Our ship is docked at the Shamrock Marina south of downtown of Baton Rouge. There is a hiking/biking trail on top of the levee we walk cross as we board the bus for our tour today.

Our bus drives through the Beauregard section of town on its way to the State Capitol and the Capitol Museum. We pass one of the many Native American Mounds. There are over 800 sites in Louisiana. Different from Florida sites as these were not used as trash heaps but rather were used for rituals and ceremonies. They have dated some of the mounds back to 5,000 B.C.E., making them the oldest in the Western Hemisphere.

We are dropped off in front of the museum and given 90 minutes to tour at our leisure. We decide to walk over to the State Capitol building. It is 350 feet high, clearly visible from miles away, built in 1932 in 14 months. Huey P. Long was the influential governor convincing the public and legislature it would save money by consolidating the government into one building.

Huey P. Long was assassinated in this building in 1935 and he is buried on the grounds with his statue facing the Capitol.

The 48 steps that lead up to the building each have the name and the date of each US State at the time – 1932.

On each side of the steps are ‘monumental’ statues, the Pioneers and the Patriots.

The inside called Memorial Hall is classic art deco with the marble walls from Italy, large vases from France, floor tile made from Mt. Vesuvius, granite from Vermont, and oil painted tapestries on either wall, gifts from France.

The chandeliers are bronze and hand-carved.

The elevator doors have the portraits of all American governors of Louisiana….and going up to the observation deck the elevator makes sure you know which one you should use!

From the Observation Deck on the 27th floor, you can overlook Baton Rouge with spectacular views. North is the petrochemical corridor and the Southern University. The petrochemical refineries built in the area are the fifth largest in the state and eleventh in the world.

To the west is the Port of Baton Rouge and the Mississippi River.

Now that I’ve bored you with my amazement of the Baton Rouge State Capitol building, we crossed the street to the Capitol Museum. This is a nicely laid out museum presenting the history of the state of Louisiana from ancient times to today. Exhibits are organized by regions and cultural aspects. Enjoy the pictures.

There is also a special art exhibition worth a walk through. Included with the art is audio in creole and French dialects. Unique!

A favorite of Steve’s at the museum is the hot dog stand which was in New Orleans. Then, Ignatius C. Riley the main character in the book “A Confederacy of Dunces” made it famous.

On the way back to the ship, the bus tours us around parts of Baton Rouge ending at the LSU campus near the Tiger Stadium. There is a building next to the stadium which has the LSU Mascot, a real tiger. We didn’t go in to see the tiger but we heard he was sleeping. That reminded me of my granddaughters visit to Florida where we went to Big Cat Habitat. I wonder if the Florida tiger might have originally been a mascot for LSU?

Time to get back to the ship!