When I saw the traffic on my phone, I groaned.
It was 7 p.m., and I was sitting in the driveway at a home in Gonzales. I had just finished an interview for a 225 story. It was a great interview, but my all-knowing phone was telling it was going to take more than an hour to get back home. It looked like I needed to avoid the interstate at all costs.
I was hangry. I needed to use the bathroom. And who has time for traffic, anyway?
But of course, there was no way around it. So I did as Google told me to.
I queued up my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify, and some folksy jams hummed through my speakers. I put my car in drive, and I took the long way home.
The new course took me down parts of Old Jefferson and Airline highways I hadn’t seen before. The sun was setting, and it was almost blindingly golden on the country roads. I passed by charming little cottages. I drove under canopies of oak trees. And then for a while, there was nothing but green fields and cow pastures.
I turned a corner, and suddenly the sky changed from gold to hot pink. Over the next few minutes, I watched it fade to orange, then gray-blue before finally turning black.
One of our famous Baton Rouge sunsets unfolded in slow motion before me, and there were no cars or buildings to block my view.
Somewhere along the way, I forgot about the traffic and my growling stomach. All I could think was: Louisiana is beautiful.
Taking the long road turned out to be so much better than stop-and-go traffic on the interstate. When I got home, I didn’t feel stressed and road rage-y like I normally do after driving in a bumper-to-bumper situation. I felt at peace.
It was a reminder of what I already know but somehow forget: Life is better when you slow down. Always.
It’s the perfect mantra to think about when you read our “225 things to do” cover story.
Sometimes you make the best discoveries when you take the long way home. When you decide not to go back to your favorite restaurant for dinner and instead try something else. And sure, you could always order a new jacket or piece of art online. But what if you meet a lifelong friend at this weekend’s market?
I can’t tell you how much cool street art I’ve discovered on the days a traffic app tells me to take Government Street home.
Or how many incredible people I’ve met when I’ve forced myself to go to a party I’m not really in the mood to attend.
Or how many times I’ve decided to go to a new restaurant on another side of town and ended up discovering a new park, snoball stand or furniture store.
I was so happy to finally visit Dixie Landin’ for the first time during this month’s cover shoot. I’ve always been curious about the enticing roller coasters I see from the highway. Why did I wait so long to actually go inside?
Earlier this year, my apartment complex switched my parking spot, which meant I had to take a different street home.
Now when I cruise down North Street downtown every evening, I drive underneath a series of trees covered in Mardi Gras beads leftover from the Spanish Town parade.
No matter what kind of day I’ve had, it always makes me smile. One simple adjustment completely changed how I felt when I walked through my front door.
So at the top of my 225 things to do list this summer: Keep driving down the streets in my neighborhood I don’t normally take. When I’m picking up lunch, I’ll order from a restaurant I haven’t tried before.
Because to find the best sides of Baton Rouge, sometimes you have to visit the parts you haven’t been to yet.
Something amazing might be lurking right around the corner—just like that pink sunset was on my long ride home.
This article was originally published in the May 2018 issue of 225 Magazine.
