What a week I had last week!

I spent some time away from the capital city enjoying other parts of this great state.

Wednesday I headed up to Chatham in Jackson Parish to visit Jimmie Davis State Park. It is truly a beautiful park, and I wish I would have had more time to enjoy the fantastic sandy beach on Caney Lake. It’s also a great place for birding and cycling.

Thursday I headed south for another beach, Grand Isle. The famous Grand Isle International Tarpon Rodeo was in full swing, and people hit the water for a big catch. Visitors to the island enjoyed events with live music, great food and, of course, great fishing. Grand Isle is the perfect place to get away, enjoy the coast and the great outdoors. If you need a place to stay, check out Grand Isle State Park.

My week ended in Jackson Square at The Cabildo where I held a news conference to announce the American Association of Museums’ reaccreditation of the Louisiana State Museum system. LSM started the reaccreditation process in 2005. Hurricane Katrina delayed the process, but the LSM staff persevered and met even stricter requirements set by the AAM to be reaccredited.

Our museum system includes several world-class museums in and out of New Orleans Two of our most popular museums are located in Jackson Square—The Cabildo and The Presbytere. You will have two very different experiences at these museums but both enjoyable. You can feel the history when you walk in The Cabildo, the site of the Louisiana Purchase transfer. The permanent exhibit focuses on Louisiana’s early history where you will see artifacts from as early as the 1700s.

Two doors down, The Presbytere focuses on Louisiana today. The Carnival exhibit makes it Mardi Gras all year long. From costumes and crowns to beads and ball gowns, this exhibit is a real party. The lower floor has our newest exhibit, Living with Hurricanes: Katrina and Beyond. The $7.5 million exhibit opened in October and depicts real stories of the people who have been impacted by hurricanes throughout the history of Louisiana. It’s a great picture of the resiliency of Louisianians.

Of course a trip to the Big Easy wouldn’t be complete without a meal. For lunch, I went off the beaten path to old Metairie and Radosta’s Restaurant. Radosta’s is a family-run po’boy shop that’s been serving some of the best sandwiches in town for more than 50 years. Their specialty is the roast beef po’boy and it sure is special. The hot roast beef on freshly baked bread is a must-try. I also recommend the onion rings—I don’t know where they find onions that big but I am glad they do. I haven’t tried everything on the menu but I haven’t tried anything I didn’t like.