Immersion Part III, Good-bye, Hello

The week started and ended with days of departure.  On Monday, seven RVs plus Tim and Diane all left and on Sunday, the last two Canadian couples pulled out.  Betty's is a place where the RVers do become friends so we usually gather to say see ya down the road and remind those who are sad about leaving that you can't come back if you don't leave.

We did not get a picture of everyone who was leaving but even the rain could not keep us from gathering for the big send off. 

On the way to the airport we continued Tim and Di's full immersion Cajun experience with a stop at Acadian Village for a walk through history lesson about the Cajun expulsion and their settlement in Louisiana.  The village has a dozen buildings that are set around a small lake and gives a real feel of the swampy conditions the early settlers endured.  

Left is the 1860 Castille House that was originally in Breaux Bridge and right is the 1820 Thibodeaux House.  That house is constructed of the wood eternal, cypress, that is resistant to rot and insects.

This is an old blacksmith's shop and a couple of old wagons.  There is also an extensive display of period farm equipment.

Another look at the Castille House and the chapel that replicates the 1850's churches of Acadiana.  The chapel had beams held in place by wooden pegs and a cypress ceiling.  Some of the pews are original. 

There are no gators in the lake, but there are many fish and turtles who were looking for and easy meal.

The Lablanc House was built from 1821 to 1856 and was the home of Dudley J. Lablanc, a local politician and writer who is most famous for his invention of Hadacol, a vitamin tonic, ie. a snake oil, that contained 12% alcohol.  It was guaranteed to cure all ailments.   

We had never been to Acadian Village so it was great sharing it with Tim and Diane as part of their Cajun experience.  It was a great visit and we enjoyed having friends stay with us.  Many RVers say their rigs are okay for entertaining six and feeding four, but only sleeping two.  We have found that we can sleep four without any great inconvenience and we love sharing our travel experiences with friends.  The only downside of this visit I'm sad to have to report, is that the guys came up on the short end of the euchre tournament.  Oh well, it was still a lot of fun. 

People leave Betty's and in no time at all we are making new friends.  Here are Loretta and Rey, Debbie and Mark, and Dale and Kirk, new people and new stories.  Rey is the new head of the Escapees Elks BOF, Kirk is a national park ranger and Deb and Mark are from Israel, so there were many new tales at happy hour.  Deb and Mark have just started RVing in the US after living on a boat in the Mediterranean for ten years. We met them in line at Cafe des Amis and it was great seeing them at Betty's  

Later in the week Wendy, Ray, Claudia and Eddie arrived.  We had met them all at Betty's on earlier visits.  Eddie is originally from Abbeville and graduated from high school with Betty.  Ray and Wendy have a very good blog that is on our blog list.  Here is a link to their blog.  

You really never know what will happen at Betty's happy hour.  Looks like Marie and Cal wanted to have a pajama party.  To paraphrase a line from Woodstock, "Isn't it great that a bunch of "old " people can get together and have a good time and nothing but a good time."

On Saturday we had another great day of music at the Museum Cafe in Erath.  It is really neat to see how hard they work to keep the Cajun culture alive through music.

Here are the people from Betty's at the jam.  Marie, Wendy, Ray, Merlene, Dan, Cal, Nanc and our good friend from Abbeville, Ollie.

The Sunday morning line up to wish Cal, Marie, Rick and Brenda farewell and safe travels.  We are already making plans to see them down the road.

A SPECIAL NOTE

We read Nick Russell's blog everyday and were honored to be his featured fulltimers couple this week.  Here is a link to that article.  He did a great job of capturing our lifestyle and we thank him.  We also have a link to his blog under my blog list.

Full Immersion Cajun Experience Part II

Tim and Diane's Cajun experience continued with a slower day on Friday, but still enjoying the food and people of Acadiana.   

We started with a late lunch at Dupuy's where they both had alligator bites and oyster appetizers.  This was followed by a fried shrimp dinner for Di and an eggplant Abbeville, a dish covered with a wonderful creamed crab sauce, for Tim.  They are both getting into the Cajun cuisine. 

Friday evening it was back to Betty's for her famous happy hour(s).  Here are Betty, Nanc and Di having a fun time sharing tales. 

Early Saturday morning (6AM) we were up and on our way to Cafe des Amis in Breaux Bridge for the Zydeco breakfast.  This is always on our must do list when we come to Acadiana and our goal is always to be first in line so we can get a good table where we can see the band while having breakfast. 

Here is why we go so early. The place only seats about 50 people, so less than half these people got in for the first seating.  Of course they can go to the bar for a drink, listen to the music and dance while they are waiting.

As you can see the place is packed with revelers dancing and enjoying a great time by 8:30AM.  Here is a link to a short video of Nanc and Di dancing to the music of Rusty Metoyer and the Zydeco Krush.

The band starts shortly after 8AM and goes nonstop until 11.  The Zydeco breakfast is a must see for anyone traveling through Acadiana.

While Nanc and Di were energized enough to do a bit of shopping after breakfast, Tim and I found a nice bench where we took a short nap:)  We did head back to Betty's for a longer nap before heading to our next Cajun experience........

 .............the Cajun jam session at Touchet's.  This music is very different from Zydeco and hearing both in one day gives you a chance to hear how they differ.  Here is a the link to a short video of the Cajun music.

The RVers from Betty's are big supporters of the Cajun jam sessions.  Left are Cookie, Nanc, Larry and Linda.  Right are Elle, Ken, Marie, Diane and Tim.  It was great seeing Ken and Elle whom we met here five years ago.

More RVers at Touchet's.  Steve, Diane, Nanc, Renita and Mark all having a fun time.

To the delight of all, Saturday activities were not yet over as Larry, Ken, Wayne, Dan and Cal jammed back at Betty's.  They took turns playing their favorite music from country to blues.

During the jam Elle and Linda brought out the washboard and ugly stick and provided more entertainment.

Di, Nanc and Tim were soon carrying on to the beat of the music......

.....as everyone joined in, making it a fun evening.

Betty, the hostess with the mostest, joined in the fun.  Saturday was a long day but it sure gave our guests a better understanding of why we love to come to Betty's.

Sunday we just kicked back and relaxed after a long day on Saturday.  Of course we had to eat, so it was time for another Cajun eating experience, boiled crawfish.  Diane and Tim had never had mudbugs before, but they went though five pounds of crawfish and a pound of shrimp like real Cajuns. 

Sunday was also time to celebrate the birthday of one of Betty's "famous" Rvers, Brenda Lee.  I'm sure many people remember her song I'm Sorry.  I can tell you no one goes away sorry when they come to Betty's.

Full Immersion Cajun Experience

The much anticipated arrival of Tim and Diane came and we immediately began the full immersion Cajun experience when we stopped on the way back to Betty's to buy some boudin for them to try. They got right into the happy hour mode sharing stories with all the other RVers.  That first evening was very laid back as we had planned a whole day of Cajun adventures starting early the next morning. 

We welcomed Tim and Di with the traditional Louisiana lei of Mardi Gras beads. 

We were joined by several others from Betty's for Champagne's Cajun Swamp Tour.  Here Danielle, Di, Nanc, Austin, Dave, Renita, Mark, Mary, Cheryl, Tim and Louise are all smiles waiting to head out into the swamp.

Tim, Di, Jim and Nanc at Brian Champagne's tour site.  We have been on the tour before and he has come a long way from the first time, when he met us at the boat launch with a single boat.  He now has a store and office and offers not only guided tours, but also rents kayaks and canoes.  This is a great tour in a nice flat bottomed crawfish boat that can get into real shallow areas very quietly.  We saw many different birds and a lot of gators.

Almost immediately we saw this Great Blue Heron, Nanc's favorite, with this catfish.

We all got several pictures before we got too close and the bird took flight.

Next, we got a great look at this owl high up in an old cypress or should I say he got a good look at us.

There were many night herons in the trees and walking on the swamp grass.

Here is a baby blue heron stacking some prey.

We saw many alligators and the pictures do not give you any idea of how big they are.  No one would volunteer to stand by one for prospective.  It is the mating season and the big males were all about showing off their size.

This is a young one hiding from the big males who would very much like to have them for lunch.  The females will protect them for nine to twelve months before they are on their own.

This young one sunning itself on a log was about three feet long.  Even at that size I would not want to mess with one.

This much bigger one was showing off his size while enjoying the warm Louisiana weather.  This is the third time we have been on Champagne's Cajun Swamp Tour and highly recommend it if you are in the area.  

Next stop was the Bon Creole Lunch Counter in New Iberia for a real Cajun food experience of gumbo and a big variety of po-boys.  Everyone was happy even though you can only see half of Tim's big smile.  If you are near New Iberia don't be put off by the way Bon Creole looks from the outside, inside it is one of the best.

Next was Avery Island to tour the Tabasco Pepper Sauce plant.  This is another great local stop that is not to be missed.  If you use Tabasco it came from this little plant.  They ship their products to over 150 nations

We made another stop to see more birds at a rookery near Delcambre.  We have been here before but were able to get much closer this time than in the past.  There where many roseate spoonbills and several white heron.

I count over a dozen spoonbills in this one shot.  Like flamingos, they get their beautiful pink color from the iodine in the shrimp they eat. 

Here is a pair of mating white herons and several other birds.  This is another great not to be missed local stop. 

And the day was not yet over.  After happy hour (and a couple naps) we headed to Magdalen Square in Abbeville for a wonderful evening of Cajun and Swamp Pop music by the Pine Leaf Boys.  It was the perfect ending to a great day and we all slept very well, so we were ready for more Cajun adventures.

Music, Food, Au revoir, and Hello

The fun continues here at Betty's with all our friends new and old.  We had a great time at the Museum Cafe Cajun jam and a big Easter dinner.  Of course the musicians here kept us entertained.

Apparently there is not a direct translation of Happy Hour from English to French, so Betty has always called it "Content L'Heure" when the Quebecois are here.  Jac and Lise had this neat sign made for Chez Betty.

Many of us went to the Museum Cafe for the jam on Saturday. Here are Germain, Rick, Mado, Michelle, Lucy, Michele, Jac and Lise enjoying the music.

Cal checked this music adventure off his bucket list when he got to play at the Cajun jam.  At first they seemed a bit reluctant to have a piano with the group, but Cal soon won them over.  Dan. right, also played the guitar with the band, but being a California Cajun, he has done it before.

As you can see Dan was still missing Merlene really bad.  Here he is with Diane, Brenda, Marie, Diane, Nanc and Ollie.  I'm sure there will be a price to pay for all this tomfoolery:)

More people from Betty's enjoying the music.  Left are Diane and Steve and Brenda and Rick,  Right are Diane and Steve (yes there are to couples here together with the same names) and Mike and BJ.

Like I say, you never know what will happen when we are here.  Valerie, playing the washboard, and her husband Darren walked into the Museum after driving straight through from Louisville, Kentucky because they had heard about the jam.  They invited her on stage........

.........and Dan invited them to stop by Betty's on Sunday afternoon to jam.  Valerie played the mandolin and Darren the banjo, so we got to hear some great Bluegrass music.  They also brought some Kentucky bourbon for us to enjoy, WOW!!!!! 

And what wonderful food we had this week.  Top left is a meal of pork, rice, sweet potatoes and black-eyed peas the Museum Cafe served to everyone after the jam.  An example of Cajun hospitality we have never seen anywhere else on the road.  Bottom left is fresh shrimp bought right off the boat from Li'l Man.  Can't wait to see what gets cooked up with that.  Bottom right is just part of the wonderful Easter spread we had at Betty's.  I always say the standard for food is very high here.  Top right is a tray of crawfish that we had for dinner one evening.  It is hard to believe we don't put on more weight while we are here with all the food we eat.

This was just the Easter dinner salad and dessert table there was another with more great food.

There was a big crowd for Easter dinner as every spot in the park was full.  

Some of the new hellos where people we have met on the road before.  Top left is Nanc with Marlene (whom we met here before who also lives near Rick and Brenda in Ontario) and Mark, a Class of 07 mate whom we have crossed paths with many times.  Bottom left is Marlene's husband Wayne making plans to jam with Cal and Dan.  Right are Rick and Brenda with Mark's wife Renita.  We sure are looking forward to hearing more misic and getting caught up with everyone's travels.

And we have to say au revoir to our Quebecois amis.  It is always a fun, fun time when they are at Betty's.  Mado and Rick invited us to visit them in Quebec next summer so we are already looking forward to that.  Isn't it great having a house on wheels.

We are looking forward to the next few days because, as I write, our WashPA friends Tim and Diane are flying to Louisiana for a visit.  We are planning to give them the full Cajun immersion experience of food, music and friends.