The Betty Shuffle and More Cajun Good Times

The fun times continue at Betty's with the usual and the unusual of food, fun, music and more Cajun culture lessons. One of the things that often happens at Betty's is that her RVers get caught in her web and want to extend their stay. These extensions usually require the RVers to move to another site in what we call the Betty shuffle. So far we have avoided the shuffle this stay by extending our stay by a week when we registered, but others have been on the move within the 17 space park. Cal and Marie first added a week and had to move then decided on an extra month that meant another move. Dan and Merlene came in a day early because of a party we were having so their assigned spot was not available. So after a couple of days they shuffled. They have since added a couple of months so who knows where they will have to move to next. Not all moves are for long term stays. Bruce and Laina decided they were having so much fun they wanted three more days which meant another shuffle. All this is just part of what Betty's RVers are willing to do to spend more time with her.

A usual event here is the Cajun jam session at Touchet's (2 checks) in Maurice. These sessions happen every Saturday and we love to go to listen to the music and meet the people.
On our first stay here we did the Betty shuffle so we could go to the Cajun jam session. It was there that we first met Ollie who we now make sure we see on every visit. She is a wonderful lady who seems to know everyone in town.

Here is the whole park out to dinner at the Riverfront. The food in Cajun country is some of the best we have had on our travels.

A group from the park did a road trip to the woodman, Gerald Judice. Gerald goes into the Atchafalaya Basin and collects cypress that was left from the logging that took place between 1800 and 1927. When the original logging was done they left the stumps that are up to 1000 years old. This wood is well preserved because most of it has been under water since the logging was done.

Gerald brings the wood to his shop where it takes from two to five years to dry out enough that he can work his magic on it. Here he is turning a small bowl. He and his children make a variety of products from the wood they collect. This is another example of how many resourceful Cajuns live off the land.

Another Saturday, another Cajun jam session. This one, at the Museum Cafe in Erath, was attended by a few of Betty's RVers.

We don't always have to travel to be entertained. Here Cal, Marie, Steve, Dan and Judy perform for happy hour.

Dan even had instruments so others could join in. Here Merlene, Nanc, Betty and Carleen do their part to keep the beat.

Here at Betty's any event is a reason for a party. We discovered that Sandra (center) was having a birthday so a potluck and party were in order. As always, there was a great variety of food for all to enjoy. While there are always many Cajun dishes at these events, Sandra, who is from Ohio near where we lived, brought one of my personal favorites, haluski, a cabbage and noodle dish that I love.

Here are Jim, Dan and Jim monkeying around. This is the way it is around here, hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil.

You never know what will show up at Betty's. Here is an unusual scene, Marvin showing off another fisherman's big blue catfish. His friend had five of these big guys that weighed in at over 25 pounds each. He was not noodling like the TV show, he caught them on a trot line.