Nine ways to spend the Dog Days

Schools dismiss this month and thus commence the anticipated Summer Break.

For teachers and students alike, this means sleeping in and trying to figure out ways to make the most of free time. Fear not: There is no shortage of ways to valuably pass the “dog days.”

Even for non-touring residents, inquiry with the Houma-Terrebonne, Bayou Lafourche and St. Mary Area Convention and Visitors bureaus can unveil a host of new summertime opportunities.

This list includes some of the highlights. It is far from comprehensive.

Regional Offerings –

A one-hour car ride to the northwest or northeast yields an abundance of summertime options.

In Baton Rouge, Blue Bayou Water Park and Dixie Landin’ combine to off heart-thumping rides of the wet and dry variety. The parks also have attractions for the young ones, including a bi-lane that puts children in the pilot’s seat. Tickets are $36.99 for guests who measure 4 feet or taller and $29.99 for those who don’t meet the all-ride threshold.

There’s also BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo, which shows off more than 1,400 animals, including the first black rhino born in Louisiana. Admission costs $8.25 for adults and teens and $5.25 for children.

In New Orleans, the Audubon Institute beckons with a multitude of hourly events that include insect tastings, penguin feeding, giraffe feeding and a stingray touchpool.

New Orleans visitors can enjoy zoo, Audubon’s Aquarium of the Americas ($21 adults, $14 children), Butterfly Garden and Insectarium ($16 adults, $11 children) and the always-captivating IMAX Theatre ($10.50 adults, $7.50 children).

Adventure Quest is another New Orleans option. The 6,000-square-foot, multi-leveled laser tag arena does not have age or height restrictions. Each game costs $5.75.

Watch the Boats Sail Past –

There’s probably no better way to wile away the hours than watching the ships pass, and the Tri-parishes have a number of vantage points to take in the waterways.

One favorite is at Houma’s Marina Park, near the Terrebonne Regional Medical Center. In the shade of the Intercoastal Bridge at the Kaboom Playground, you can enjoy a quiet lunch and catch the occasional vessel as it makes its way downriver.

LUMCON –

The Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, formed in 1979, is based at the DeFelice Marine Center in Cocodrie, off La. Highway 56. In addition to research, the facility’s education program invites the public on self-guided tours of its grounds and amenities.

Included in the tour is a trip 65 feet above sea level in the observation tower, which offers a 360-degree view of Cocodrie and the marshland. Guests can also peer inside nine aquariums that house marine life from the Gulf of Mexico and Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary.

The facility has prime designation in America’s Wetland Birding Trail book. Ponds are easily accessed via boardwalks, and coastal wildlife meanders about its habitat while interested spectators look on.

The center is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. For more information, call (985) 851-2800.

Tour Historic Homes –

There are several homes that offer a window into lifestyles and architecture of the past scattered throughout the region.

Houmas House, located on River Road opposite Donaldsonville, is open for tours seven days a week. The antebellum creation features 16 rooms with Louisiana artwork and antiques and 38 acres of gardens, ponds and an oak alley.

Oak Alley Plantation in Vacherie makes majestic use of the trees, stoically framing the Big House with nature. Tours of the Big House are given on the hour and half hour beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. every day.

Nottoway Plantation and Resort is located off La. Highway 1 in White Castle. More than 150 years old, the 64-room stark white mansion anchors the grounds. Guided tours begin on the hour and run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. seven days a week.

Madewood Plantation House in Napoleonville is just a few bends up Bayou Lafourche for most, and its Greek revivalist columns provoke curiosity. The 164-year-old home is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

E.D. White Historic Site in Thibodaux, a National Historic Landmark managed by the Louisiana State Museum, offers an exhibit on the Bayou Lafourche area, the prominence of sugarcane plantations, Acadian settlers and the White family. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Public Swimming Options –

Perhaps the best way to offset the summertime heat is to dive into a swimming pool.

Thirteen swimming pools are open for public use in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes.

In Lafourche, people are welcome to swim at the Cut Off Youth Center, the Larose Civic Center, Oakridge Park in Golden Meadow and in Lockport and Thibodaux.

Terrebonne’s sites are Boundary Road in East Houma, Dumas, Montegut, Grand Caillou, Chauvin, Smithridge, Dularge and Bayou Black.

The sites offer various fun activities, such as water aerobics, swimming lessons and competition opportunities.

For pool-specific information, call Lafourche Parish Government at (985) 537-7603; Terrebonne Parish Recreation at (985) 873-6584; the City of Thibodaux at (985) 446-7235; and the Town of Lockport at (985) 532-3117.

Fishing Options –

There’s a reason southern Louisiana earned the “Sportsman’s Paradise” moniker.

Dozens of sanctioned fishing rodeos are held throughout the region – on nearly any given weekend, anglers can try their rod in hopes of landing the biggest fish and prizes.

Those who have their eyes set on the more exotic fisheries can sign up with one of many charter-fishing captains based all along Louisiana’s coasts.

Dozens of lakes with public-access points are scattered throughout the Tri-parish area, including fishing hotspots like Lake Verret, Falgout Canal and Lake End.

Lafourche Parish has public boat launches in Chackbay, Choctaw, Kraemer, Thibodaux, Raceland, Lockport and Golden Meadow. Boat launches in Terrebonne provide waterway access from Cocodrie to Montegut to Dularge and beyond.

And there’s always the allure of a straight cast from the banks of bayous Dularge, Caillou, Terrebonne and Lafourche.

Coordinated Hikes & Birding Trails –

For those who can bear the warm weather, several walking tours and wildlife hikes are offered throughout the region.

In Morgan City, visitors can supplement their perspective with a trip to the top of a 21-foot-tall sea wall bordering the Atchafalaya River. The vantage point from atop the “Great Wall” allows guests a better view of the city and the opportunity to watch marine traffic stream by.

The Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge is more than 3,000 acres of freshwater marsh. Here, the public is welcome to take guided tours through the wilderness.

The Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center offers one-mile tours through downtown Thibodaux on Monday through Friday.

There’s also the Historic Downtown Houma Walking Tour, which takes participants past art galleries, museums, restaurants, historic sites and the downtown marina.

Swamp tours are also readily available in Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary.

Local Museums –

For those who prefer their continued education with a dose of cold air, perhaps the litany of local museums is the answer.

The Bayou Terrebonne Waterlife Museum in Houma is a great place to start. The 46-foot-long “Wetlands Wall,” is a must-see, for both the intricate artwork put in by internationally acclaimed artist Robert Dafford and the significance of his depictions ranging from the Gulf of Mexico deep water, past the barrier islands and into the higher ground.

The Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center, under management of the National Park Service, centers on the lives of Acadians, some of Bayou Lafourche’s early settlers. The museum, which is home to a 200-seat theater and numerous films, exhibits and artifacts, also hosts summer camps, boat tours along Bayou Lafourche, French-education classes and “Family Fun Days.”

There’s also the Center for Traditional Boat Building (Lockport), Bayou Lafourche Folklife and Heritage Museum (Lockport), Golden Meadow Historical Center, Laurel Valley Village Sugar Plantation and Museum (Thibodaux), the Chauvin Sculpture Garden, Regional Military Museum (Houma), Southdown Plantation and Terrebonne Museum (Houma), Terrebonne Folklife Culture Center (Houma), Chitimacha Museum (Charenton), Grevemberg House Museum (Franklin), International Petroleum Museum and Exposition (Morgan City), Louisiana State Museum-Patterson and many more.

Visit Grand Isle –

With more than a dozen fishing rodeos scattered on just about every weekend during the summer, Grand Isle has an obvious appeal to sportsmen.

Yahoo News named the island one of its top-five American “island getaways” in 2011, crediting its fisheries in the story. But its entertainment options expand beyond casting and reeling.

Grand Isle State Park, which includes a 2 and a half-mile nature trail and RV and beach camp sites, is open daily. Admission is $1.

The island is also a popular location for birdwatchers, and it is home to a 42-foot-diameter butterfly dome that is open year-round. Several tours, which focus on dolphin watching and kayaking, among other niches, are also available.

It would be glaring to not mention the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo, which literally draws in more than 100,000 people each year.

The rodeo, billed as the “oldest fishing tournament in the United States,” was established in 1928. It returns this year from July 26-28.

The pygmy hippopotamus is an endangered herbivore whose typical habitats are dense swampy forests near rivers, streams and creeks.

COURTESY BREC’s Baton Rouge Zoo

Grammy Award-winner Irma Thomas headlines a Mother’s Day show May 13 at New Orleans’ Audubon Zoo. Moms are admitted to the zoo free.

COURTESY Audubon Zoo

Madewood Plantation in Napoleonville is one of many historic homes in the region. 

ERIC BESSON