If you go: The Capitol Park Museum is located at 660 N. Fourth St., 225-342-5414; www.crt.la.gov/museum. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is free.
As soon as I married a Louisiana boy, I should have climbed in my car, steered east on Interstate 10 and marched straight into the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge.
There, I could have gleaned a better understanding of my husband’s crawfish-boiling, swamp-exploring, squirrel-hunting roots.
I finally made it to the museum, also known as the Capitol Park Museum, this year, about 15 years tardy. Still, it helped. I got a glimpse of what it was like to grow up a few blocks from the Mississippi River, where schools close for Mardi Gras and you have to watch out for alligators when you water ski in the bayous.
The museum is located a few blocks from the State Capitol, also a tourist must-do, especially if you are interested in the history of former governor Huey P. Long, who was shot dead there and is buried within eyeshot of the building.
I planned to spend an hour at the museum. I ended up staying three.
In that time, I got a colorful history of our neighboring state, including its natural history, politics, industry, musical heritage and culture. I brushed up on the Louisiana Purchase, in 1803, when President Thomas Jefferson forked over $15 million to France in exchange for 828,000 square miles of land. I learned about Bonnie and Clyde, the river plantations, the steamboat era, the role of the Higgins boats in World War II and the tradition of building bonfires along the river to light Santa’s way at Christmastime. I learned about food, too, from pralines, po’ boys, beignets and crawfish to red beans and rice, traditionally cooked on Monday, when women could soak beans while doing laundry.
The museum’s well worth a visit. While you’re there, be sure to see the following things:
1. The exhibit on Louisiana governor Huey P. Long, who was beloved for his populist programs and colorful speeches but criticized for fraud within his administration. Look for the microphone stand backed by scrolling video of Long making fist-waving speeches — it really brings the man to life. And watch clips of other people talking about Long, including a politician who describes him as the “south end of a northbound horse” and a waitress who says “anyone who doesn’t like him is an old meanie.”
2. The real-live Lucky Dog hot dog-selling cart, straight from the streets of New Orleans. Read “Confederacy of Dunces,” anyone?
3. The Mardi Gras experience. Ever ridden on a float in a Mardi Gras parade? Climb into this enclosed exhibit and you’ll know, via the magic of multimedia, what it’s like to have hundreds of screaming drunks begging you to toss plastic beads their way.
4. A replica of a Cajun cottage made of cypress boards. Makes me want to boil up a mess of crawfish.
5. The Coco-J, a real 50-foot wooden shrimp trawler anchored right in the middle of the main downstairs gallery. The boat helps explain the importance of the Gulf fishing industry.
6. The re-creation of a football tailgate scene, which makes you realize that those who tailgate in Texas haven’t quite mastered the art of pre-football game feasting and rabble rousing.
7. Recordings by Jimmie Davis, known as “the singing governor,” who served from 1944 to 1948 and again from 1960 to 1964. Davis supposedly penned “You Are My Sunshine.” He also scored a No. 1 hit with “There’s a New Moon Over My Shoulder” while in office. (And taught yodeling on the side.)
8. The dark, dingy re-creation of a slavery sale, and information about slave life on the plantations along the Mississippi River.
9. An authentic voodoo alter and re-creation of a Louisiana cemetery.
10. The display about jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, also known as Satchmo. Hear him blow his horn and learn about the time he spent performing with the band from the New Orleans Home for Colored Waifs, where he was sent for general delinquency as a kid.
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Here are 10 other really cool things everyone should do while in Baton Rouge:
1. Drop by the Louisiana State Capitol, 900 N. Third St. (225-342-7317; www.nps.gov/nr/travel/louisiana/cap.htm). While you're there, see the spot where Governor Huey P. Long was assassinated, check out the view from the observation deck at the top and eat a shrimp po' boy in the basement cafeteria.
2. Attend a Louisiana State University football game at Tiger Stadium, also known as Death Valley. For ticket information go to www.lsusports.net.
3. Explore the Old State Capitol, 100 North Blvd., a Gothic castle that Mark Twain described as "the ugliest thing on the Mississippi" (clearly he never saw the chemical plants). (225-342-0500; www.louisianaoldstatecapitol.org).
4. Eat raw oysters at Acme Oyster House, 3535 Perkins Road. (225-906-2372; www.acmeoyster.com).
5. Visit the U.S.S. Kidd and Naval War Museum, 305 S. River Road (225-342-1942; www.usskidd.com).
6. Tour Magnolia Mound Plantation, 2161 Nicholson Drive (225-343-4955; brec.org/magnoliamound).
7. Drink chicory coffee at CC's Community Coffee House, 4161 Perkins Road (225-381-8187; www.ccscommunitycoffeehouse.com) or the Coffee Call, 3132 College Drive (225-925-9493).
8. Sip a frozen daiquiri from French Quarter Daiquiris, 5625 Essen Lane (225-767-5144).
9. Say hi to the otters living in an otter pond — along with 1,800 other animals at the Baton Rouge Zoo, 3601 Thomas Road (225-775-3877; www.brzoo.org).
10. Run (or walk) on the paved path that winds around the University Lakes on the Louisiana State University campus. Look for flocks of roosting white pelicans that migrate there each November.
