Belles on the Bayou

Rosedown Plantation (Chris Granger) [enlarge photo]

When Jenny and I were roommates in London 10 years ago, we vagabonded around Europe and laughed our way through sketchy hotels, impossible-to-follow directions, and more than one visit to a foreign hospital. Since then, we've both married and had kids, and we now live 700 miles apart—she's an English teacher in Utah, I'm a stay-at-home mom in Yuma, Ariz. We were due for another grand adventure. We'd been longing to see the old South, so we set our sights on sultry southern Louisiana.

SULTRY SOUTHERN LOUISIANA See photos of Cajun country, where BT's reader-contest winner and a friend toured plantations and tried alligator. • Launch the slide show

We kick off the trip at Baton Rouge's Capitol Park, a cluster of green spaces and government buildings in the heart of downtown. Sandra at the Welcome Center gives us our first big hit of Southern hospitality, sending us on our way with maps, a local's perspective on politics (Governor Bobby Jindal is "young and good-looking"), and food recommendations. The self-guided tour of the area—about a mile square—seems just our speed: I'm four months pregnant and not moving quickly.

The 34-story Louisiana State Capitol building is famous for being the tallest state capitol in the U.S. It was here that senator and presidential hopeful Huey Long was assassinated in 1935—one of the bullet holes is still visible in a marble pillar. At the observation deck on the 27th floor, Jenny and I stare out at a lot of riverboat casinos. But what's impressive to us desert Westerners is the size of the Mississippi River. I live in a place that gets just a few inches of rain a year, so this looks like an awful lot of water.

Across the capitol grounds is the new Louisiana State Museum, its mirrored-glass façade a nice contrast to the capitol building's art deco design. Jenny and I are particularly intrigued by the full-size shrimp boat, à la Forrest Gump, and the collection of memorabilia that details how native son Louis Armstrong went from juvenile delinquent to U.S. jazz ambassador. Our next stop, a few blocks away, is the Old Louisiana State Capitol, where we marvel at the stained-glass dome until we're dizzy. Back outside, we're blanketed by the humidity; it's time to head to Sandra's top recommendation.

Poor Boy Lloyd's is the real thing: People are spilling in from the surrounding office buildings. We order boiled-shrimp po'boys at the counter, snag the last table, and savor the air-conditioning. When our sandwiches arrive, they're overflowing with fresh, juicy shrimp, and we're happy campers; if only we'd ordered the plate-size onion rings.

Jenny is intent on seeing alligators and wangles me into a tourist trap I wouldn't ordinarily go for: a sunset swamp cruise out of Prairieville. Our Alligator Bayou Swamp Tours adventure starts on land with a feeding demonstration of baby snapping turtles and alligators. Then we move on to a walkway and watch the big gators. The largest, Elvis, is more than 14 feet long, and even though I know he has no interest in me, that wide-open mouth is still scary. Our time on the swamp is my favorite part; the trees look haunting in the fading light. As we try to spot wildlife, I get Jenny excited by telling her I think I see a deer. When it turns out to be only a large dog, she nearly pushes me overboard.

It takes us about an hour to drive to Pointe Coupee Bed & Breakfast, in New Roads, where we're spending the night. After we check in, husband-and-wife owners

Jim and Sam McVea shoo us out the door so we can get to their favorite restaurant, Ma Mama's Kitchen, before it closes. The food is worth the rush: seafood gumbo, softshell crabs, and something magical called seafood boulettes, crab and shrimp cakes served over a spicy risotto. Back at the B&B, we feel like we're staying in grandma's spare room, with straw hats, framed lace, and more floral patterns than I can count.

LODGING
Pointe Coupee Bed & Breakfast
405 Richey St., New Roads, 800/832-7412, manornetworks.com, $145

FOOD
Poor Boy Lloyd's
201 Florida St., Baton Rouge, 225/387-2271, po'boy $6

Ma Mama's Kitchen
124 W. Main St., New Roads, 225/618-2424, entrées from $12