IH-10 BRIDGE, SABINE RIVER CROSSING, ORANGE COUNTY, TEXAS - This bridge includes entrance and exit…read moreramps for tourist information centers on both sides of the river and the turn-arounds at both approaches for this mile long, 120-ft. wide bridge on IH 10. It seems both Louisiana and Texas have been playing tic for tac since the settlers first appeared here in the 1820's. The center of the river represents the official border between these two states and have been the focal point of disputes since the territory was first divided and conquered. There really nothing magnificent about this concrete structure besides being the largest bridge crossing the Sabine River which is 33rd longest river in the U.S. at 553 miles long. Most of the river crossings prior to this bridge was via ferries or wooden truss bridges.

It's a bridge! I didn't fall in the water. It's structurally sound. I think. Close enough anyway…read more 10/10 would bridge again.

A nice family walk! It was a little cold and windy, but it did not disappoint as we spotted a…read morecouple gators! The walk ways are disability friendly as they are mainly paved. The viewing platform has a 'closed' sign on it, but we just walked around and had the opportunity to get an elevated view, where we spotted our big-daddy gator!

This was a fun and neat stop! The board walk is in great condition, and they were replacing the…read morespindles on the overlook tower when we were there. Being as it is February and most of the gators are staying hidden, we still saw 4 and a nutria rat. I would love to come back when the cat tails are blooming and when there's more birds migrating through. It's a beautiful area and this was an excellent way to see the swamp!

Wonderfully quiet spot to bet online, grab some free brew, or relax in clean restrooms. Also nice…read moreplace to walk the dog around a terrific pathway

One of the best welcome centers on I-10. Nice job Louisiana on this scenic and clean facility…read more This is a great spot for a walk around the lake. Watch out for gators sunning themselves. If you are a fisherman grab your rod and drop a line. Bathrooms are maintained. Probably safe enough for a short nap as it is video monitored.

Incredible experience honoring those who served our country in the military. Thank you for the…read moresacrifice you made on our behalf. Freedom isn't free. There were plaques for each war celebrating those who served. Also, there were displays of a helicopter, a jet, a tank, and a torpedo to name a few. Please head out there to see what you are missing. You won't be disappointed! I was extremely pleased!

I am a disabled Veteran who was an Army Paratrooper, My name is listed on these walls twice, and I…read moregrew up here.. so let that be known now as my review will contain some bias. While I served overseas my family and I helped have this Memorial and Honor sanctuary be built by donating what we could. This area of Southeast Texas started this project before it was nationally popular thing to be patriotic. They started building this place out of the respect of the community and the veterans that help this country everyday. Personally, I am honored to be listed among so many heroes. Personally, I am proud of the Veteran that lives on the site to protect it daily since some years back a bunch of local kids vandalized the place and tore up the grounds. Yes, they were caught and truly ridiculed by the community and they served their judicial sentence given; but the harm was done, and once again a Veteran stepped up to stand guard with honor over this local landmark. If you spend any amount of time out there you will learn many things and meet Veterans from many areas that travel here to see their friends and other tokens of memories gone by. If you spend enough time here, you will learn that the gentleman guarding the area served on a transport vessel... if you talk to him further you will learn that he manned the Anti-Aircraft gun on that vessel... and if you hold the conversation long enough he will show you a picture of that vessel he served on and point to the ACTUAL AA GUN from that vessel sitting right near the building and ceremony area. (how cool is that?) I have taken many pictures of this area, and this review is long over due, so please spend a moment to go here and respect the care and love that has been placed into building this area. It may seem tattered and weather beaten, but remember that the site has remained through many Hurricanes and floods, weather beaten winters and winds, and honestly.. as a Veteran... I would not want it any other way; spit shine and polish is saved for the parades, the weather distressed monuments attest to the true Veterans that make these places memorable and how they will never go away. God Bless ALL of our Veterans.. and God Bless the United States of America... "This We'll Defend"[U.S. Army Motto]

I love this liquor store!! Beer wise they have things I can't get in Texas. I love that they have…read moresamples that you can sample.

Great liquor store with nice and helpful people. The store is clean and kept up. Prices are good…read moreif not better than other places and that is a plus!!!! I am glad to have this store around.

The Interstate 210 Bridge, located in Lake Charles, La, runs directly over the Calcasieu River…read more It's solid concrete, and has survived numerous Hurricanes and tropical storms. Interstate 210 does a loop around Lake Charles, and connects to Interstate 10 on both ends. I drove over this bridge and also had a great view of it from Prien Lake Park. One of the 2 major bridges in this city!!

A bridge is a structure built to span a gorge, valley, road, railroad track, river, body of water,…read moreor any other physical obstacle known to man, in this case a Ship Channel. Designs of bridges will vary depending on the function of the bridge and the nature of the terrain where the bridge is to be constructed. Most bridges are utilitarian in appearance, but in some cases, the appearance of the bridge can have great importance. Often, this is the case with a large bridge that serves as an entrance to a city, or crosses over a main harbor entrance. These are sometimes are known as signature bridges but this is not the case with this bridge since the signature bridge in the area is on I-10 and is referred to as the Jean Lafitte Bridge. To create a beautiful image, some bridges are built much taller than necessary I'd say this rings true with this bridge rising some 140 feet above the surface of the water it was built to accommodate most tall ships of the day in 1962. Built as a by-pass route for I-10 it's referred to as the Lake Charles Loop or 210 Bypass which is a mere 12.4 miles long and this bridge spans more than 1.6 miles of the entire loop or roughly 13% of the total roadway. The construction of this bridge came with many stories from the old timers that worked on it, from a tale of two men who fell into the concrete during construction and the hard nosed foreman wouldn't allow time to look for them and they never were found, to another where a laborer being blown off the top of the bridge while carrying a sheet of plywood and ended up flying all the way to Holly Beach, Louisiana on the Gulf Coast which is more that 40 miles away, luckily he landed in the water right next to his brother-in-laws camp right off the beach and hitched a ride back to work before his bossman noticed he was missing, It's doubtful that any of these tales are true but made interesting conversation for us kids that grew up in that era. Regardless of what is true or just a myth this is a beautiful bridge and watching the sunset in the background is breathtaking. The view from the top is just as stunning and provides a bird's eye view of the chemical plants and oil refineries as well as downtown Lake Charles and the newest casinos. It also provides an alternative route for those that find crossing the aging Jean Lafitte bridge a little too daunting.

We attempted to visit the Sabine pass battleground. We drove in and parked. Paid our $5. As we did…read morethe guy told us the mosquitoes would be bad, as if on cue they swarmed. We hastily made a circle around the area, but did not dare stop as they would just attack more. Upon tears of sorrow we made our way back to the car. We had clearly lost the battle of Sabine pass.

Scenic trail way along the Sabine River. State historical…read moresites with historical markings highlighting civil war history and WW2 history and strategic importance of port defenses. (Courtesy of Texas historical society) The location of a significant Civil War battlefield, Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site tells the story of Confederate Lt. Richard "Dick" Dowling and his 46 men who thwarted a Union assault on Sabine Pass, a primary Texas port for Confederate shipments of supplies and vital to the war effort. In a battle lasting less than an hour, Dowling and his men destroyed two gunboats, resulting in significant casualties and the capture of nearly 350 prisoners. Thanks to their efforts, area ports escaped capture and Union forces never penetrated the Texas interior in the Civil War.

We decided to do a day trip to Orange to visit the Shangri-La Botanical Gardens (see my other…read morereview) and thought we'd stop at this old home for our elderly guest. You cannot go straight to the house for a tour, you must meet at the Stark museum across the street, purchase a ticket, and then be accompanied by a tour guide to the house. The museum is free if you'd like to visit that while you are there. Once you walk over to the house you cannot bring a camera in with you. A knowledgeable and very long winded tour guide will bring you around the average sized home for about an hour describing every room in detail. It's a pretty home from the outside and I wish that was all I had seen. The long tour of the inside was boring. Our tour guide was obviously very proud of the home and the history of the house in relation to Orange, Texas, but it wasn't as interesting to out of town people. I don't think that I am being overly harsh. My 70 year old mother-in-law accompanied us; she is a huge fan of old homes and antiques. She found the tour to be too long and to focus on mundane items in the house. My suggestion... go to Orange for the day. Visit Shangri-La and stop in front of this home to see how pretty it is from the outside.

We like going here around Christmas when the house is decorated and there is a small ensemble…read moreplaying Christmas music.

The hours of operation stated 24 hours, but the facilities were closed upon our arrival. No big…read moredeal! I was still able to walk the grounds reading the historical markers. The building seemed in disrepair, but overall was impressive in its historical aura. Support your local historical site by donating time and money to restore the house to its original granduer.

It's a old historical site. The owner died and left it to the town along with a large sum of money…read moreto take care of it. The town took the money during bad times on the promise the town would take care of it. Water front property.