Published: March 27, 2008 11:29 am            

Shreveport's an outdoor city, but the insides are interesting too

TIFTON, Ga. — Shreveport celebrated Mardi Gras without me this year but I wore the green and gold and purple beads I caught there a few years ago in a frenzy during their family-friendly, get-ready-for-Lent parade.

Fought some little kids to get them. That¹s what happens, even in the no alcohol Mardi Gras towns, or parade quadrants. Competition reigns.

The rest of the year in Shreveport is friendlier and that¹s what I was looking for on my second visit to this city on the Red River.

Chimpanzees. I went to Louisiana to find some. Retired chimps to be specific. Retired from the entertainment business, and medical research.

There really are all sorts of ways to shape up a vacation, or choose a destination for a change-of-pace long weekend.

"Get a life," some people told me when I declared this travel mission before going. You won¹t be one of those doubters if you choose to go to Chimp Haven.

Congress authorized this place as a sanctuary nine years ago. Politics aside, consider these chimps official. For sure they¹re charming, and their caretakers treat them with dignity and kindness.

The 141 chimps living here dine on apples, bananas, onions, pears, bell peppers and okra.

Also, chewing gum, Ensure because they¹re old, and juice from little boxes with straws. Chimpanzee behaviorist Amy Fultz is teaching these indoor chimps to learn to love the outdoors in the 200-forested acres of the nation¹s only chimp Sanctuary.

"Chimps need groups and space," Fultz says. "In the wild they live with 20, or up to 100 chimps." Sounded like friendship to me.

No invasive research happens here, but Fultz says they are learning how to cook and care for an aging population.

"Chimps and people get the same diseases. We¹re treating heart disease, obesity and diabetes, using the same meds you and I might take," Fultz said.

How old are they? In the wild 30 is considered a long life but in captivity chimps live to be 50, 60 or 70. Seventy-six was the age of the oldest retiree at Chimp Haven the day I was there.

Don¹t show up just any day; this isn¹t a zoo. Second Saturdays, March ­to November in the morning is the time to meet Teresa, Rita, Ronald, Leroy and all the others here which staff say chimps share 98 percent of their genetic code with humans.

I don¹t think the chimps get chocolate or red wine, but people wanting a blood pressure benefit can show up at the Chocolate Crocodile most any time.

If grabbing Mardi Gras beads raises blood pressure, Shreveport has a place to help lower it.

The Chocolate Crocodile is a happy business, claims owner Cindy Ragon, using great-grandmother¹s recipes and not minding a bit that the process to make "the best ever caramel" takes her three hours.

"It¹s nice to know you can go someplace calm, with quality chocolate to raise your serotonin and endorphins, and lower your blood pressure," Ragon says.

Money Magazine last year forecast dessert shops to be a new afternoon trend; this just might be one of them.

Dessert in the afternoon kept me from ordering sweets at dinner, but I watched preparations for others.

Giuseppe Brucia, executive chef at Ristorante Giuseppe in Shreveport, is in full view in his wide-open kitchen right in the dining room.

All the chefs are on display as they blend flavors and create artistic arrangements of appetizers, entrees, desserts and soup.

Giuseppe learned to cook in northern Italy, moving to Milan at age 13 and to the U.S. in his thirties, according to son Joe, also a chef.

Once a month find a six-course paired wine dinner here featuring different regions of Italy. Walk it off in lots of Shreveport, and neighboring Bossier City, places.

One-eighth of a mile is the distance to stroll in the circular Louisiana State Exhibit Museum, dreary title but wonderful displays.

Eighteen dioramas are made from beeswax. Incredible details tell a Louisiana story of industry and agriculture from the 1930s.

Great big frescoes at the entrance WPA projects, and normal size glass cabinets with exceptional Indian pottery, baskets, crafts and costumes plus traveling exhibits work together to make this a good visit.

Keep walking at the Sci-Port Discovery Center, or sit on the edge of your seat during an IMAX presentation.

Hundreds of space and science exhibits can be prodded, punched, pushed, lifted and stepped upon. No "don¹t touch" signs here.

I even stretched out on a bed of nails, gingerly proving some point I learned at the time but now forgot. Museum education is like that sometimes.

Shreveport¹s Sci-Port also has an amazing planetarium with computerized stations so you can figure out the positions of the stars on any date, your birthday perhaps, or dock a shuttle at the International Space Station.

For me, that¹s a value of travel opportunities - connecting to something personal, or understanding current events a little better.

When walking turns tiring, the Red River dividing this duo city provides a chance to float on a Spirit of the Red River Cruise.

Ease into the bayou, right through the downtown, and see blue heron as easily as paddle wheel gaming boats, or an 1880 swinging railroad bridge as clearly a modern science center.

That¹s special. Normally you¹re either in the city or in the country; here you¹re both.

The Red River is a bustling place, and these two cities built up art and performance space, shopping, dining, gaming and museums on both sides of the water. Strolling opportunities are abundant, serious runners and vigorous walkers use paved paths in view of the water while benches and landscaped tiers in the amphitheatre meet everybody¹s outdoor resting needs.

Shreveport lets you indoors too for up-close looks in historic homes. The Logan Mansion¹s handsome carved staircase, eight-square wood floor, Dutch tiles, curved windows and original shutters make timing your visit for the Friday afternoon tours worthwhile.

Vicky LeBrun wanted this 1897 house for 20 years and finally was able to seal the deal. Her love for every inch of the 5,000- square-foot home is evident when she walks you through, pointing out single pocket doors, Roseville pottery, the original lamp at the stairway that matches historic photos perfectly, and more.

She has a ghost story but the emphasis is Queen Anne Victorian beauty.

The neighborhood¹s interesting with six or seven equally lovely houses and Oakland Cemetery, established in 1847 yet including an 1842 gravestone, many victims of yellow fever and more than 2,000 Confederate veterans.

The Municipal Auditorium is in this neighborhood too. Turns out to be as nice a surprise as the stuffy sounding Louisiana State Exhibit Museum that was well worth getting past the name. Same thing here.

Think Elvis. The Grand Old Opry turned him down at age 19 but radio station KWKH broadcasting the Louisiana Hayride gave him a chance with two songs in this building.

His parents needed to sign the contract for $18 because he was too young and people on my tour were practically swooning over the document, posted in his old dressing room.

Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Johnny Horton, George Jones, Hank Williams Jr. and more Louisiana legends sing to your musical spirit here with displays, tours, concerts and a lot of reverence by the fans.



Christine Tibbetts writes for The Tifton (Ga.) Gazette.

        

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