The Bayou State-Touring Baton Rouge & Lafayette

Baton Rouge was a delightful surprise. Especially following an extended stay in New Orleans our expectations were low. It changed our initial thoughts about Louisiana. There is more to the Bayou State than New Orleans. Baton Rouge was lovely and the people are hospitable and very-very friendly. We took our bikes around town the first day. We did a recon mission to get an idea of what we wanted to do in the next few days. First stop, the capitol building which by the way is the tallest Capitol building in the US of A. Drove through surrounding and historical Arsenal Park, then, Spanish Town which was quaint but underwhelming. We checked out the governor’s mansion and did a car tour of LSU’s sprawling campus. Kathy sat in the car as Brad perused Tiger stadium which seats 105,000 people and is adorned with plaques, statues, and sports history of their famed football team. We went home, had a wonderful steak dinner and binge watched Yellowstone.

The next day we went on the USS Kidd, or, as Kathy complained, it was just like the battleships we saw in Annapolis. Brad had fun as you can see him on the shitter below. We wanted to go into the old state capitol building but it was closed for renovations but we did take a stroll down the Riverwalk. That evening we attended a show at Shaw Performing Art Center and saw four musician/singer/songwriters from Louisiana that come home every Xmas to do a homegrown show. It was our first show since being on the road and they were awesome. We really enjoyed it!

The next day we took a walkthrough Perkins Rowe. We are not big shoppers, but always nice to walk around and still see Xmas decor. We are finally in a state where we have no clue what items are on the menu. We went to dinner at Chimes, which was recommended by the bartender at Tin Roof Brewery the day before (where we played ping pong and Kathy held her own) and had to ask the waitress what boudin was. She looked at us in disbelief and said “where you all from“ before she even told us what it was. It’s made with pork, rice, veggies and jalapeños; in case any of you are as naive as we were. So we ordered boudin egg roles, along with four other appetizers that were all amazing. When the bartender at the brewery told us about the restaurant, he said he goes there just for the red beans and rice. Didn’t make sense to us until we ordered a side dish of them. Wow, haven’t had those in CT.

Moved on to Lafayette for New Year’s Eve for a three day stay. Really nice campground with a lake and several amenities. Once again we had questions about the food. There were billboards all over the place advertising boudin and cracklin. At the entrance to our campground was Billy’s Boudin and Cracklin which we saw a million billboards about on our way. We thought we knew what boudin was until we went to Billy’s. It’s a sausage that comes with different ingredients, seasonings, flavors and cooking techniques. Some are smoked, some are not. Now cracklIns, are fried and seasoned pork belly was Kathy’s favorite and the Jew-boy even sampled a few.

New Year’s Eve dinner Brad booked a couple weeks in advance at Cafe Vermilionville. Crab beignets to start, turtle soup for Brad and corn and crab chowder for Kathy. The turtle soup came with a shot glass of vermouth and a little dish of something that Brad asked the waitress what it was twice. Her accent was so heavy, he didn’t know what it was until he tasted it (chopped hard boiled egg). Grouper for Brad and Filet for Kathy. It was a beautiful dinner that took a couple hours and very relaxing and romantic.

Most things were closed New Year’s Day and Sunday. There were 30 mph winds NY‘s day and the temperature went down to 28 degrees on Sunday. It was a good time to relax, write this blog, do laundry, and watch football. We’re off to Houston, Texas for a three hour plus jaunt. As we start our monthlong tour of Texas. We’re excited, since we’ve never been. Stay safe and healthy and thanks for reading down this far.

Best, Kathy and Brad