Casey and I finally split paths - she had to get to a medical rotation in Corpus Cristi, 5 1/2 hours west, and I was heading to New Orleans, 5 1/2 hours east. We said some small things and drove off. I took the fairy from Galveston to Port Bolivar. There was a huge line and it took me an hour to get aboard. Here's a picture of me waiting in line for the ferry!

Port Bolvar is a narrow strip of land that spits out into Galveston Bay. All the houses were built on high stilts to avoid flooding.

The drive to New Orleans was pretty interesting. I passed through the Bayou and there was much water - swamp land, rivers, lakes, etc. The freeway was built above the water on stilts for long stretches.

I arrived in Baton Rouge as the sun was setting. The Mississippi River ran through downtown and I crossed a magnificent bridge. I turned off the freeway and tried to find a good photo spot. I ended up coming across an abandoned shipping dock extending out from the levee atop the river.

Someone had broken the lock and the entire thing had been covered by graffiti art. It was really cool. I have more pictures of it on my blog.

I arrived in New Orleans pretty late and found the address of my couchsurfing host, Ben. Ben is a cool guy and we hung out and played guitar and chatted until late at night. He's an engineer from Milwaukee Wisconsin, and incredible musician, and an all-around good dude.