Into the Hornet's Nest

With our time in the States running out, the next day we solidified our plan: Go to that evening's basketball game then immediately hit the road to drive all the way to Washington - an ambitious journey of over 1000 miles. Our final day in New Orleans consisted of another blog marathon, salads and soup.

With a journey of epic proportions coming up, we knew that a non-stop drive of such distance would not be physically possible without a genuine trucker's cap.

No hard feelings then!

Hardcore Pawn

Interior and exterior of the Superdome - stunning

After an exhaustive, but ultimately failed search of New Orleans for a cap, we were left in a state of desperation. At one point we crossed a tramp donning potentially the hat of our dreams, and considered trading it for some of our tinned food, but the thought of wearing it continuously for 18 hours was not pleasant. We would have to set off without the correct equipment for the job: the success of the mission was hanging in the balance.

Trying to put aside our apprehension ahead of such a feat of human travel, we entered the 'Hornet's Nest' and nervously watched the spectacle of the New Orleans Hornets destroying the Trailblazers. It was another glitzy American sporting occasion, punctuated by (interior!) fireworks, music and a generous helping of cheerleaders. The final hooter sounded (a horn, not cheerleader) and we filed out of the stadium.

Now it was time to get our game faces on. We approached Spot, who was poised in the fluorescent lights of the parking lot, ready for his biggest test yet. Mike fired up the engine as Tom punched in the co-ordinates. Distance to destination: 1128 miles. Estimated journey time: 18 hrs. And we didn't even have a truckers hat. This was going to be tough.