We flew down the highways through Texas. Great thunderstorms -- in Amarillo the locals were all talking about where to park their cars because of the possible golf ball sized hail. We didn't spend any time in Texas other then on the highways.
Texas has little or no highway amenities -- they don't have rest stops (restrooms and picnic tables), they don't have picnic areas (just picnic tables), but they only have "trash areas" (a widening in the road that has a small covering and a garbage can). When you leave Texas on the interstate, the first thing you see in Louisiana is a gigantic, southern style visitors center nestled in a wooded park. The states are all different in their little ways.
The visitor's center told us we should visit the Louisiana Exhibition Center on the state fairgrounds to get an overview of the state. Since we were not planning to spend anytime in the state, we stopped and took in the overview.
This place was cool (I didn't take pictures, though). A circular building was full of dioramas of different industries and activities of the state as well as many historical and cultural artifacts. They also have two alligators in the center of the circular building. These alligators are some sort of local celebrities -- our children still proudly sport their "Charlie Bob and Samantha" (the names of the to alligators) tee shirts.