Southern Byways » Baton-Rouge

Day 5 – LSU Museum of Art

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 14:41:45 +0000

Today we spend the day strolling the halls of the LSU Museum of art. Over 4000 items can be found illustrating both British and American culture, with a strong influence of Louisiana throughout. Everything from paintings, furnature, pottery, metal work and more.

The Anglo-American Art Museum opened in 1962 in the Memorial Tower on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus. The museum and its collection were established through a generous gift to LSU in 1959 from an anonymous donor who wished to support an institution that would illustrate British and continental influences on early American art and culture in the South. The museum’s significant collection of American and British portraiture, furniture, and decorative arts grew from this foundation.

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Day 7 – Baton Rouge Air Balloon Festival Championships

Wed, 21 Feb 2007 14:31:34 +0000

Not often do you see a hot air balloon in the sky and not stop to take a longer look. Instead of tripping over a curb, or stopping your car in the middle of the highway, why not spend the day at the hot air balloon festival.

The Louisiana Ballooning Foundation presents The NABA National Hot Air Balloon Championships, August 2-6 and the Louisiana State Championships, August 2-6, on the grounds of the Pennington Biomedical Research Center. This exciting community event includes hot air balloon competitions in the mornings, balloon liftoffs in the evenings and balloon glows at night. There is FREE admission, parking and a giant children’s play area in BREC’s Perkins Road Park, plus fireworks on Friday and Saturday night.

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Day 6 – LSU Football Game

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 15:03:28 +0000

Even if your not a sports fan, taking in the sights and sounds of a College football game is quite an experence. Spend the Saturday night with 30,000 of your closest friends to cheer for the home town tigers. The atmisphere will make you a fan, even if it’s just for a few hours.

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Day 4 – Blue Bayou Waterpark

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 15:19:53 +0000

If there is one fact that people know about the south is that it gets mighty steemy in the summer, so what do you do when the tempature soars? Spend the day in the Lafourche Lagoon with the gators and lily pads, or try the Lafitte’s Plunge where you can try you hand at the mesly 90′ water slide, eather way you’ll stay cool.

Ahoy, Matey! Blue Bayou Waterpark is the place to be during the Hot Cajun Summer. It doesn’t matter if you are seeking the excitement of the Mad Moccasins or the relaxation of the Atchafalaya Run.

And right next to Blue Bayou Water Park, located on 80 acres at I-10 and Highland Road in Baton Rouge, LA, Dixie Landin’ is an Amusement Park designed for the entire family!

Dixie Landin’ contains 26 rides, 10 games and much, much more. We have retail shops for you to pick up souvenir t-shirts, hats, cups and many more items to bring home.

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Day 3 – LSU Hilltop Arboretum

Sat, 17 Feb 2007 15:56:24 +0000

If your family is anything like mine, you need a vacation to recover from vacation. No matter where we go it’s none stop, nobody knows what’s planned for the day, you just jump in the car and see where it takes you. If you want a tranquil day make sure you plan one, and the LSU Hilltop Arboretum is a good place to start.

Welcome to LSU Hilltop Arboretum! These fourteen extraordinarily beautiful acres in Baton Rouge showcase an extensive collection of Louisiana native trees and shrubs. The property known as Hilltop is located on Highland Road south of LSU.

You are invited to cross the old footbridge overlooking a twenty-foot deep ravine and wander into the tranquil “cathedral,” where tree canopies form a green protective room. Discover the bamboo grove where you can sit and listen to the wind in the trees. In the meadow, tall grasses and colorful autumn wildflowers shimmer in the bright Louisiana sunlight. The visitor to LSU Hilltop Arboretum will find not only a place of learning, but a quiet place, far removed from the pressures of life; a place of solace and contemplation.

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The Pentagon Barracks Museum

Fri, 16 Feb 2007 16:25:12 +0000

The Pentagon Barracks located in east Baton Rouge has more history then some small country’s. The land where the barracks now stand have been fought over by more nations then one can count. The barracks them selves were originally build in 1824 to house US Army Troops, today owned by the University of Louisiana and currently the home of the lieutenant governor’s office.

The Pentagon Barracks of East Baton Rouge Parish has been won and lost by the Spanish, French, and the British, and even has the distinction of being the site of the birth of a nation – the short-lived Republic of West Florida. During it’s use as a military post, many famous men and public figures served or visited, including Lafayette, Robert E. Lee, George Custer, Jefferson Davis and Abraham Lincoln.

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Day 1 – Louisiana Old State Capital

Thu, 15 Feb 2007 20:15:56 +0000

This week’s vacation finds us in Louisiana visiting perhaps the most over looked city in the state. With all that goes on in New Orleans, Baton Rouge doesn’t get the hype as its big sister does, but a few days in this city well worth the cost of a plane ticket. First up is the Old State Capital where the day to day running of Louisiana took place a few years ago.

Louisiana’s Old State Capitol Center for Political and Governmental History houses several interactive state-of-the-art exhibits including “Huey Long Live! The Kingfish Speaks”, “We The People” — our multimedia citizenship and voting experience, The Governor Huey P. Long Assassination Exhibit, The Governors’ Exhibit, The Campaign and Elections Exhibit, and The Louisiana Purchase Exhibit. Also, the multi-media presentation entitled “Louisiana: The Story is Here” offers visitors of all ages an exciting journey through our state’s past.

Admission:
Adults – $4.00
Students – $2.00
seniors and veterans – $3.00
children under 6 are free

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