Day 8: April 28, 2019 Starting Home Comment via blog

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Sunday came with no plans for a route home beyond Shreveport. That fit in with Fred's plans so we formed a two car caravan that followed LA-1, the Union-Pacific, and the Red River north.

The gate at Caspiana Plantation House really caught our eyes. I've since learned that it is an event center that can be rented. The plantation dates from 1852. The house was built in 1910.

Strawn's Eat Shop was our first stop. Having partaken of the included breakfast at the hotel, we planned to just have a piece of pie but seeing all those other people enjoying breakfast changed our minds. The food was great; The service not. Our waitress seemed angry about something and I don't believe her lack of attention is typical of Strawn's. I must come back to verify that -- and have some of that famous pie.

We parked near the Strand Theater and while there photographed a few other sights in the neighborhood. The all white Dalmation is actually covered with spots that light up at night, and when it comes to classic ghost signs, you can't beata Uneeda. The whimsical carrot man mural is one of several in the city. The Strand is a very active theater and things were hardly static during my little walk around the area.

It wasn't Elvis Presley's first concert but it was definitely a breakthrough when he started appearing here regularly on the Louisiana Hayride for $18 a week. His statue mate is a Louisiana born guitarist who has played with just about everybody who's anybody. His studio is right across the street. Read the plaques below the statues here (Elvis) and here (James).

There's a bigger statue down town at the courthouse. It was erected in 1905 to honor the Confederacy and there have been recent discussions and court rulings about possibly removing it. A smaller statue stands across the street. It's of musician Huddie Ledbetter pointing to "The Bottoms" where he used to perform. It was erected in 1994 and there has been no talk at all of removing it.

This high-flying cowboy muffler man isn't exactly in Shreveport but in nearby Bossier City.

Fred and I disbanded our little caravan in Bossier City with Fred heading west and me heading north on US-71. I've been through Texarkana before and have posted pictures almost identical to these with the exception of the last one. I don't know how long the sides of the main street through this border town have been marked by banners invoking the two state flags. The larger version of the picture has been enhanced to show Texas on the left and Arkansas on the right.

US-71 led to US-70 which led to a motel I stumbled across back in 2012. I then discovered a wonderful restaurant across the street. I've since repeated my visit to the restaurant but not the motel. As I departed Texarkana, I realized that timing would be right for both this time. Ouachita Mountain Inn has slipped just a bit in the last seven years but is still a decent place to stay. Ari's Little Italyhasn't slipped a bit and I think I even got a bonus. On both previous visits I've photographed then eaten a basket of two marvelous garlic rolls. This time I got three and I treated them exactly the same as the others. Delicious!

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