May 7 2010 New Orleans

We arrived in Slidell,La. at the Eks Lodge where we will stay for 2 nights. They have a large park setting with hookups,grass and beautiful trees with moss hanging from trees. Once we got set up in the RV we headed off to New Orleans. We got down to the French Quarter and started in the French Market. Lots of things to buy.

I had to have my fix of Beignets at Cafe Du Monde so we went there next.

Love those Beignets! We started walking and houses are amazing with their wrought iron grill work and hanging plants.

When walking down the side streets we came across K-Paul's restaurant,Chef of New orleans fame.We considered eating there but after seeing the prices decided against it. There are many great eating places here so went elsewhere.

Walking around we came upon Cuban cigar shop and they were making hand made cigars. It was very interesting.

We stopped at Jackson Square and there is a fountain and statue of General Jackson on his horse. In the background you can see St.Louis Cathedral.
We had a great day in New Orleans.We've been here before so we didn't go to Bourbon Street.New Orleans is a unique city and like no other in the U.S. We're livin'ez on the road you do the same.

May 6,2010 Baton Rouge

The first thing we did this morning was to go to Louisana State Capitol. The legend was the dream of Huey Long the Governor at that time. It was during the depression and was completed in 1932 in just 14 months.it has 34 floors and 450 feet high,it is the tallest capitol in the United States.It has a observation deck at floor 27 and you are able to see the Mighty Mississippi and the Capitol Gardens. Huey Long was assassinated in the capitol in 1935 and he is buried on the grounds where there is a statue of him. We went into the senate chambers and were amazed how beautiful it was.On one end is the Senate and the other end the House.Here are some pictures of the inside.

Here's the House

Beautiful Chandelairs and ceilings in the foyer.

The Pentagon Barracks were built in the 1800's and are still used by LSU students and legislators.

Next we were off to the the Old State Capitol.High on a bluff overlooking the Mighty Mississippi sits this Gothic looking old Capitol. It is over 160 years old and has withstood fire,war and scandal. It has a beautiful cast iron circular staircase and black and white fossilizes marble floors. It is now used as a museum of Louisiana political history. It also has a section on Huey Long which is very good.

The gun that supposedly killed Huey Long.

We finished up and decided to go to see the USS Kidd our namesake. We couldn't leave without buying hats with our names on it.
Next we went to the casino and ate dinner at Shucks.Food was good but service was lousy.Hardly anyone in there and we waited 45 minutes to get our food.Well that's it for our day see what happens tomorrow.

May 5.2010 Livingston,La.

Today we left Abbeville and drove 108 miles to Lakeside RV Park in Livingston,La. On the way we drove above the Atchafalaya Basin.This is the largest swamp in the U.S. It is filled with bayou’s,  bald cypress swamps and marsh land.

On the way we stopped at Bass Pro and that was a mistake,$200. later we back on the road to Lakeside Rv Park.This is a Passport America park and were we surprised.This a very clean and pristine park.It has a small lake and the rvs circle around it. The spaces are all paved with grass in between and a table.We are staying 2 days so we can see Baton Rouge. 

Tomorrow we will be off to see Baton Rouge.

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.