Today was a big driving day. We spent three hours driving some back roads of Mississippi to get from Vicksburg to Baton Rouge. The picture you have in your mind is different from the road we were on. It was a 4 lane divided highway with a high speed limit of 65 and a low speed limit of 25. There were plenty of side roads, driveways, and small businesses that had a direct access to the road.
You really need to pay attention. Especially when entering the small towns. The speed limit drops from 65 to 55 to 45 to 35 to 25 in fairly quick order. It felt like missing a speed limit change might be an expensive mistake. We passed the test with no tickets.
It was a great drive, and much different from the interstate highway system that bypasses such places. While on the back roads, we stopped at the Louisiana Visitor Center for a break. This is the fourth state we have visited on this trip.
We went to Baton Rouge to see the capitol. It is an impressive building. Everyone reminds you that it is the tallest state capitol building in the country. It is an interesting monument to Huey Long. It is also the place where he was shot and killed.
The public areas inside are ornate. There are statues, lots of marble, ornate lights (that weight 1000 pounds each), and lots of architectural details.
The capitol was built in the early 1930’s. Governor Huey Long pushed hard for its construction to prove that Louisiana was a rich and powerful state. It is ironic that by the time the building was complete, he was a US Senator. He never got to sit in the new Governor’s office. It was also unfortunate that he was shot very near the elevator door shown above. He died later at the hospital. Apparently there are conspiracy theories about his death.
We rode the “Tourist Elevator” to the observation deck. The views from the observation deck were amazing.
After the long drive and the tour of the current state capitol building, we drove a few blocks away to see the previous capitol building. It is closed on Mondays so we could only see it from the outside. It is definitely a different building compared to the “new” capitol.
For lunch, we sought out a shrimp restaurant. We wanted a quick meal. Google pointed us to a place that should be on Guy Fieri’s dives, diners, and drive ins. Scenic Seafood was an amazing seafood restaurant. Marlene said the shrimp was the best she ever had. The red beans and rice was terrific. And the price was very reasonable. We enjoyed the meal on a bench near the capitol because Scenic Seafood is takeout only.
Before we left Baton Rouge, we went to the riverfront to see the Mississippi River one more time before we head back east.
After Baton Rouge, we had another three hour drive to Mobile Alabama. Along the way we took the scenic route through Gulfport, Mississippi for a preview of the Gulf of Mexico.
Sometimes the scenic route makes the trip seem shorter.