(This article by Louisiana-based writer Kathie Rowell originally appeared in the June 2023 issue of Military Officer, a magazine available to all MOAA Premium and Life members. Learn more about the magazine here; learn more about joining MOAA here.)

Louisiana vacations often focus on New Orleans, but there’s more to the state than the Big Easy.

Maj. Charles Libro, USAF, who has served at Barksdale AFB in Bossier City for all but three years of his 20-plus-year career, recommends the Shreveport-Bossier City and Natchitoches areas.

“Shreveport’s Festival Plaza is filled most weekends with events, including the annual Red River Arts Festival in the fall; various food festivals in the spring; the wine festival, Cork; and beer festival, Brew. Biannually, for a weekend in the spring, Barksdale AFB hosts the Defenders of Liberty Air Show,” he said.

Also on his list: Shreveport’s R.W. Norton Art Gallery, featuring everything from rare firearms and 16th century tapestries to Remington bronzes, surrounded by a 40-acre botanical garden.

Hungry? Libro suggests the fried shrimp remoulade po’boy at Marilynn’s Place and street tacos at Ki Mexico, both in Shreveport, and praline bread pudding at Fat Tuesday’s Sandwich Shop in Bossier City.

In central Louisiana, visit Natchitoches, the oldest town in the Louisiana Purchase. Stroll Front Street, where the brick paving and iron lace balconies bring New Orleans to mind. Hungry? Enjoy a signature dish of Natchitoches — a meat pie from Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurant.

Make Lafayette your hub for exploring Cajun country. Look for alligators with a swamp tour, visit Avery Island for a tour of the Tabasco pepper sauce factory, and two-step at Fred’s Lounge in Mamou, where Cajun music and dancing have been a Saturday morning tradition for more than 55 years. Sample regional favorite boudin — spicy sausage made of pork and rice — at a number of eateries in Scott, the “Boudin Capital of the World.”

Historical Highlight: The Barksdale Global Power Museum celebrates the history of strategic bombardment at the home of the 2nd Bomb Wing, the 8th Air Force, and the new Air Force Global Strike Command. Exhibits include B-17 and B-24 bombers, a P-51 Mustang, and the highest and fastest flying jet aircraft ever, the SR-71 Blackbird.