More Good Times at Betty's

We continue to have a great time at Betty's. Most of the people who are here for the month are also SKPs so you know they are a fun group. Jim & Bobby Chapman and Jim & Linda Mossman also have blogs about all the things we have been doing. Betty put together several outings to explore the area. We previously visited Mr. Charlie, the oil platform, Gerald Judice, the wood guy, and did the walking tour of Abbeville so we passed on these excursions. We did go to Palmetto Island, a new state park just a few miles from here, the Acadian Museum in Erath and the Cajun jam session at Touchets.

This is the group that is here for the month of Mardi Gras.
The weather has been fantastic with sunny skies and temps in the 70's. We took advantage of the great weather one afternoon when Scott, middle, got out his margarater and served up the tasty blend to keep the happy crowd nice and cool.

The sign at Betty's warns about getting caught in Betty's web. This has sure happened to us as we have been here four times and always end up extending our stay each time we visit. That said, we did not get caught like George and CeCe who, after two extended stays, bought a house just down the road. Betty invited the mayor of Abbeville, Mark Piazza, to present them with a certificate of welcome that made them honorary Cajuns. The local paper covered the story so I hope no one here is in the witness protection program.

Palmetto Island State Park has opened since we were here last spring. We walked the trails at the park to see some of the wildlife in the surrounding swamp. Above is a hawk and an egret and bottom are turtles and an armadillo. The park also has a very nice campground and a canoe trail that connects several ponds and flows into the Vermillion River. With an admission of only $1.00 or free for seniors the park is a worthwhile stop.

The group went to the Acadian Museum in Erath. The museum is dedicated to the history of the Cajuns and the story of the deportation by the British from Canada. We visited the museum before and met Warren A. Perrin (bottom right) the local attorney who was able to obtain a proclamation (center) from the queen apologizing for this action. We were at several places on Prince Edward Island this summer where they knew about Warren and his work in getting the apology. One wall (bottom left) is about Longfellow's Evangeline which tells the story of the deportation. An added bonus on this visit was meeting D.L. Menard, a local musician, (top) who was nominated for a Grammy this year. Warren took him to Los Angeles last weekend for the show. Unfortunately D.L. lost to another local from Lafayette.

One of my favorite foods in Abbeville is crawfish and the best place to get them is Cajun Claws. A few of us went and ate our fill of the mudbugs.

And of course there is always the music. On Saturday we all went to the jam session for an afternoon of great French Cajun music. Bottom playing the triangle is Jean Pierre who jumped on stage to contribute to the beat. Top left is Barrett Navarre a young Cajun whom we heard last spring. Center are Richard and Valarie Frayer who drove down from Baton Rouge to visit. Top right are some of the crew from Betty's.

This hat made the rounds of a few heads.

Top: Linda, Jean Pierre, Diana, Bobby & Jim

Bottom: Joyce, Nanc, Rich, Terri & Jim

A grand time was had by all.

There are some times when consuming alcohol can cause adults to do strange things and I think playing the Hen Party Game is one of those times. That said watching the pairs passing the toilet paper on to the handle of the plunger was a real hoot. Once again a good time was had by all. You never know what you are going to get yourself into at Betty's.