Week-Five, Lillian's 99th, Quebecios Good-byes and Hellos

Week five at Betty's started with the park filled and ended with more good-byes to friends and many new friends arriving.  The week was filled with a big celebration and our usual big four of music, food, friends and fun.

Friday was Betty's Aunt Lillian's 99th birthday and we had a huge celebration to honor her.  An example of how active she is is the fact she still drives to church, the beauty shop and grocery store which are all within three blocks of her home.  Recently she had to retake her driver's test and failed twice.  She finally told them they better pass her because she was going to drive even if they didn't give her her license. They did. 

On the afternoon of her party five RVs with our friends from Quebec arrived to join in the celebration.  Lillian loved it because she was able to talk to them in their native language, French.

Mirna, Mado, Betty, Nanc and Buddy gather to sing Happy Birthday to Lillian.  She did a great job with the candles, one for each decade.

Flat Rick made an appearance at the party and everyone loved having their picture taken with him except that guy in the corner.

I'm lucky I can do this at 69.  Rick got Lillian up to dance and she never missed a beat.  You gotta love these Cajuns.

It is neat being here at this time of year with everyone sharing their travel stories in French and English.  It truly is an international experience here.  We have met people from Canada, Germany, France, South Africa, Australia and many other countries in our years of coming to Betty's. 

Of course there was entertainment with Dave and several people from the park.  We sang Happy Birthday in English, French and Spanish making it a real international celebration.

Lillian, her niece Betty, great grand daughter Megan and her son Elwood (Buddy)

There was even an appearance from Mamo and someone from the Flintstones who came by to entertain everyone at the party.

As the band played on there was dancing all around.  Lillian had a great birthday party and is already looking forward to next year's celebration of 100 years. 

If it is Saturday it is the Cajun jam, this week at Touchet's.  Many of our favorite local musicians were there to entertain.  This is real foot tappin music that gets people on the dance floor.

Joe and Dave acting up.  Joe put his hat on Dave.  I'm not sure if he was showing how big his head is or how small Dave's is:)

Check out the new picture on the wall at Touchet's (bottom right).  It is a whole group of us from Betty's who always support the jams.  We are happy to have a place on the wall of fame.  Flat Rick also made the trip to Touchet's

Sunday we went back to T-Bobs for crawfish.  These are by far the largest mudbugs we have ever had in our many years of coming to Acadiana and also some of the least expensive.

Sunday afternoon we had a going away party for all those who were pulling out this week.  As you can see Denise, Lucy and Mado will have nothing to say about what happened at that party.

Evon, Germain, Alain, Jim and Michele celebrated with some Red Stag.  I think we all had a great time.....

..........I sure did.  We always have fun when this group of Quebecios come to Betty's on their way north from wintering in Mexico.  Mado has invited us to her 80th birthday party in Quebec in July so we have added that destination to our summer travel plans.

Most of the Quebecios left on Monday and on Tuesday Dan and Merlene headed out.  We always hate to see friends leave Betty's, but we know you can't come back if you don't leave. 

The group at Black's Oyster Bar for half price seafood on Wednesday was much smaller. At left are Noel, Judy, Dave, Ken, Marcie and Luc who are all here for a few days.  At right are Steve, Penny, Nanc, Betty, Barb, Flat Rick, Gloria and J C who all spent at least a couple weeks here.

A few of us helped Betty with trimming some plants and planting new flowers for the summer.  Gloria, Barb, Betty and Nanc all had a fun time playing in the dirt and adding plants to Betty's very neat happy hour patio.

Some people pass through Betty's for just a few days.  Here is solo traveler, George along with Kevin and Suzanne.  As with so many people who stop here they have vowed to return. 

On Friday my sister-in-law Denise and brother Rick arrived for a long weekend of full immersion Cajun therapy.  We are looking forward to sharing the good times of Acadiana with them. 

Week 4, Fred's, Jams, Boudin Festival, Rip Van Winkle Gardens, Avery Island, and Friends

WOW, as you can see by the title this was a super busy week filled with our favorite things here at Betty's; music, food, friends and fun.  Tom and Georgie arrived on Friday for a visit and we had a great time showing them around Acadiana and sharing a bit of Betty's wonderful hospitality with them.

It being the first of the month the week started with many changes of RVers who had been here for March heading out and being replaced by new friends.  This is a rare shot of Betty's patio without an RV in front of it.  The first time we came here only the section on the left was covered.  Betty expanded the roof and later added a deck to accommodate all her friends.

We were up early Saturday morning and off to Fred's Lounge in Mumou.  KVPI has been doing a French language radio broadcast from Fred's since 1946.  As you can see it was standing room only and despite the sign there were plenty of dancers.

We have been to Fred's before and this was by far the biggest crowd we have seen due to the Cycle Zydeco bike ride passing through Mamou with over 300 cyclists.     

Saturday afternoon we went to the Museum Cafe in Erath for the Cajun jam.  Our friend Ollie was at the door dancing and cutting up.

A couple of people from Betty's joined in with the band, Barb on the scrub board and Dan on guitar at far right.  These jams are always a fun, fun time with great music and many friends.  The Museum usually gives everyone a free meal after the jam but this week in typical Cajun fashion they asked for a donation and had an auction to help with the funeral expenses of a patron.  

On Sunday the fun time continued at the Scott Boudin Festival with great music and food.  Merlene had a big turkey leg and Tom found a funnel cake.  Look what I found, a mix of Western PA and Cajun country, a boudin stuffed cabbage roll.  It was fantastic. 

In addition to the food we wanted to hear Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie.  We saw Geno on our first visit in 2008 and always try to hear him every time we are here.  Richard and Nanc hit the dance floor.

You never know what kind of music you are going to hear at Betty's.  On Monday several people from the park had a jam where Pat and Len entertained with their dulcimers.  The dulcimer has its roots in the Appalachian Mountains and in many ways is similar to Cajun music.

Wayne, Lynn, Barb, Dan and Richard entertained everyone all afternoon.  So many people with so much talent.

A few of the new people who arrived at Betty's. Top are Richard and Connie and J.C. and Gloria.  Richard and J.C. both have been reading our blog for some time.  Bottom are Penny and Steve who we have heard about, but are meeting for the first time and Marlene and Wayne who we have seen several times at Betty's.  

Tuesday afternoon we had lunch and visited the Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island.  The house was built in the late 1800's by Joe Jefferson a popular actor of the time who made is fortune playing the character Rip Van Winkle.  We toured the house, but no pictures were allowed. 

We strolled the gardens that have many oriental statues.  In 1980 65 acres of land, several greenhouses and the home of the owner were destroyed when a rig drilling for oil on the lake drilled into a salt mine causing all the water to drain into the mine along with all the drilling equipment.

A few of the blooming flowers.

Another big attraction at the garden is the peacocks.  Since it's spring they were really strutin their stuff.  This guy was dancing around as a peahen stood by and watched.  After we walked away we heard some loud squeaks and when we returned he was just laying along the path.

More peacocks and peahens in the garden.  It is neat getting so close to these beautiful birds.

Tuesday was Betty's son Reid's birthday.  He is so evasive that I did not get a picture of him, but as you can see someone (who is that trying to escape unnoticed) did a job on his house.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY REID!!!!!!!!

If it is Wednesday it is half priced seafood at Black's Oyster Bar and the whole crew went out to dinner.  Look closely at the bottom picture and you will see that Rick who is in Ethiopia even joined in as Flat Rick.

Thursday was a super busy day starting with a tour of the Tabasco plant on Avery Island.  We have been on this tour before, but it has changed a lot since last year.  You now get to see and smell the barrels of pepper mash that are aged up to three years.  You also see the mixing room where the vinegar is mixed in with the pepper mash.  In the past you only got to see the bottling room.  They also have a section to show the salt mine that is under the plant.  The tour used to be free but now they charge a fee of $5.50. 

Also on Avery Island is Jungle Gardens, an area set aside by Tabasco founder Edward McIlhenny as a garden and refuge to save the snowy egret from extinction.  As you can see we saw a few small alligators in the garden ponds.

The Buddha dating from the reign of Emperor Hui-Tsung is some 900 years old.  It was given to the McIlhenny family in 1936.  The temple overlooks one of the many ponds in the garden.

Bird City still attracts thousands of snowy egrets.

The racks were built for the birds to nest and be protected from predators.

The rookery has been very successful in bringing the egrets back from extinction.

Here is a nesting pair with their young chicks under them.  You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

We took Tom and Georgie for another Louisiana tradition that we have not seen anywhere else, a drive through bar.  It is illegal to have an open container in the car so keeping the paper on the end of the straw counts.  Go figure!

Thursday evening we did one last thing with Tom and Georgie when we went to hear Stop the Clock Cowboy Jazz Band in the square.

They were so good that even Tom and Georgie got on to the dance floor.  We had a wonderful visit with them and kept them real busy.  We did play euchre and the results of four evenings play resulted with the ladies winning the championship.  

Week Three Happenings-Martin Accordions

Another week of music, food, friends and fun continues at Betty's.  Many of those things happen right here at the park at Betty's famous happy hour(s).  We have been here so many times and have already done most of the tourist spots.  So our stays now revolve around the happy hours and those four things.

One afternoon before happy hour several musicians at the park had a great jam session.  Each one brought their own style so there was all types of music for the enjoyment of all.

Friday was a super busy day staring with a short trip to buy shrimp directly from the boat, Lil Man.  We have bought from Rene before and knew we would get a great price.  The shrimp were small, but at $2.00 a pound who can complain.  We got ten pounds and then spent the next two hours cleaning them before freezing. 

Friday afternoon several people from the park were invited to Joe's, one of the musicians we have gotten to know from the jam sessions.  It was a fun time with plenty to eat and time to talk to Joe, Dave and Kristi, who we see at the Cajun jams but don't get to talk to a lot because they are playing.

The busy Friday continued at Betty's when Judy Bailey came over to entertain.  A couple of the musicians from the park joined in for a fun time.  Here is a link if you want to download and hear Judy's latest song. We always love hearing her music. 

A few new people arrived at Betty's this week.  Top are Jim and Judy who spent the night in their RV and Karen and Dave.  Bottom are Lois and Bob who we met here on our first visit eight years ago and Steve and Angie who have also been here a few times.

It looks to me that these two are up to no good.  We have been hearing about Bernie and his shenanigans for several years and after finally getting to met him everything we have heard is true.  Of course Merlene looks more like the guilty party. 

If it is Saturday it is time for the Cajun jam, that was held at Touchet's this week.  Because it was Easter weekend a few of the regular players were not there, but several others from other local jams that were not being held filled their spots.  The crowd was the largest we have seen in some time. 

A few of Betty's RVers  enjoying the music.  Top are Dodo, Bernie, Kathi and Dave.  Bottom is musician Dave with Bob and Lois and Dickey and Doris who we also met a Betty's before, but who were staying in a B&B this visit to Abbeville.

Check it out!  The dance lesson must have done some good.  It was not a waltz, but we did good enough that I did not step on Nanc's toes one time.

Easter Sunday started with an Easter egg hunt.  Everyone had to put a prize in an egg and hide it.  We were all allowed to find one egg and collect the prize.

Just a few of the prizes people found.  Everything from tools, to lottery tickets, to booze and one glove.  Bernie really likes the Michael Jackson look.  Of course that Easter egg hunt was followed by a wonderful potluck dinner.  I always say the bar for food is very high here.

Hard to believe we have been here for three weeks and this is the first time we have been out for crawfish.  We went to a new place called T-Bobs in Erath and everyone was very happy.  As you can see I went for the big tub (6 pounds) and I ate the whole thing.

On Wednesday most of the people from Betty's visited Martin Accordions.  We have been there before, but this is much more than a tour of how they make their beautiful Cajun squeeze boxes.  It is also a history lesson about Cajun and Zydeco music and a concert to demonstrate the instruments they use.

Right to left are Joel, Papa and Penny Martin, along with Barb one of Betty's RVers who has her own scrub board.  Penny remembered Barb and asked her to join them.  Here is a link to a video I shot of them playing old time acoustic Cajun music from our last visit.  If you are in Acadiana a tour of Martin should be high on your to do list.

Another reason we like coming to Betty's in the spring is we get to help her celebrate her birthday.  The birthday party always seems to push the already great happy hours to a whole new level.  

There is always a theme for these parties and you can guess what this year's was.  I don't know how many there were but counting the plastic stirs in the cake there had to be at least 100. 

The crowd gathered for the celebration with Betty leading the festivities.

Where else can you have a Grammy nominee to sing Happy Birthday? 

A few of those celebrating: top, Gil and Debbie, who just arrived the day of the party, and Barb, Rick, Jim, Bob and Lois.  Bottom are Betty, Carol, Donna and Calvin Touchet, Kathy and T-Boy, Richard, Jim and Keith. 

Judy Bailey was not the only person providing the entertainment.  The trio of Lynn, Dan and Barb also did a couple tunes.  As someone whose only music ability is listening and liking, I'm always amazed how many really talented people there are in the world. 

One of the many, many flamingos and the birthday girl.  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, DEAR FRIEND BETTY!!!!

Look who arrived and are looking forward to a fun filled next week here at Betty's.  We are looking forward to a great week showing Tom and Georgie around Acadiana.