leg 3: baton rouge

2013 is turning out to be kind of a strange year for travel.  several of my events have shifted their dates just a tad, with some unexpected results. instead of going on one trip and having three or four days at home in between, all the travel backs up against each other.  the upside is that i might actually get to be home for a couple of weeks at a time. the downside is that i'm also on the road for a couple of weeks straight.

baton rouge was the final leg in my too-long road trip.  and it's one of the few 'recognizable' cities left in the country that i haven't been to.  and, as i learned last month in columbus, oh.  if i haven't been, i probably don't need to go.  does that sound snobbish?

i was actually excited to go. i've known two boys from baton rouge and both of them were very cute.  and i kind of thought that baton rouge would be a less drunk version of new orleans, and that it might give me a chance to enjoy the things i love about the south without all of the debauchery of the big easy.

but i could not have predicted just how different the two cities would be. instead of an 'up all night' kind of city, it was an 'everything worthwhile closes at 5' kind of city.  and, when you are sitting at a booth in an exhibit hall until 5pm everyday, staying in a downtown area, without a car, that boasts a number of empty restaurants, and nothing else, it's hard to feel like it's a city you're excited to be in.

of course, there's always an upside.  i was traveling with an enjoyable co-worker. we WERE able to find some good food (one of the best salads i've ever had, actually). i was in my room early every night (sometimes a challenge on the road). and watching 'swamp people' feels more real when you're in gator country.

and, if you know me at all, you'll know that i always make an effort to see or do something new.  fortunately, we were able to get out of the exhibit hall a little early on the last day, and first wandered over to the uss kidd.  

one of the interesting things i learned was...

Another unique distinction about KIDD's first voyage was the make-up of her crew. Anne Randle was the first member of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Voluntary Emergency Service) to be assigned to the Office of Shipbuilding in New York City. Ordered to take a training tour of the Kearny Shipyards, her name was placed on the list of personnel that were scheduled to report on board KIDD for the purpose of accompanying the destroyer across the harbor to the Brooklyn Naval Shipyards. Her name was listed as "Ens. A. Randle", omitting any mention of her gender. At that time, there was still an uneasy tradition that having a woman aboard a naval ship was to invite bad luck. However, when KIDD arrived at the Brooklyn yards, the official message sent back to the yards in Kearny read: "The WAVE delivered The Kidd at 2:30 today."

but i was also interested because of my grandfather's service as a naval pilot. in fact, the plane out front had motivated me to email my father to see if he had any info on the planes my grandfather had flown, and he sent a couple of photos in response

while perusing a display case inside the museum with models of various planes, another visitor, who could tell we were searching for something, asked if he could help.  when i explained what i was looking for, he took a quick look at the photos.  he recognized them instantly, but they were not represented in the case.  only slightly disappointed, sam (my co-worker) and i chatted with him and his wife, and enjoyed his obvious passion for the subject.

after the museum, we headed to the ship and enjoyed our self-guided, out of order,' if it's not roped off you can touch it, ring it, (or in the case of the beds) climb into it' tour.  i'll admit that climbing in and out of those beds were probably among the least graceful enterprises i've ever taken on, but some of the beds were hung so closely together, it was hard to imagine actually sleeping in them night after night.  it would definitely be an experience!

after fully experiencing the uss kidd, we headed next door to take in a planetarium show.  the science museum itself was a HUGE disappointment. but since the admission was basically free with the ticket for the show, no harm no foul. the show was fun, and the planetarium was a little different than others i've been too, so it was a nice way to cap off an early evening, and the trip itself.