stop on his way out; the Holocaust Memorial. It was designed by a man named Yaacov Agam and is made so that if you stand at different points around the sculpture, it shows a different design representing different stages of the Holocaust. It was an amazing site to see, but sadly the 2 had to head back to Monroe. Max only had 1 night left in Louisiana before heading to Springfield for the Illinois Reading Conference. After a full night’s sleep, Max said a gloomy farewell to Donald and began yet another journey. The drive from Louisiana to Springfield, IL was a lot longer than from Carbondale, IL to Louisiana. This time it took almost 11 hours! When he arrived at the hotel, he walked into the room to find a nice comfy bed ready and waiting for him. He wanted to sleep, but he hoped on the bus and headed to the conference instead. When he got to the conference center and went to one of the sessions, he thought he saw someone he knew, but he wasn’t sure. He didn’t get much sleep the previous night so his eyes were foggy, but it still looked an awfully lot like her. Was it? It couldn’t be… it was! MRS. STEARNS!!
He had a wonderful time at the conference. He met a lot of people, got a ton of information, and even bought a couple books!
It had been an exciting adventure for Max, but he missed Rolly (a lot) and Con (only a little), and it was about time to go back to Carbondale. He packed his things and made the 3 ½ hour drive back.
Latitude = 29.9647
Longitude = -90.0706
Total Miles for Rolly = 5,085.88 miles for Max (Rolly)
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