Things to do in Louisiana!

Many friends & RVers continue to ask about what to do when traveling thru Louisiana, here are a few more links & suggestions....
this was written for folks traveling East to West, so if you are traveling West to East just start at the bottom!
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when people think of Louisiana, they usully tink of New Orleans, which if you've never been there, I guess you should go. Katrina brought many changes to the city, many of which will never go back to the way thery were. If you go, I would suggest the French Quarter (you know, you must be able to say you walked Bourbon St, etc). make sure you walk the art & antique shops on Royal Street. Our absolute favorite resturant in NO is Lola's read about it here http://www.frommers.com/destinations/neworleans/D41563.html
also, when in the Quarter, try Olivier's (the only true Creole (Black) French resturant in N.O. I know of) http://www.olivierscreole.com/ their rabbit is to die for! and finally, you can't go wrong with the Palace Cafe on Canal Street http://www.palacecafe.com/media/pr.php everything is great, dress at all of these is casual (to formal) anything works!
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a good place to camp for NO is Fountainbleau SP http://www.stateparks.com/fontainebleau.html rates should be reasonable, and you MUST paddle Cane Bayou while you are there. Our friend Byron Almquist leads reasonably priced paddles there http://www.canoeandtrail.com/trips/canebyu/ or you can just go on your own. Our old paddle club has notes on it. http://www.bayouhaystackers.com/trips/canebyu.htm also, the club members would probably be glad to help if you email them (some may even join you!) http://www.bayouhaystackers.com/
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If you go through Baton Rouge, you may want to visit the State Capital, it was built by the controversial Huey Long, and is the largest of any state capital building in the US. My Sister, Audrey Fry, works there as a tour guide, so be sure & tell her I sent you. The tour is excellent, and they will also suggest other things in the area.
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Just north of Baton Rouge is St Francisville, my hometown for the past 5 years. It is a B&B historical community. http://www.stfrancisville.net/town_new/index.html http://www.stfrancisville.us/ It has two great (cheap) Plantations to see, Rosedown and Oakley (Audubon's home where he did many of his bird paintings) The town also has quite a history, stop by the museum on Ferdinand St (main st of the town). Also, drop in at the Birdman Coffee & Books, and tell Lynn Wood (owner) that I sent you there...be prepared to hear a few stories! The Cat Island NWR is a great place to bird, and has the world's largest bald cypress tree. http://www.where2guide.com/TouristTrail/outdoors/catisland.html
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Of course, the real uniqueness of Louisiana is Cajun country...that's the area over in the southwest. And of course that means great CAJUN MUSIC, you can find out everything going on at http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cajunzydeco/zydemagic/thepatsyreport.1010.tenten.htm
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BUT, at a minimum, make sure you catch the 8-noon old cajun jam at Mark Savoy's music shop on Hwy 190. http://www.eunice-la.com/interest.html#smc later that evening at 6pm, you can go to the Cajun live music radio show broadcast from the Liberty Theater. http://www.eunice-la.com/historic.html#liberty If the music at savoy's is not "rockin'" enough for you there's always "Fred's" in Mamou with music every Sat morning. http://jvp.smugmug.com/gallery/1040867#48308103
If you are there for two Saturday's, you could also do the Sat morning Zydeco breakfast at Cafe des Amis in Breaux Bridge, it's a blast! http://www.cafedesamis.com/

there is a small campground near his shop on highway 190... http://campgrounds.worldcampgrounds.com/Louisiana/Eunice/CajunCampground.html and also a great one that is located in Breaux Bridge, and it takes Passport http://www.pochesmarket.com/camp/index2.htm There is a club just north of there that has good music (and they usually include free food - like jambalaya or gumbo) called NuNu's http://nunuscafe.homestead.com/. An old friend, Joe Hall, plays there often, be sure to mention my name if you see him. http://www.lsue.edu/acadgate/music/hall.htm
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Another great place to visit is Vermillion Village, which is in Lafayette near the airport. They have a nice old town set up, movies & exhibits on Cajun culture & history, and a great buffet every day for $10! On Sunday afternoons from 1-4pm they have a Cajun or Zydeco band. It's in a large dance hall, where the music is not so loud (like at Angelle's), and families & kids can go. Oh, and yes they serve beer & alcohol (only in Louisiana! http://www.lafayettetravel.com/meetingplanners/conventionandfacilities/acadianculturalcenter/

AND ALSO! the Sunday 4-8pm dance at Angelle's Bar http://pw1.netcom.com/~rkiser/Directions/WhiskeyRiver.htm (note that dancing on the bar IS ENCOURAGED! )
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there are two campgrounds in the area near Angelle's. one is just south of the Atchafalaya Welcome Center exit at Belle Rose on I-10 BUT, a better choice would be Fausse Point SP http://www.crt.state.la.us/parks/ilakefaus.aspx which has great paddling & hiking trails thru the swamps and is very close to Angelle's.. the other MUST for this area is to visit Lake Martin. http://losbird.org/swla/LM.html it is a world famous rookery http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/546658445gQWZkq and a nice day paddle.
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If that's not enough go south of Layfayette to the New Iberia area, and visit Avery Island.. http://www.tabasco.com/tabasco_history/avery_island.cfm#targ

and I guess I could go on & on, but you'll find your own way when you get there, so go enjoy Louisiana!