May 4,2010 Last Day at Betty's

Today is our last day at Betty's and we've had a great time.Betty took us around today so we could buy some of the Cajuns favorite food. First we went to NuNu's to get our Boudin,cracklins and Slap Your Mama spice. Then it was to Fresh Pickins for fruit and vegetables. Boy thoses Cajuns sure know how to eat.The Boudin is great.Next we went to Jean Lafitte National Historic Park. They have a great movie showing how the Acadians were expelled from Nova Scotia and how they arrived in Louisana.Very compelling story.Next we got back to Betty's and since this was our last night here some of us went out to dinner.Yes were eating again.Here's a photo of Betty, Me,Sam ,Jody and Jim Girard.

Betty has been such a great hostess and we will miss her bubbly personality. Until the next time, LAISSEZ LES TEMPS ROULER, LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL.

May 3,2010 Tabasco and Rice

Today we got up and decided to go to Avery Island and tour the Tabasco factory.When we arrived there were lots of kids and buses there to take the tours Since it's the end of the school year they are having lots of field trips. We had been there before so just took a short tour.Tabasco Pepper Sauce was first produced byMcIlhenny from capsicum pepper plants first grown on Avery Island.Tabasco sauce is shipped all over the world and is number one in lots of homes.

Next we went to the Konriko Rice Mill. This is the oldest mill in America still in operation.We toured this before so all we did was buy Pecan brown rice.

We left and headed back to Betty's so we wouldn't miss happy hour. This is Bayou country and there is water everywhere. You will see houses built off the ground so it won't flood their houses.Here is a travel trailer that wants to stay high and dry.
That's it for today,tune tomorrow.

May 2,2010 Crawdad Festival

Today we got up and went to Breau Bridge.They were having their Crawfish Festival and when we got there the parade was going on. There was this tractor in the parade that had crawdad pinchers attached,pretty cool.It was very hot and humid so we didn't stay that long.

The music was good but with no place to sit and it being hot we decided to leave. We should have brought chairs like everyone else. A lot of people like to dress for the occasion. Here's a couple of photos.

When we got back to Betty's we went down to the boat that just came in to get fresh shrimp.People were lined up with huge ice chests to get there shrimp.We stood in line over a hour to get ours.Some people were there getting 400 and 500 pounds.After we got ours Betty took us to get crawdads for dinner. We got back and we all had a crawdad dinner. They were fresh and oh so good with their Cajun spice.

Betty and Sam eating there crawdads.
That's it for today we'll see what tomorrow brings.

May 1,2010 Abbeyville,La.

We left Livingston on April 30th and drove 220 miles to Abbeyville,La. and arrived at Betty's RV. When we got there we were welcomed by Betty. We heard a lot about Betty and her Rv park from lots of escapees and we just had to stop there. There is a happy hour every day at 4:30 and everyone in the park comes. On Saturday we into town to see some of the sights of the town. We stopped by the Catholic Cemetery and the St. MaryMagdalen Catholic Church. The cemetery dates back to1843. You can see all the graves are raised because of the high water.

Abbeville is known as the most Cajun city. We were getting hungry and heard about Suire's grocery and restaurent and decided to go there for lunch. This is just a old country store and is very busy at lunch.The food is great and had the best catfish poboy I ever tasted. Sam had the shrimp and I had the catfish.The lady behind the counter said she was new,she'd been there for 32 years.

We kept going by these ponds that had all these red and white tops ontop of the water and finally decided it must be crawdad pots.Sure enough we saw a man out there harvesting his crawdads.

When we got back to town it was time to go to Touchet's,better known as 2 checks. Every other Saturday they have Cajun music and everyone is out dancing and having a good time. Just love that music.

Here's Sam,Dick and Linda having a good time.
That's it for today,see what happens tomorrow.

April 23,2010 Battleship Texas

We arrived here in Livingston,Tx. on the 21st and will be here about 9 days. We're staying at Rainbow's End, the Escapees Headquarters.We haven't done much while we've been here,although we went to the famous Florida's for dinner. They are known for their BBQ Ribs and they were good. If your in the area make a stop at Florida's.

On sunday we decided to go to Houston to see the Battleship Texas and the San Jacinto Battleground Monument.Battleship Texas is the last of the big-gunned ships to be built at the beginning of the 20th century.She was commisioned in 1914 and the only surviving ship that served in both World Wars.Here are some of the photos I took. Here's looking at you.

The bunks and laundry

Sam in front of one of the big guns.

The Wheel House

Here in Houston all you see are oil refineries.

After touring the ship went over to the San Jacinto Monument.This monument is 570 feet above the battleground and was built to honor the men who fought for Texas independence. It is the tallest masonary structure in the world.This is where the battle of Santa Jacinto took place and General Sam Houston won the battle against General Santa Ana and won their independence.
After our sightseeing we were hungry and went to the Monument Inn on the water for dinner. We both had catfish and it was delicious. We went on a Sunday and the place was packed,if you go you may want to go on another day. After dinner we took the free ferry across the river and headed back to camp. A great day of livin'ez on the road.

April 13-21 ,2010 VISITING FRIENDS

We left Sherman, Texas on the 13th and arrived at our friends Neva and Jerry's in Quitman,Tx. They use to live in Calif. and we've been friends for over 40 years. Neva and I were roomates before getting married. It was so good to see them and the family. We will stay here about a week. They have a beautiful home on 4 acres of land. Here are some photos of the place.

Neva and Jerry and me in front of house.

Sam working in yard.

While we were here we went to Tyler and Neva took me to a store called Dressin' Gaudy. I loved this place. They have all these jackets with all the sparkles and bling.Also lots of jewelery. I will go back there when we come back through in Oct. We also went to one of the many Victorian homes in Tyler. This house is called the Goodman-LeGrande home also known as the Bonnie Castle.The Goodmans bought the home in 1866 and start remodeling in the 1880's. Dr. Goodman was a local Dr. and civil war surgeon. The family occupied the home for 72 years.
While at Neva's and Jerry's I think we gained a few pounds.She was always cooking and we were always eating. We had a great visit and will miss them but will be back in the fall.

April 11,2010 Grand Canyon Of Texas

Today we went to Palo Duro Canyon ,Texas’ second largest state park. Palo Duro Canyon is 120 miles long and 800 feet deep,and second largest canyon in the U.S.The canyon is full of wildlife,hiking trails,bike trails and has camping. In 1874 during the Red River Wars Col. Mackenzie was sent to remove the Native Americans and take them to Oklahoma.During this time the 4th Calvary was able to capture over 1400 horses belonging to the tribes. Later with no transportation the tribes surrendered.The canyon was nice,but we would have enjoyed it better if we had our bikes.Here are some of the pictures I took.