this is where Interstate 55 ends

[datasuspect]

Mile marker 1.

The interchange is a folded diamond with access for U.S. 51 south from Interstate 55 south and to Interstate 55 north from U.S. 51 north. Traffic continuing on the Interstate 55 mainline will merge onto Interstate 10 east in one mile.

[Shell Beau]

1. I have been at that exact point many times!

[musette_sf]

2. that appears to be on the way to

Middendorf's IIRC. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

[Maddy McCall]

5. That's not Middendorf's exit...it does look like it...

Middendorf's exit is 15 miles north of that...exit 15, Akers, LA. :D

I was just talkin' to my brother yesterday, and we're thinking about driving down for some thin catfish and oysters tomorrow...and some Dixie beer. :D

[BOSSHOG]

19. Maddy you are killing me

I gotta go to Belle Chaase on Saturday, think I'll swing by the quarter and park my butt somewhere where they serve food.

[Maddy McCall]

22. Hey, Boss!

I'm so sick of crawfish--we've had it at least twice a week since March. I'm in the mood for some good, artery-clogging, fried-in-peanut-oil food. :D

How ya doin? :hi:

[BOSSHOG]

23. Sounds great to me

Maybe chicken at Fiorella's. Just hanging out right now hoping the weather man is just a little bit wrong. They always forecast death, destruction and the end of the world weather then we just get a nice shower. Tonight, Ribeye medium rare and a giganto baked potato served at a nice lil bar out in the Piney Woods.

[datasuspect]

24. they said 90% thunderstorms all day and softball sized hail

and it's been nice and mostly sunny.

go figger

[Maddy McCall]

25. Tonight, steak and sushi at my house.

My bro asked me to grill him up a big rib-eye tonight, so my family's eating at the McCall Grill and Sushi Bar. :D

Yeah, we got some pretty violent storms through here awhile ago, but I'm north east of you a little ways. I'm hoping it only gets wet enough to dampen the poor garden, but we're under a flood watch (or warning, can't ever keep it straight).

I know what you mean about the weathermen. They interrupt tv shows to do the weather, and it's kinda funny because they get all panicky about thunderstorms.

[BOSSHOG]

26. I like my sushi blackened and well done

We got a great farmer's rain this morning. About an hour of drizzle and the lack of sunshine has given the veggies a breather.

[Maddy McCall]

27. Shit...just reread my previous post...

I meant that I'm northWEST of you.

I'm hoping we get some more rain...my driveway is STILL dusty. :(

[BOSSHOG]

28. Unless

you are coming from the other direction, then you'd be southeast of us. I amuse my wife with being direction challenged. And the Big Easy doesn't help. Go across the Crescent City Connection first thing in the morning heading to the "west" bank and ya got the sunrise burning your retinas.

[Maddy McCall]

3. Ha! That's my neck of the woods.

I've seen that sight right there many many times.

:hi:

[datasuspect]

4. if you take that baton rouge exit, i live about 5 or so hours east

in texas.

[Maddy McCall]

6. Port Arthur?

I lived in Port Arthur as a kid. :D

Still have lots of family in Beaumont, Groves, Nederland, Port Arthur area.

I've driven that highway many times...through Lafayette, over the Rainbow Bridge in Orange, then into Port Arthur. :D

[datasuspect]

7. one of those other towns you mentioned

p.a. is a ghost town.

[Maddy McCall]

10. Yeah, last time I visited PA I was really saddened to see downtown.

You can still get good boudin at Nicks, though. :D I make the pigrimage at least once a year to load up on boudin, but haven't been back since Katrina--just got some crawfish boudin a couple of weeks ago from visiting relatives.

My aunt and uncle live in Nederland...their house was pretty wrecked by Rita...they brought pictures last time they visited. I was amazed at the damage well inland.

This photo is pretty sad, isn't it?

[datasuspect]

11. where i live was relatively in good shape

i evacuated to illinois with my family and came back before them.

got a ride from lufkin with a crew heading to my area while i was trying to catch out from a jack in the box parking lot (took amtrak from bloomington/normal, il, but the train went as far as longview, so i hitched back to s.e. texas).

almost got turned away on the US 69 approach into lumberton and then again in beaumont, but the guys i was with were a response team going to some plant so we got in. they had lots of checkpoints.

anyway, i get home, the lights are on, the teevee is going, the air is blowing and the glass sliding door was blown out.

TONS of dogs and cats were wandering around looking for food.

i walked to the market basket and they were letting only a few people in at a time and got beer, food and animal food.

the animals went away after awhile.

it was an adventure.

[Maddy McCall]

15. Longview--another Texas town with which I'm very familiar.

I lived in Longview/Gladewater area in the nineties. :)

My aunt's family rode out the storm at my grandmother's house in Timpson (do you know where Timpson is?). My cousin works at a plant in Beaumont, and he drove in about a week after Rita...drove in from Timpson (which is pretty damned close to Lufkin. You didn't catch a ride with a big white guy with black hair and a dark complexion named Don, did you? :) ) He was able to get in because he works at a petro plant that they were trying to bring back on-line.

But even as north as Timpson, people lost power. Rita didn't get much news because it was in the wake of Katrina, but DAMN there was a lot of damage from that storm.

[datasuspect]

16. hester?

boat guy?

[Maddy McCall]

17. He DOES work on boats.

But Hester isn't his last name. He drives a big Toyota Tundra with a crew cab.

[datasuspect]

18. the don i know works on boats too

but he drives a chevy dually

[Maddy McCall]

20. I'll PM you.

[datasuspect]

21. okay

[datasuspect]

13. i'd really like to figure out a way to develop some capital

to buy or lease a commercial property in that part of town.

something like a liquor, guns, and pornography superstore.

JOKING.


seriously though, they are trying to develop an arts/music thing down that way. there's a pottery guy there and what looks like some kind of artists studio with hipsterish younguns slidin around.


there are some major contracts with the plants coming up and it should pump much needed cash into the region, so maybe an upswing might come around.

but i agree with you, downtown p.a. is sad.

[Courtesy Flush]

8. Not sure what is the point of this thread.

But I'm from Baton Rouge, and now live in New Iberia.

Pics from home... ahhh.

[datasuspect]

9. point:

a pictorial depiction of the southern terminus of Interstate 55.

[wildhorses]

12. you said terminus

hehe


it just sounds funny:shrug:

[Maddy McCall]

14. Here's a photo of I-55 during Katrina evacuation.

Photos 1 and 2: Mandatory evacuation of NOLA begins. This photo was taken on I-55 in south Mississippi. Southbound lanes closed. Only north bound lanes open.





Photo 3: Contraflow begins. Northbound and Southbound lanes used for northbound traffic.



(Posting these to contribute to your "photo of I-55" thread. :D