Betty's Lagniappe

Mardi Gras is over but the great times continue here at Betty's. The week after all the parades was typical of what goes on here. On Saturday we went to Cafe Des Amis in the morning and to see the Abbeville Players perform Steel Magnolias in the evening. A few people attended the Cajun jam session at the Museum Cafe in Erath that day, but we opted for a nap and passed on it this week. On Sunday most of us went to Cypress Bayou Casino for a bit of gaming and a free meal and party. On Monday we celebrated a 58th anniversary and on Tuesday Nanc and I did a road trip to Baton Rouge. On Thursday a couple of local celebrities visited the park and on Friday we went out to eat crawfish. In addition to all of this, there are the daily happy hours where we all gather for food, fun and telling tales and lies.

An almost daily point of discussion at happy hour is an ongoing disagreement between Marvin and Betty about the true location of the Heart of Cajun Country. Marvin seems to think it is somewhere along I-10 near Jennings while Betty knows it is right here in Abbeville. We saw this billboard, which I modified a bit, that backs Betty's argument that we are staying in the middle of Cajun Country.

Along with Joycelyn, Gervais, Judy and Bob we were on the road at 6:15 AM Saturday morning so we could get into the first seating for the Zydeco Breakfast at the Cafe Des Amis in Breaux Bridge. As always it was a great time with good food, music, dancing and Bloody Marys all before 10AM. Here is a link to a short video showing some of the fun that morning. If you want a fun time, a stop at Cafe Des Amis for the Zydeco Breakfast is a must for anyone travelling I-10 through Louisiana.

We did a road trip to Baton Rouge to have dinner at Tsunami, a sushi restaurant, with Richard and Valerie. It is on the fifth floor of the LSU Art Museum with a great view of the Mississippi River. Richard has finished the project he has been working on and they are making plans to get back on the road real soon after sitting in one spot for over a year. We have a lot of common interests and always love getting together with them when our paths cross.

When Betty found out that Judy and Bob were celebrating their 58th wedding anniversary it was just another excuse to have a party, so we all gathered in the Louisiana Room for a fun, fun evening.

And what is a big party without entertainment? So the Country Music Association's 1982 new artist nominee, Judy Bailey, stopped by to play for all of us and especially for the honorees. Here is another short video of Judy singing a song she wrote in honor of Bob and Judy on their big day.

Top left are Cookie and Joycelyn, right are CeCe and George at the party.

Bottom left are Joycelyn, Gervias and Betty singing a French song while at left are Dick and Natalie enjoying the show.

Top left are Steve, Wendell & Jim and right are Dan and Merlene who heard there was a big party at Betty's so they came in a day early.
Bottom left are Marie and Darlene and right are Jim and Marvin.

Top left are Jim, Marie and Rick and right is Ruth.

Bottom left are Judy and Cal listening to Carleen as she joined Judy for a song on the right.

Here is Betty on the left with Liz Choate, Gator Queen and on the right with Kristi Broussard, Gator Wrangler from the History Channel show, Swamp People. Check out their web sites for more pictures and information on these two gator ladies. Liz, who lives on nearby Pecan Island, was recruited for the show last season when she worked with Troy because she and her husband Justin had already caught their limit of gators. For this season's series, which was filmed last September, she and Kristi teamed up to form a female team.

Here is everyone at Betty's with Liz and Justin, kneeling in the center. It was great talking to them and learning how they are trying to make the most of this opportunity. They have hunted gators for years and being on the show is just an added bonus. For most of the year when gators are not in season they hunt nutria for the bounties that are paid on these invasive pests that are taking over the bayou.

Here we are with Liz and Kristi. It is hard to believe that these beautiful ladies go out into the bayou and hunt these big dangerous monsters.

Here is everyone with Kristi, center by Betty. That evening we all gathered to watch the latest episode of the show in which they killed a 900 pound gator that was over 13 feet long.

We ended the week with a trip to Big John's in Erath for a dinner of mudbugs. Top left are Wendell, Ruth, Max and Judy and right are Dan, Merlene and Steve. Bottom left Nanc & I are between Betty and Marvin to keep them from arguing about the Heart of Cajun Country. Right are Dick, Natalie, Carleen and Tom. In the center is a rare blue crawdad that the guys in the kitchen showed us when we went to see how they were able to get all those mudbugs on the table so quickly.

This was all in one week and there are already things planned for four or five days next week. This is the longest we have stayed at Betty's and we will sure need a rest when we leave next month.