Ribbon Cut on New I-10 Attraction in Louisiana – Sneak Peek This Weekend

Parents in Lake Charles, Sulphur, Crowley, Lafayette, and countless other cities and towns along Louisiana's I-10 corridor will soon be having to deal with the conundrum that defines summer every year. That conundrum? Bored kids with nothing to do.

That's why smart parents and guardians, such as yourself, are always on the lookout for something new and interesting to do. If the good time can be had for very little money that makes it better. And if the attraction can offer a good time at a fair price and be educational too, what is the ultimate parental Win/Win.

Before we get to yesterday's ribbon-cutting ceremony along I-10, let's go back a few years. In fact, let's go back to the year 2020. What do you remember about that year? If you were living along Louisiana's I-10 corridor from Lafayette westward to the Texas line you'll remember 2020 as the year of Hurricanes Laura and Delta.

Those two storms devastated much of Cameron, Calcasieu, Vermillion, and other parishes. The historic winds, expansive storm surge, and destruction of infrastructure left many communities reeling. No community was hit harder than the City of Lake Charles.

But because Lake Charles is not New Orleans and isn't populated by citizens who expect the government to take care of them the leadership in that community saw the damage from the storm as an opportunity for growth and that is how Port Wonder came to be.

Port Wonder has actually been in the works since before the storms but the revitalization of the Lake Charles waterfront became such a priority that many of the plans for Port Wonder were fast-tracked and yesterday city fathers and state dignitaries cut the ribbon on what will become a shining attraction for the 80,000 plus visitors who travel along I-10 through Lake Charles can now visit.

The public/private partnership will include two different museums. There will be the Children's Museum of Southwest Louisiana and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Nature and Science Center. Each of these attractions, when opened, will offer a separate ticketed entrance.

Port Wonder and the Crying Eagle Lakefront Complex will change the way the world sees Lake Charles as they drive through on I-10. In fact, the perception might be just enough to get some of those 80,000 cars and trucks to actually stop in and visit the city.

Let's hope that is the case as southwest Louisiana continues to pull itself up by the bootstraps in the face of those devastating hurricanes from almost five years ago.