Day 20 - Tour of Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Submitted by:  Pat and Mike Astley #3

The group bus tried to start with a tour of the Louisiana State University but could only succeed with a drive by as there were lines of busses headed that way for a special event.

We moved on to a tour of the Magnolia Mound Plantation.

This was followed by a driving tour of Baton Rouge, including the old and new Governor’s Mansions.

Old Governor’s Mansion

We took a break at the Hollywood Casino, where they had a wonderful buffet lunch with great views of the Mississippi from your table.

We took a tour of the old State Capitol building, a castle-like structure that had a beautiful stain glass ceiling above the curving staircase. We got to meet “the ghost of the castle” who gave us a multi-media presented history of the building, including the fire that almost destroyed it all.

After a walk around, and seeing some of the vendor booths outside, part of another celebration, we then went to the New State Capitol Building, a modern 30 story building and garden grounds pushed through by Huey Long. The tour of the building included the spot that Huey was shot, leading to his death and a view from the 27^th floor balcony of the capitol grounds and the city beyond.

Our final stop was the Louisiana State Museum, showing the history and culture of the state. I particularly enjoyed the Mardi Gras section.

Appropriately, our final event was a mock Jazz funeral with the mournful music start and the joyful Dixieland music ending.