Quiet Baton Rouge

Late last night, as I was cooking dinner with the door open, since it was still so beautiful out, I noticed a bright orange glow light up the horizon. It got brighter, so I mentioned it to Mario, who promptly went out to investigate. I could see the slightest hint of flames above the silhouettes of the houses on the other side of the river, and sparks flying. As I watched, the intensity of the orange light grew and diminished, and I heard a loud crackling, like the rustling of leaves...Mario came back, relaying that, at first, he thought the Dollar General store was on fire, but then there was no panic, no sirens, no firefighters. And then there was no more light in the sky, so we got back to doing the dishes.

This morning, as we set off from the wonderfully-quiet 2 days rest in Parks, where they never did come collect the camping fees from us, we notice the sugar cane fields look a lot more scorched. A little research turns up the answer: in Louisiana, where sugar cane is grown and harvested, the plants are often set alight after cutting, in an attempt to burn all the useless outer leaves that only have to be removed anyways, and this controlled burning saves money in the long run. It is, however, a controversial practice, as it is obviously bad for the environment, as well as the residents living near the fields being burned, often having to deal with what they call "black snow". Either way, it was a most unnerving sight last night, especially when we had no idea what was going on!

Today, we are driving through Baton Rouge on our way to New Orleans, with a planned stop in town for some tasty food and to take a look around. Baton Rouge is the state capitol, so there are some nice historical buildings to see, including the tallest State Capitol in the United States, and we do love a good tower climb! But first, a late breakfast at The Vintage, a cool, hipster sort of place that makes a really good coffee and is just down the road from the Capitol. Of course, we get the most Louisiana things we can on the menu: I go for the grits with bacon, cheddar and topped with a poached egg, and Mario gets the beignet smothered in "sawmill" bacon gravy, also topped with a poached egg. Yes, we will be getting our fill of beignets when we hit New Orleans, but what's one more? Both meal are hearty and delicious, and really well-presented, if maybe a bit tiny in portion size. But delicious - and did I mention the coffee is great? 

Grits!

We walk along seemingly empty streets to the Capitol building, past the obligatory security check, and through the incredible marble lobby to the elevator. We are then whisked up 27 flight to the observation deck overlooking the city. It is a beautiful day, but sooo windy - Mario grabs a hold of his glasses before they fly away. From up here, we can see across the city, the symmetrical gardens below, and even the campervan parked in a nearby parking lot. We see all the barges and cargo ships floating in the Mississippi river, and the U.S.S.Kidd Battleship that is such a big attraction - not to us. And back down the 27 flights we go, to see more of the city.

Old Capitol

Upon arriving at the Old Capitol, a beautiful white-and-gold-coloured castle building, complete with a rainbow-hue inside and magnificent stained-glass dome, we are stopped suddenly by locked gates. Seems that they are doing some routine maintenance, and the building will only re-open next week. Boo. This was not marked anywhere, and if we go by comments later by the guys at Oxbow, it has been closed for a while now, so I don't know if this was ever really an option for visiting. I am sad to miss out on all the colour, but the outside IS pretty, at least.

Our next stop is this very empty city is Oxbow Distillery. While doing all the research about the sugar cane, I had a idea - what if, like in Guadeloupe, the sugar cane is not only used for making sugar, but also syrup, which is then used to make rum? Perhaps a rum agricole, like the types we enjoy drinking so much? And with that, I discover Oxbox, a small-but-growing distillery that does in fact create a line of small-batch rums, including a spiced AND an agricole one! Score! 

Oxbow tasting

So it's 3 in the afternoon, and we are the only 2 people sitting in the large, echoey tasting room, sipping on 90-proof(about 45%) craft rums made of the sugar cane harvested about 20 minutes from where we camped last night. It may have even been the stuff we saw burning overnight - who knows. But it is good stuff. The agricole rum is perhaps my least favorite, only because my expectations were so high, but it is the same vegetal taste I expect to find with that type of production. The white rum, their "mixer", is smooth and fruity, and surprisingly good - I wouldn't mind sipping a glass of it, and I am not a hard liquor-kind of person. The real standout is the False River Spiced Rum, a dark rum flavoured with spices and a bit of orange, and oh-so-smooth - it reminds me of a less sweet Shrubb, the Christmas liquor from Guadeloupe. It is smooth and the flavours are well-rounded, and it is apperently a real seller over the holidays here in Baton Rouge. Mario and I both agree it is the really winner today, and so get a bottle of that to take home, as well as some much-coveted cane sugar for our rum drinks in the summer. It's nice to see such local products doing well, and with dreams of growing their market even bigger than their own tasting room and a few restaurants beyond that. It's also great to have a well-rounded tasting experience with people who are truly knowledgeable about and love the product - our bartender has only been working here for 2 months, and speaks as though he owns the brand. It made for a wonderful experience, and not just a run-of-the-mill tasting, and we are happy for the detour.

Time for us to depart quiet Baton Rouge, where it seems everyone stayed hidden in their offices because it is a cold, windy day out - note that I toured in a knee-length dress and light sweater, and it is sunny and 21 degrees C out, so cold is relative, I guess. The inside of the campervan is nice and hot, and the drive is short. First stop is at Elsie's Pie & Plate for amazing homemade pies to snack on in the parking lot, because why not when you have your entire house with you? Then a quick jump onto the I-10, and off again to discover more of the back roads. We follow a route that runs along the Mississippi river, but since there are 2-storey tall levees built to combat flood, we see nothing of the river as we drive. And the other side of the route is picturesque fuel refineries and pesticide production facilities, so not too pretty, either. 

Our stop for the night is just outside one of the former sugar plantations near New Orleans, the Oak Alley Plantation. It is as large and majestic as you would expect of a plantation home, placed all the way at the end of an alley of magnificent old Live Oaks, their branches forming a canopy over the entrance. It's after hours now, so no visiting, but that means the tour bus parking next to the river is free for overlanding, so we join a large bus RV from Belgium in the quiet spot for the night. We take a walk along the top of the levee to catch a view of the sunset and the big cargo ships dropping anchor for the night, then have a little 5-a-7 in the still-warm Louisiana evening air. We have to enjoy it while it lasts, the temperature is supposed to drop overnight, and the wind rocking the campervan already is certainly not helping!

Tomorrow, New Orleans!