Last Week at Betty's

We had a great final week with all the usual but fantastic, music, food and friends.  We love coming here for many reasons, with spending time with our hostess and good friend Betty at the top of the list.  We hate to leave, but if we don't leave we can't come back.  This is the first time we have been here in the fall in six years so we made many new friends with the people passing through heading south for the winter.  Some are people we have been looking forward to meeting because we have heard about them from others, some are people who have been readers of the blog and others are just new friends.

On Thursday several of us went to Dupuy's for lunch.  Jim and Cookie pulled into Betty's right before we left for lunch and decided to join us.  They backed their 5th wheel into their site and went with us leaving the rig connected to the truck.  Talk about hitting the ground running! 

And look why.  We love the oysters here and Dupuy's are the best.  They were not even serving them when we first arrived because those that were available were not up to their standards.  Nanc and I each had a dozen, no sharing these babies.

Left are Maryann and Bill from Oklahoma.  Maryann has been following us on the blog and this is the first time we have met.  Right are Cookie and Jim who we met here several years ago and visited with in Arizona last fall.

Left are Dicky and Doris who we met here a couple of years ago.  They don't have an RV right now and were staying in a local B&B but came by for happy hour.  They are getting a new RV soon so they can stay at Betty's the next time.  Right are Ann and Tom who we had heard about but not met before.  Check out Tom's tattoo.  It was great getting to know them.   

Several of us did the Abbeville Christmas Stroll around town to enjoy the lights, music and food.

A couple of stops on the stroll.  My pictures of the outdoor lights did not come out.  I should of carried the EOS.

The weather has been really nice lately but a couple mornings have been foggy because of the warm southern winds coming off the gulf.  It is usually burned off by 10AM so the days have been sunny.

One last Touchet's jam session.  Most of the regular musicians were not there this week so we got to hear some new ones and others who were familiar but whom we had not seen on this trip. We saw Brett, who is playing the accordion, when he was 12.  He has gotten a lot better.  It is great seeing how the Cajuns pass on their culture to the youngsters.    

 

Sunday was supposed to be our last day and Jay was cooking a seafood bouillabaisse for everyone in the park.  The crowd gathered to watch him work his magic and enjoy some hot buttered rum, compliments of Vicky. 

Jay with a pot of his steaming goodies.  We contributed some Alaskan halibut to the pot that also included tuna, crab, mussels, shrimp, scallops, oysters and frog legs (and probably some we missed) all cooked in a homemade broth that Jay made from fish frames, everything but the guts that were left over after John filleted some fish. 

Nanc getting a taste and loving Jay's creation since it is one of her favorites.  It is amazing we don't put on more weight when we are here because we sure do eat well.

Maryann made a blueberry, pecan dessert that Marvin loved so much he finished what was left in the bowl.  He took so much abuse with that move that he had to shield himself.

See, you never know who will show up at happy hour.  I'm not sure but I think some of these ladies are on the naughty side of Santa's list.

While all these guys are on the nice list.

  Because everyone who comes to Betty's makes so many friends it is part of the tradition to gather to send off those who are leaving,  So after hugs all around we put our Betty's friends in the rear view mirror and headed down the road.  We had a wonderful six weeks here meeting so many people, hearing great music and eating fantastic food.  As usual, our time here was over way too quickly and we are sad to be leaving but it is now time to get the wheels rolling.  We were supposed to leave on Monday to head for Florida for the winter but on Sunday Betty invited us to go to the casino and since no one was coming into our spot we decided to stay one more day.  This is known as being caught in Betty's web and sure describes us.  Our plan for the trip to Florida is to spend a couple of days in Biloxi, then on to Panama City for three days.  We will stop for one night along the road and then spend three days with Nanc's sister in Apopka before heading to South Florida for a couple of months of hopefully warm weather.