Wednesday, October 15, 2008

A Weekend Getaway Gone Awry ...

Skyline, Shreveport, Louisiana

Last week I mentioned our "weekend getaway to Shreveport, Louisiana," and had planned to follow up this week with a post about our trip. Unfortunately, I accidentally deleted a lot of my pictures while transferring them from my laptop to a thumb drive so I could copy them to my computer at home.

I hate that sinking feeling you get when you realize that you've lost something like that ... pictures that you worked hard to get, of things that you can't go back and take again. Like the pictures I took of the "quaint and peaceful little town" of Jefferson, Texas, where we had planned to spend a nice quiet Saturday morning browsing antique shops.

Jefferson, Texas {This is not one of my pictures -- I "borrowed" it from the Internet}

Before we went, I checked online to see if there were any festivals or anything going on that would bring a lot of people to Jefferson, and the only thing I found was a "Boo Run," which I assumed was some kind of a mile-run related to Halloween, or perhaps a community fundraiser. Boy, was I wrong!

We should have known something was wrong on our way to Jefferson when we passed ... or more accurately ... when we were passed ... by about 500 motorcycles going the same direction we were going. By the time we reached Jefferson, it didn't take us long to realize that the "run" wasn't for people runners," it was for bikers! I have never seen so many bikes in one place at the same time.

After getting over the initial shock of 5,000 rumbling motorcycles and 10,000 bikers swarming the "quaint and peaceful" brick streets of Jefferson, we decided to make the best of the situation and stay for a while. My husband enjoyed seeing the bikes (there were some beautiful ones there!), and I went in a few of the shops ... so it wasn't a total loss.

One of the shopkeepers told me that "Boo Run" is a motorcycle rally/fundraiser to benefit the Percy Johnson Foundation and Louisiana Burn Camp for Children, and they were expecting 18,000 bikers there for the weekend. Even though it was for a good cause, we didn't really want to stay around to welcome the other 8,000, so we left Jefferson and headed back to Shreveport.

Since it was after noon by then, we decided to eat lunch at one of our favorite restaurants -- Herby-K's, which was Southern Living's 2006 "Best of the South" Editor's Pick for Best Seafood. After lunch, my sweet husband drove me all over downtown Shreveport so I could take some special pictures for my blog (the ones I deleted), then we went back to the hotel to get ready to watch the LSU-Florida game on tv. Unfortunately, LSU didn't show up to play ... and Florida won 51-21.

We had a fun weekend anyway, though ... in spite of our trip to Jefferson not turning out the way we had planned and LSU being disgraced on national television. The trip home on Highway 80 made up for it ... especially the eagle! I am so glad the pictures I took of him were still on my camera and weren't deleted with the others, because that was probably a "once in a lifetime" experience. I hope you will read about the eagle in my post called Scenes from Old Highway 80 ... Where Eagles Dare.

As a postscript, I encourage you to visit Jefferson, Texas, if you are ever in the area ... it is really a pretty little town. One word of advice, though ... call the Chamber of Commerce ahead of time to be sure they're not having another "run."

Sincerely,

7 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Janie,
I'm so sorry that you lost your pictures. I have a fear of that...so for some reason I don't delete very many of mine. I just keep buying memory cards! Silly I know!

Sound like you had fun anyway...and that's the best trip-close to home!

Have a great day,
Diane

Anonymous said...

Morning Janie! O how sad and frustrating! Sounds like something I would do IF I remembered to ever bring my camera in the first place!lol I've experienced a bikers weekend unexpectedly only once in New Hampshire and it was quite loud! but not this many bikes - Yikes! At least it was for a very good cause and now you know to check too next time. Glad you still enjoyed the weekend though! Now enjoy the rest of the week!!! Til Later - Jeannette

The Quintessential Magpie said...

Janie, I'm sorry about your pictures. That must have been so disappointing, but this was fun seeing the bikes at Jefferson. I've never been there, and it looks like an interesting place to go. I love going arm chair traveling with you. It's a treat.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday,

Sheila... who is headed out of town in a few

nikkicrumpet said...

So sorry you lost your pictures...I hate it when that happens! Glad you had a good time...well when you weren't dodging motorcylists that is!

Salmagundi said...

I enjoyed your trip even without your pictures. That's so exasperating to have that happen!! Sally

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear you lost your Shreveport photos!

If you read my vintage washing machine post, the laundromat I frequented was a couple blocks from our tiny duplex...just across the Red River, from Shreveport, in Bossier City. Of course that was 47 years ago. I imagine the ol' place has changed a bit, since those days.

Enjoyed this post, Janie.

Jill said...

Oh, yes, I know all about that sinking feeling you described. Just this week I accidently deleted a picture of Lindsey at Rainforest Cafe for her birthday. I did have some others, but it was a real nice one.

I don't think I would have stayed for the rest of the bikers to arrive either! That is a LOT of bikes!
~Jill