This is part of a collaboration with DriveShop. All opinions expressed are my own.
First of all, let me just say, we love the Bayou State! Not only is it just a couple hours away from Texas, but it literally has something for everyone – even the most discerning travelers. Whether you are into the night life of a city like New Orleans, or looking for something more laid back and historical in nature, like say Baton Rouge, Louisiana is a great place to visit.
Last month we made the trip to New Orleans for a conference I was speaking at, the Dad 2.0 Summit. This was only our second time attending this massive event for dads and content creators with a passion for fatherhood and family topics. It was our first trip of the year to Louisiana as well. Although certainly not our last. We will be traveling through this state once again in a couple of weeks on our way to Miami. We can’t wait!
Because we were making the drive to the Bayou City we asked our friends at Toyota to allow us to use one of their vehicles for this road trip. They obliged and provided us the 2017 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off Road in a beautiful shiny red. Check it out! I was in love with the 4Runner as soon as it arrived.
Although that probably has something to do with the fact that I used to own a 4Runner over a decade ago now. It was the first SUV I purchased and I remember coming home from the dealer to have my sister give me a high five and say “good for you! You deserve it!” It was the first car I had actually invested in because I wanted to drive around something I was proud to be seen in. It lasted me over 10 years before I finally parted ways with it. That was after me and Anjelica got married and everything. She met me in my 4Runner, ha!
So there’s definitely an affinity there.
We made the trek to New Orleans and back, and all I could think the whole while was, “huh, maybe I should get a 4Runner next.” We may need to hold off on that for now, but what I really enjoyed about this SUV was the power of the motor, the ability to switch from automatic to manual drive, and the option of going off roading anytime I wanted. That would have really come in handy when we were in Sedona earlier in the year.
On this trip, we didn’t get to do any off roading, but we did get to embrace a little bit of the New Orleans Mardi Gras scene, which is alway so much fun. Here are some of the pictures from our time in the Bayou State:
Who knows? Maybe we’ll make our next trip through Louisiana in a Toyota as well!