SRMM's Excellent Adventure: Baton Rouge

Our first day on the road went great!  We got the van back from the mechanic with two fresh tires on it and we were out the door before 11 a.m., so I thought that was a big win.  Took a late lunch in Beaumont, TX, where at first our choices seemed to be either Cracker Barrell or Hooter's.  For a split second I considered taking the kids to Hooters just for the fabulous blog potential, but I realized that I would never be able to get Little Dude out of a place like that.  He does like the bosoms.

Fortunately, down the road a bit we found a McDonald's.  Oh, happy day.

We only made one other stop, and I am incredibly sad that it was not at Lucky Deuce's Casino and Truckstop.  Lucky Deuce's seems to be a gas station, barbecue joint, and casino, all rolled into one ball of awesome Louisiana goodness.  Maybe we can check that out on our way home, when I'm armed with a husband.

Can I tell you that Baton Rouge is gorgeous?  Also, it's really fun to say with a fake Creole accent.  Baton Rouge.

We made it to our hotel of choice and got into our room about 5 p.m.  The room was surprisingly dark and sweaty.  About a half hour later, we had actual working power and air conditioning, which  makes our stay so much nicer.  I so love a hotel room with functioning electricity.

Our dinner (kids eat free!) was lovely.  When we got it.  The kids were incredibly well-behaved until it took a half-hour for dessert to show up.  I mean, what was I supposed to do?  If it was just for me, I would have walked out.  But it's not like I have popsicles in our hotel room or anything.  So we waited.  And waited.

And then Little Dude went into his human beat-box mode. 

All I can say is, thank God Biz Markie has been appearing regularly on Yo Gabba Gabba, because at least other preschoolers think Little Dude's sounds are awesome.  Adults, not so much.  Perhaps they need to watch more Yo Gabba Gabba.  Or develop a sense of humor.  Or maybe just a little sympathy for a four-year-old who's been waiting patiently for his ice cream for too darn long.

To distract Little Dude from making his interesting noises, I gave him his cloth napkin to play with.  Oh, the fun you can have with a cloth napkin.  It's a hat!  It's a kerchief! It's a wadded-up ball!  It's a mask to tie over your face so you can't see anything!  Wait, what?  Yes.  He had me tie the napkin like a train robber's bandana, except it covered his eyes too.   He was more of a blind train robber, which seems like a poor career choice for a blind guy.  He was really happy like that for a while.

And still we waited for the ice cream.

Speaking of bandanas, near us at dinner was a quiet gentleman sporting a bandana on his head and a frizzy gray beard.  I'm guessing the shiny Harley out front was his, and here he was enjoying his salad bar soup 'n' salad combo very much.  Or at least he was enjoying it.

"Is he a PIRATE?"  Oh yes, at full volume, Little Dude asked me if that salad-eating motorcycle enthusiast was a pirate.  Also, he could not. stop. pointing.

"There!  That pirate!  Is he a pirate?  I think he's a pirate."

I tried to explain that he was just a cool guy with a bandana on his head.  Obviously, then I had to tie Little Dude's napkin do-rag style.  Then Little Dude went into some kind of pirate ninja karate demonstration.

My kids can only be incredibly well-behaved for but so long.  And then it starts to break down.  Slowly at first: a burp here, a pickle moustache there.  And before you know it, the Peanut Butter Kid is having one of those unstoppable giggle fits that prompt her sisters to say, "PBK's broken."  Little Dude's pirate ninja act sent all three of the girls into hysterics.  It actually wasn't very loud, and for some reason no one had been seated at any of the tables immediately surrounding us. 

As we were still waiting for the ice cream, I let him have at it.  So. much. fun.  And I bet next time they'll bring the ice cream a little quicker.