We spent the last two nights in Baton Rouge (Red Stick), Louisiana. Since it was Sunday and many places were closed, we drove the River Road and visited Houmas House Plantation.
This plantation was once one of the largest in Louisiana, over 300,000 acres. The property is circled in the map above.
Huey Long is buried in the park, and was assassinated in the building. I don't know much about him. The description of him says he was a populist, a demagogue and a flamboyant national figure.
All that is left today is 38 acres and a restored house. Houmas House is popular today as a wedding destination and also has three superior restaurants. We ate at the Burnside Pavilion Cafe, named for the owner who amassed the huge property.
The current owner is an art collector, with an extensive collection - not always pertinent to the period of the house, but interesting anyway. His Chihuly is hidden in the gazebo at the top of the garden.
We also stopped at the state capitol, the tallest in the country at 34 floors, built in the 1930's by Governor Huey Long. As it wasn't open, we walked the park.
You gotta read All the Kings Men by Robert Penn Warren or watch the movie, the original with Broderick Crawford. It's great! (book won Pulitizer, movie won Best Movie Oscar) - based on life of Huey Long
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