The Good Times Keep Rolling

We arrived at Betty's RV Park on Friday, February 2nd, so my blog posts have been running from Friday to Friday. The last post included two days of our time with Tom and Georgie and this week continued with much more music, great Louisiana food and typical fun times.

We started out at Shuck's on Friday evening with me, Nanc, Georgie, Tom. Richard, Lynn, Dan and Merlene. We had to wait for a table so we......

....gathered around the table with a few adult beverages and swapped stories.

After dinner we went to Kelvin's, a neat, local bar we have never been to. Alligator Blue, a swamp pop group, had the place rockin'. Rock music with an accordion is very cool. The accordion player had seven Martin Accordions, each in a different key. We did not know it then, but our week also ended with going to listen to Alligator Blue. 

On Saturday we were up early and on the road to Breaux Bridge for a full day of different styles of music. Our first stop was Buck and Johnny's for the Zydeco breakfast. Here are a few of the sixteen people from Betty's: David, Kathy, Sue, Dan, George and Cathy.

The rest of the group from Betty's: Tom, Georgie, Nanc, John, Merlene, Dan, Lynn, Richard and Sharon on the dance floor dancing with one of the locals.

We did hit the dance floor for a couple tunes.

This week the band was Corey Ledet and His Zydeco Band. As always, they had the place rockin'.

Buck and Johnny's is a much bigger venue than Cafe' des Amis which is where we used to go for the Zydeco breakfast. It is big enough that they don't make you give up your table after you are done eating.

Georgie really got into the Zydeco scene with a clip on tie rub board. We have been to the Zydeco breakfast many times and it has never disappointed. It is always a great time that should not be missed if you are near Breaux Bridge on Saturday morning.

Just down the street from Buck and Johnny's is Joie de Vivre, a neat little coffee shop that has an old time Cajun jam session every Saturday. The music is all acoustic with fiddles, guitars and a wash tub bass. This is very different from the other jams we have attended. 

The group at Joie de Vivre: Dan, Merlene, Lynn Richard, Jim, John, Sharon, Georgie and Tom. Not only was the music great so were the beignets.

Another first for us was La Poussiere, an authentic Cajun dance hall that has been having dances since 1955. La Poussiere comes form the French for "the dust," because after an evening of dancing on the hardwood floor that rested on a dirt floor the wood would be covered with dust. The floor still vibrates with all the dancers on it. Here is Nanc with Richard making some dust.    

The day we went was the 17th annual tribute to Cajun musicians, with five different bands starting at 10:00 AM and going to 5:30 in the afternoon. We only stayed for a couple bands, but it was a fun time with people of all ages dancing.

Saturday was St. Patrick's Day but since there was so much music happening that day, at Betty's we celebrated on Sunday with an Irish potluck complete with corn beef, cabbage and a big variety of sharing of the green.

Everyone waiting for Betty to give the word to eat. It was a great dinner followed by a great happy hour.

On their last day we took Georgie and Tom to Palmetto Island State Park just south of Abbeville. The park is on the banks of the Vermilion River. 

The park has a nice nature trail through the swamp. We saw a few flowers and turtles, but no gators, snakes or armadillos. It is an easy place to get an up close look at the wetlands of Louisiana. The next morning we were up at 4:00 AM to get Tom and Georgie to the airport in Lafayette. We had a great visit and a fun time sharing a bit of Cajun culture with them.

Another project at Betty's. Three years ago Dan, Merlene, Nanc and I painted new signs for Betty. Unfortunately, they did not hold up in the humid Louisiana weather so Betty ordered new signs two years ago to replace the ones we painted. Guess what?  They did not last either so the company sent new ones that we put up for her. Sure hope these ones last.

On Thursday evenings this time of year in Abbeville they have Sounds on the Square with a different band each week. The band this week was The Wayback Ramblers. Their music was so way back it was not just country but country and western, not our favorite music.  But there were many people there who did enjoy it.

A few of the people from Betty's: George, Cathy, Dan, Merlene, David and Kathy.

And here are Jean Paul, Celine, Dan Sue, Richard, Lynn, John, Sharon, Nanc, Chari, Lou, Denny and Val.

While the Wayback Ramblers were not our cup of tea, at Midway on the Square Alligator Blue was playing, so we went to hear some fun swamp pop. Even a couple of the Ramblers came over after their show was done.

David, Kathy, Merlene and Dan joined us for the music. When we are at Betty's we love all the music and great Louisiana food. There is something going on every day of the week, so who knows what next week has in store!