Egg-citing Week of Food

Another reason we keep coming back to Betty's is because there are so many things to do.  In addition to the daily happy hours and regular weekly happening, there are many festivals within a miles every weekend that offer crafts, music and food.

One that we have never been here for is Abbeville's Giant Omelette Celebration the first weekend of November.  As you can see, they cook the eggs on an open fire in the middle of the street.  The tradition goes back to the time of Napoleon when, after enjoying the eggs that were served to him in the town of Bessieres, he ordered all the farmers to bring their eggs to town and prepare an omelette for his army. From this event it became an Easter tradition to feed omelettes to the poor in the village.

I don't think there are any events in LA without some music.  On Sunday there was a Zydeco band (bottom) and the Fra Tras Cajun Band.  We know the drummer, bass player and accordionist in this group. 

A few of the people from Betty's who gathered to watch the egg-stravigant event.

In 1984 three citizens of Abbeville attended the Easter Omelette Festival in France and were knighted as the town's first chevaliers.  They decided to bring this French tradition to Louisiana.  The chevaliers carrying baskets of eggs and loaves of bread.

It takes a lot of cooks to make and serve a 5000 egg omelette.

Each year one more honored egg is added so this year there were 5030.  The honored egg was dubbed "Eggward Eggbert".  The tools of the trade to cook without burning all those eggs.  The woman in the cart is the last of Abbeville's original chevaliers.

Representatives of the cities that have omelette festivals in France, New Caledonia, Canada, Belgium and Argentina bring an international flair to the Abbeville festival.

You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

The giant skillet is moved into place with a forklift.  They use 50 lbs. of onions, 75 bell peppers, 4 gallons of onion tops, 2 gallons of parsley, 1.5 gallons of oil, 6.5 gallons of milk, 52 pounds of butter, 3 boxes of salt, 2 boxes of black pepper, crawfish tails and Tabasco Pepper Sauce to taste.

Baskets of bread ready to feed the masses.

In addition to the large skillet they have a small one for chevaliers in training.

The chevaliers keep mixing all the ingredients until the Head Gourmet gives the word that the eggs are ready to be served.

And then all the volunteers spoon out the eggs to be served to everyone in attendance.

They were so good we stayed for two servings.  If you are in Abbeville the the first weekend of November don't miss the Giant Omelette Celebration.

The next food happening this week was Linda (left) showing all who wanted to learn how to make spring rolls.  Here she is cooking the onions, carrots, celery and shrimp for Nanc's in the wok.  Others used meat rather than shrimp.

After the ingredients were cooked everyone wrapped theirs in dough.

The next step was deep frying them in oil and Dave stepped in as Linda's assistant.

Linda cut the extra dough into strips and made fried strips that were then seasoned for a crispy snack.

Nanc with the finished spring rolls and the wine she used while cooking.

Then, everyone gathered to enjoy their handy work.  We always eat well when we are at Betty's and you never know what kind of food it will be.  Thanks to Linda for the cooking class.

First FUN Week at Betty's

Coming back to Betty's is always about friends, food and music.  We have made more friends here than at any other place we have been during our years on the road.  We not only see many of them around the country we, of course, look forward to seeing them here.  What can you say about the food?  It's all good; gumbo, boudin, fresh seafood, po boys and more.  And the music includes country, Cajun and Zydeco bands at the park and local clubs.

We got a message from Betty a couple of weeks ago that Scooter was here and would be staying until we got there.  Scooter is a Purple Heart Iraqi war vet who travels the country with Wang, his buddy on the right.  He is now traveling in a new Casita trailer.  It was great spending time with him before he headed down the road.  We hope to cross paths in Florida this winter.

We make so many friends here because attendance at the daily happy hour(s) is required:).  Top left are Wendell and Ruth, who we usually see here.  Top right are Wayne and Roxanne and Bottom left are Bill and Linda.  They have been Facebook friends for a while and we were looking forward to meeting them in person.  Bottom right are Class of 07 mates Sandy and Mike who we had not seen in several years.

Top left are SKPs Rich and Mary, who we met elsewhere and who we just missed crossing paths with this summer in Alaska.  Top right are Deb and Jim, Betty regulars who we had not previously met.  Bottom are Peggy, our hostess Betty and Marvin who we have seen on almost every visit.

Sunday was the first of many great potluck dinners.  The bar for food is very high here, so the food is always great with a big variety.

Here are Jim and Donna Lynn, Betty and Nanc with Donna and Calvin who own Touchet's were we go for the Cajun jam sessions.

Halloween brought out a few crazies. See if you can identify them from the pictures above.

And more crazies.

The Halloween party included a surprise birthday party for Carol who you can see was really not expecting a party in her honor.   Here she is seated by her best friend Bev who she did not know was going to be at Betty's.  At first she did not recognize her at all and was really shocked when she realized who was sitting beside her.

We even got into the party mode with our  role reversal outfits.  Betty does make me do things I don't do normally.

The sign in her Louisiana room says it all. 

Judy Bailey, Dave, Benny and a couple others provided the entertainment for the party.  Where else can you find an RV park with 17 sites that has a Country Music Award nominee providing the music.  You gotta love it.

Usually no kids are allowed at Betty's, but when your granny owns the place it's OK.  She sure is proud of little Lucette who came to trick or treat.

Saturday was our 45th wedding anniversary and we celebrated with a day of music and fun.  We started by driving 60 miles to Fred's Lounge in Mamou where they have been doing a live French music broadcast on KVPI radio since 1962.  You can listen on Saturday at this link. 

Nothing like Bloody Marys and beer for breakfast.  Left are Jim, Deb, Jo Carol and Allen.  Top, Nanc collecting our prize for traveling the farthest from within the US to get to Fred's.  It was a sampling of Jack Miller Cajun spices and sauces made in nearby Ville Platte.  Right, Nanc and me with Tante Sue, the owner of Fred's.  Check out her holster where she carries a pass around bottle of Hot Damn.  

The band was great with the fiddle and squeeze box adding the Cajun flair.  The woman sitting on the left in the background is the radio announcer who introduces the songs and reads the commercials, all in French. Fred's on Saturday morning is a must stop if you are in Cajun LA.   

After Fred's it was back to the Museum Cafe in Erath for the local French jam session.  We attend these every Saturday any time we are here, so we have gotten to know a few of the regulars.  Top left are Kristy, Dave, Cliff and Joe and bottom on the right is Gerald.  All the others were new to us.  If you want a fun time check out the Museum Cafe on Facebook.  We love being back in Cajun Country!

South to Betty's

When we left WashPA our first stop was in Cleveland for the Yanni -- Barnhart wedding (last post) followed by an annual service and overall chassis inspection appointment at Spartan in Michigan. The work at Spartan only took one day so we decided to sprint to Betty's RV Park in Louisiana.  This meant we drove 1600 miles of almost all interstate highway, something we have never done in so few days since going on the road.  Below are a few of the "highlights" of driving the super highways.

Welcome to Ohio So Much to Discover.  Nice fall colors.

Welcome to Pure Michigan.  Where a turkey flew across the highway and, fortunately, into the side of Opus rather than Opus hitting it.  No damage.

Indiana, Crossroads of America, Lincoln's Boyhood Home.  Very flat.

Welcome to Illinois, The Land of Lincoln.  Seems to be a fight between Indiana and Illinois over Lincoln.

Approaching a high point of the trip, the first of three crossings over the Mississippi River.

Missouri Welcomes You.  Even if it was for less than 100 miles across the boot heel, we knew we were in the South as we saw cotton, kudzu and a dead armadillo.

You never know what you will see along America's highways.

Welcome to Arkansas, The Natural State, Buckle Up For Safety.  Glad they are concerned about our safety.

We are once again East of the Mississippi.

Tennessee, The Volunteer State Welcomes You.  We felt welcome even though we were only there for 15 minutes.

Welcome to Mississippi, Birthplace of America's Music.  We enjoyed the music on our last visit but this time we were on a mission.

Welcome to Louisiana, Bienvenue en Louisiane, Keep Louisiana Beautiful.  Wow, they manage to put the state name on the sign three times and in two languages.

One last crossing to the West side of the Mississippi River at Baton Rouge.  

What a trip!!  Two nights dry camping in the hotel parking lot in Cleveland, two nights with only power at Spartan, two Wally World stays and one Passport America park later we made it to Betty's.  We were greeted by friends old and new.  We are looking forward to a fun six week stay in the heart of Cajun Country.

We did have one issue coming south.  When I plugged in Opus at Spartan the readout on our Progressive Industries EMS system was just flashing and would not let the power into the rig.  Even though it was after 7PM on the East coast, Donald took my call at home and talked me through what I needed to do to bypass the system.  When we got to Betty's a FREE new board was waiting for me.  With the help of Mike I installed the new board and all is fine.  I have always been happy with how the EMS has performed and I'm now also real happy with their customer service.