Seeing Tiger Mike

This has now become an obsession with me! The nephew and his sons and mother came to visit in March. On the way out of the state, they stopped by LSU early in the morning and got to see Tiger Mike. I thought this would be an easy thing to do. I was wrong.

Yesterday I wasn't up to leaving the hotel room and gadding about Baton Rouge so I anticipated the next day's visit. I was ready. LSU is only 4 miles away from this Holiday Inn.

I contacted Stephanie and she agreed to meet me here at the hotel. She lives in Gonzales, a 20 minute drive from here. Stephanie is a friend of my daughter's. They were in skate club in Casper, Wyoming and via Facebook we found Stephanie living in Lake Charles. 80 miles away..how amazing! She visited us in Lafayette and since then has moved to Gonzales with her S.O. that travels a lot with his job. When she heard I was in Baton Rouge, we decided to spend the day together.

We dropped the top on the roadster and left the hotel headed for LSU. We were turned away by a guard. Graduation ceremonies were in progress and a pass was needed to get on campus. So much for visiting Tiger Mike.

Our next stop..the state capital. The new one. We waited in line at the top of the granite steps with a group of people. When I ventured a question to them, I found not one of them spoke English. They were a tour group of French men and women.  We were eventually allowed in where my metal knee set off the alarm system. They believed me when I showed them the knee scar and we were waved on in. Two groups were touring and we headed off on our own to one of the senate rooms. Surrounded by a group of blond haired folk, we listened to the tour guide for this group. Germans. We were on our own again.

I think the Capital building is ugly. I hesitate to be so blunt but there it is. The ugly brown large pattern granite covers the walls, the ceiling is a dingy brown and the floors aren't much better. There is really no open rotunda. No beautiful paintings surrounding the walls of the former governors nor much in the way of statutes. I suppose, after seeing the capital of Texas in Austin, I compared the two. There is no comparison. Disappointed, we left there to drown our sorrow in shopping. I joke.
We did go shopping and then for lunch. The weather was great and we had a good time.

I was proud of myself for climbing all those steps to the entrance to the capital. At least it was some exercise.

I'm waiting on the husband to arrive. This is the last night we will spend here. His job is finishing up this afternoon. We plan on spending the night and hanging around Baton Rouge tomorrow to see Tiger Mike. Have I mentioned I'm now determined to see that damn CAT!

I'm outta here for now. I will post pictures of that cat should I ever get to see him..I even have my LSU t shirt to wear when we meet.