More Cajun Culture

Jim, Cookie, Ruth and Betty enjoy a GREAT meal at the casino.
Dave and Priscilla
Ollie, who we met at Touchet's last spring, and Nanc.

A boat in the Delcambre Christmas parade.

"FREE" -- The first time I get to take advantage of being old.

Maison Olivier

The bed's removable rolling pin was used to smooth out the Spanish moss in the mattress.

Did you know loofah was a plant? We didn't.

St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church

Evangeline

We truly are caught in Betty's web as we have decided to stay one more week to enjoy her hospitality and this part of the country. We went to the Cypress Bayou Casino with Betty and others from the RV park and, not surprisingly, Betty knew the boss and was able to get us a great lunch with enough food for two meals. Since we were all winners before spending a dollar, it eased the pain of putting money into the one arm bandits. Actually, Nanc broke even on the day and a good time was had by all. On another night we got to eat craw fish and although very tasty, they are still very small this early in the season. Jim and Cookie Grigware, who we met here in the spring, arrived this week for a two month stay while another spring couple, Dave and Priscilla Pinckard, stopped for a visit. We continue to enjoy the local culture at the Cafe Museum listening to French Cajun music and talking with new friends we have made in the area. In Delcambre we watched the Christmas boat parade.

Another day we visited the Longfellow-Evangeline State Historical Site that shows how the arriving French Acadians, who were expelled from Nova Scotia, interacted with the Creoles, those of French descent who already lived along the Bayou Teche. The Acadians' story was portrayed in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1847 poem, "Evangeline." In many cases the established aristocratic Creoles looked down on the Acadians or Cajuns. The Creoles lived on larger plantations like the Maison Olivier and the Cajuns became small farmers living in small cabins. The pictures show a couple of things we learned about how the people in the area lived. We also walked around St. Martinville and toured the oldest Catholic church in Louisiana.