Wednesday Evening: After driving north over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, we stayed in a nice state campground on the Tchefuncta River. Busy river with fishermen, speed boats, party boats, and water skiers and tubers. We spent time watching some fish leaping upstream - pretty spot with lots of Spanish moss - reminds us of home.
Thursday morning, we drove west into Baton Rouge. Scoped out parking for the places we wanted to visit the next day and then found our campground a few minutes south of the city. We (that is the royal "we") did laundry in a local laundromat and returned to our campsite at an equestrian center for the night.
Friday morning, I enjoyed my morning coffee while watching kids exercising their horses in the nearby ring. We got out early and drove back into Baton Rouge to visit the Louisiana State Capitol - the only skyscraper capitol building in the country. It was built by the infamous Huey Long during the depression - a magnificent art deco masterpiece that cost a fortune and was finished it in 14 months! Art deco chandeliers, marbles of every color and pattern and lots of brass. Long was assassinated in the building in 1935 and is buried on the grounds.
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| Beautiful stained glass at ground level entrances at either end of the building |
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| Ornate art deco lighting fixtures, marble and murals - entrances on either end to the House and Senate Chambers |
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| Love the hot sauce on the Congressman's desk |
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| Congressional Chamber |
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| Beautiful wrought iron decorations on the windows |
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| Spectacular marbles everywhere |
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| Brass Door panels |
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| Brass elevators |
We rode two elevators to the 24th floor to the observation deck for views of Baton Rouge and the Mississippi River.
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| Looking south on the River |
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| Looking north on the Mississippi |
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| Barges - Lifeblood of shipping on the the River |
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| The main entrance is undergoing construction |
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| Some of the parkland surrounding the Capitol |
We stopped by the earlier State Capitol - a castle- literally! Heavy on the drama in Louisiana. This was built in the 1800's and replaced by Huey Long's skyscraper.
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| The Old Capitol "Castle" |
We drove south along the Mississippi, but you cannot see it because the high levees are built on both sides to protect the lands adjacent to the River.
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| Waiting our turn to board |
We took a small quick ferry across to visit the largest plantation in the South for lunch - 59,000 square feet! The Nottoway Plantation is now an Inn with beautiful landscaped grounds and we treated ourselves to a great lunch in the Solarium.
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| Crossing the Mighty Mississippi |
We drove along the west bank of the river to Nottoway Plantation. This is one of the largest plantations in the south - 59,000 sq. ft. It is now an Inn with several restaurants. We chose to have an upscale lunch in the Solarium, overlooking the grounds where we could watch a huge thunderstorm gathering. Jack had a petite filet and I had blackened redfish - wonderful!
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| View of Plantation from side |
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| Beautiful tile work in Ladies' Room |
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| The ceiling in the bathroom stall - Really! |
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| The gardens were beautiful surrounding the Plantation |
Campgrounds were hard to find in the area because in between multiple magnificent plantations are many oil and chemical processing plants whose workers stay for extended periods in large fifth wheel motorhomes. We found one in a nearby city back on the east side of the Mississippi. We found our spot, then headed back out to do some grocery shopping, fill up the propane tank and Jack got a haircut. After our extravagant lunch, we opted for just cheese and crackers for dinner.
Great tour, it is an interesting city:)
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