MoDayTrips: Lake Charles Trip, Day 5, June 26, 2026

Lake Charles Trip, Day 5, June 26, 2026 – Around Lake Charles

I slept late (for me) and stuffed myself with motel omelets, turkey sausage, and cinnamon roles. That, and some traffic pattern research, gave me a solid base for a day of wandering.

My first stop is the west end of LC’s North Beach – what we called “sand beach” in my time. A large, ocean-going freighter is docked across the lake/river from me, worth a picture. I also take a shot of the high (and old) Calcasieu River bridge; I will cross it tomorrow.

I stop at the local welcome center, also on the beach, for a nice chat with the ladies there. They direct me to a fancy new nature center next door. Children flock to the half set up to educate and amuse them, I try the water & fish side. It’s worth the stop at half the $6 entry fee.

My next stop is the historic old city hall building, now an arts center.

An America 250 exhibit on the ground floor invites you to sign the Declaration of Independence with a quill; the quill is now yours. The second floor features permanent and rotating exhibits by local artists. I spent most of my visit at the top floor music/musicians exhibit. I remember many names, including a band that played at some of our high school dances.

The Confederate War memorial, across the street, lost its soldier in a hurricane some years ago.

I stop at the Lake Charles High School Memorial and look for names of classmates, many of them long gone.

From there, it’s a quick hop to Walmart, where gas is $3.29/gal. En route, I drive past the house where we lived during my 3^rd & 4^th grade years, our first in Lake Charles.