Day 5 – Hattiesburg to Shreveport 397 miles

We were up at 6, got breakfast, packed up, and were out at 7:40. The road to our campsite went over a spillway. Bill just about choked every time we went over it, so I got a picture that I will post along the way. We really had no trouble getting to Shreveport. We took a couple of rest area breaks and got here at 3. The Shreveport KOA where we had reservations had a no vacancy sign out. There is a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses here which is why the park is full. Another reason to be glad we made reservations all along the way for this trip.

After we set up, we headed off in the Tracker to Barksdale AFB for old time’s sake. The big difference was that all the Capehart housing in our area had been torn down. What is left are three blocks of beautiful greens. The big houses that we lived in are now historic and well cared for. We drove around and then went to check out where Draughon Business College used to be. I also mentioned a barbeque place that was near but I couldn’t remember the name. After I got my photo of what was once Draughon, we found the barbeque spot, Podnuh’s Barbeque, and stopped for dinner. We used to get our baked beans and potato salad here for all of our parties. I got the brisket, beans, and potato salad, and it was every bit as good as we had remembered. I saved enough to bring home for a sandwich tomorrow. What a treat!!

The KOA here has two sites across from us – the deluxe sites – that have a huge hot tub and a large gas grill at each site. They also have wrought iron porch furniture instead of picnic tables at all sites. Not a bad campsite, and we are 10 miles west of Shreveport which will give us a head start tomorrow. Best of all, according to Bill, is that the satellite works here. He is torn between leaving tomorrow and watching a Formula 1 race at 8am.