Lafayette, Louisiana

We arrived in Lafayette, Louisiana early on Thursday afternoon. We had stooped for fuel at about the 100-mile mark and then had planned to stop for lunch at a rest area in Louisiana at the 28-mile marker on I-12. We passed the area and there were some remnants of a rest area but it must have been closed for at least three years. The next rest area was at the 137-mile mark on I-10, about fifty miles away, so we decided to stop at a Pilot station and just use the truck parking area. Well we pilled in to the Pilot but the parking was all back in and there was no where for us to park so we hit the road again and headed to the next rest area. We drove until we hit the 135-mile marker and figured that we weren’t going to find this rest area either. There wasn’t even any evidence that there was ever a rest area in the vicinity. Now we are only forty miles from our exit and the KOA RV Park in Lafayette so we just decided to take it all the way in. This was a 330-mile trip and to do it with only one stop wasn’t our usual procedure.

Thursday evening we went to a Cajun restaurant called Prejeans that our friend Ray had recommended. Last night, Friday, we went to Mulate’s that had been recommended by several people we saw that knew we were going to Lafayette. The food in both places was outstanding!!! We enjoyed our meals and the music in each location. We sat right by the band at Prejeans and listened to them sing and play for almost two hours without understanding one single word. The same was true at Mulate’s but that band did sing a few songs that we were familiar with from Country Hits.

During the day Friday Mike took his coach in to have the oil changed and he and Patty drove around the area while they worked on it. Tippy and I took Alex and drove to Petsmart to get some supplies for Alex and also drove around a bit ourselves. We came back to the coach around noon and had lunch and then Tippy did some laundry and I read for a bit and then took a short nap. Mike, Patty, and I decided to take a swamp tour on Saturday and Tippy decided to stay home. We were going to pick her up after the tour and go to lunch at a restaurant called the Boiling Point that was recommended to us by several people including some locals. After lunch our destination was to be Avery Island, the home of Tabasco Sauce.

The three of us headed out for the swamp tour a little after 9:00 this morning and arrived on time and waited for the rest of the people. The boat held 16 passengers and it was full but each passenger had a seat, with a back, and there was room for all in the 25-foot boat. Bryan, the owner/operator, narrated the trip as we moved about Martin Lake and then into the swamp. We saw several alligators, turtles, frogs, and literally hundreds of birds. There was a nesting ground for Snowy Egrets and we got to see several small babies still with fluffy fur. This is a major nesting area for the Egrets because of a certain type of tree, Button Tree, that grows in the area and it is easy for the birds to build a nest in them. We called Tippy on the way back to the park and she had decided that she wouldn’t go on the afternoon trip because she wanted to go to Mass at 4:00 and was afraid we wouldn’t be back in time. We headed out instead of returning to the RV Park and headed to the Boiling Point for lunch. When we arrived we found only one truck in the parking lot and that guy said the restaurant didn’t open until 3:00. We continued our drive and stopped at a Wendy’s for a quick lunch and continued on to Avery Island and the Tabasco Tour. The tour was pretty good as we learned some of the history of the product and how it is made. After the tour we visited their Country Store and purchased a selection of their products and the customary T-shirt.

We will eat in tonight and head for New Orleans to meet our friends Jerry and Jackie, who will join us for the next few months, and Rick and Cindy, our friends from Birmingham. We ran into a terrible rain and hail storm on the way back from Avery Island and even had to stop for a period of time until the rain let up a bit. We made a stop at Albertson’s in Lafayette and it had stopped raining and was nice out again. When we returned to the RV Park the rain was just starting there and as I am writing this it is poring here like it did while we were driving. I will post a few pictures for your enjoyment, more from New Orleans in a day or two.