New Places: Baton Rouge, LA

My work is going to be taking to a lot of new places in the next twelve months. Visiting new cities can be a lot of fun. Sometimes the ones you're not expecting to amount to much end up being wonderful, and sometimes the reverse happens and you have high expectations that don't get realized. Either way, going new places is always an adventure -- and I think it should also be a chance to learn something new!

From here forward, whenever I visit a new city I'll be sharing things I learned about each stop. This week took me to Louisiana, so Baton Rouge will be the first entry in my "New Places" series.

Here are a few things I learned about Baton Rouge.

• Baton Rouge is French for "The Red Stick." The name comes from French explorer Sieur d'Iberville, who saw a blood covered Cypress stick and figured he'd better look out for the local tribes.
• The city is located 80 miles west of New Orleans, so if you want to get in some serious trouble you're close enough to do it.
• Baton Rouge is also the capital of the state of Louisiana and the second largest city in the state.
• It's population temporarily exploded after Hurricane Katrina, as it accepted as many as 200,000 displaced residents.
• LSU is kind of a big deal everywhere you go.
• The best bar name I discovered was Daiquiri Cafe - "Home of the Attitude Adjustment." Definitely my kind of place.
• There are tons of good local restaurants in Baton Rouge. If you like ribs, check out TJ Ribs Acadian Thruway location -- you can even see the 1959 Heisman Trophy won by LSU's Billy Campbell.

I had a great time in The Red Stick but it's definitely nice to be home. I can't wait to see where my next trip takes me!

Happy Traveling!