Jennings

Jennings was born as a railroad town, then segued into oil and gas exploration and became the site of the first oil well to produce in Louisiana. It's part of the Acadiana prairie region and caters to travelers along I-10.

• 🌍 W.H Tupper General Merchandise Museum, 311 N Main Street, ☏ +1 337 821-5532. Tu-W 10AM-2PM, Th-F 10AM-4PM, Sa 10AM-3PM. An old-timey mercantile as it was when it closed in 1949 and history museum with old telephone switchboards and penny-farthings, etc. (updated Jan 2021)

• 🌍 Gator Chateau, 100 Rue de l'Acadie (in Oil and Gas Park), toll-free: +1 800 264-5521. M-Sa 9AM-5PM. This unique place will allow you the chance to hold a baby gator - how novel is that? A center for alligator education and displaced baby alligator habilitation until they can be released into the wild. Adjacent to the facility is a settler's cabin replica, oil derrick, and pond to represent a snippet of Acadiana. Education Center free but donations accepted. (updated Sep 2021)

• Walmart Supercenter, 303 E Interstate Drive. (updated Jan 2021)

• 🌍 Greens Cafe, 603 N State St, ☏ +1 337 824-1002. M-F 11AM-7PM, Sa-Su 11AM-2PM. Has some local cuisine such as catfish. (updated Sep 2021)

• 🌍 Hampton Inn & Suites Jennings, 310 Fred & Ruth Zigler Memorial Dr, ☏ +1 337 824-2699. It may seem like kind of a desolate place for a Hilton property, but at least you can build up your points. (updated Sep 2021)