Places Visited: Mississippi: Bay St Louis

Louisiana: Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Abbeville, Intracoastal City,
Pelican Island, Kaplan, St Martinville, Breaux Bridge & Lake Martin.

Before starting this series of travelogues we want to take the time to
remind our friends to take us OFF their e-mail "forward" list. We love
hearing from you but PLEASE no forwarded stuff and especially NO GRAPHICS.
We have to borrow phone connections in campground offices and they are
not tolerant of more than a minute or so for us to download e-mail. We
like to hear from you concerning places we are going to visit. As always
we tell you where we are headed at the end of the travelogue. Thanks,
Mike.

Friday, March 29, 2002
Casino Magic RV-Park, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. (N30º 20.119' W
89º 21.220') Site #12 50amp full hookup $24.61

We left Pensacola around 9:30 this morning. Originally our plan
was
to leave Monday. However, both of us were down with major sinus
infections. We are finally recovering after major doses of
antibiotics, decongestants and expectorants. There was an
extremely
heavy crop of pollen in Pensacola this year.

We stopped for lunch around 4:00. Both of us have memories of
the
Harbor View Café in Pass Christian, Mississippi on highway 90 at
the
Harbor (N30º 18.723' W84º 14.823'). Their shrimp Po Boy is
served
with over 30 lightly battered, fried shrimp all for only $5.95.
Completely unbelievable! That many fresh fried shrimp would cost
a
small fortune in most restaurants. This place is worth going out of
your way for.

We were thinking about boondocking but opted for full hookups
since it
was warm and humid. The parking lot at Casino Magic had about
10
motorhomes and the very nice RV-Park was full. They told us that
the
RV-Park regularly fills up on weekends. Some RV'ers stay at the
Casino Magic RV-Park when they visit New Orleans.

Joyce and I enjoyed "Isis" the Friday night entertainment at Casino
Magic. They are a six-member band with excellent vocals. We
watched
their 7:30 and 10:30 performances then headed back to the
motorhome.
The 12:00 performance was past our bedtime. VBG (Very Big Grin)
The
entertainment "Isis" was free but we lost $6.00 in the nickel
one-armed bandit machines. I guess you could say we are the last
of
the big senders.

Saturday, March 30, 2002
Acadian RV-Park operated by the City of Lafayette. Site #12, has
50amps and water for $9.00 in a wonderful shady Park within
several
miles of downtown Lafayette.

We slept late then took advantage of Casino Magic's buffet
breakfast.
It was ok but nothing to write home about. Amazingly at 10:00am
there
is still a crowd of people gambling. The gambling never ends it just
slows down.

The leisurely drive from Bay St. Louis west was a combination of
US-190 and SR-22 instead of I-12. We chose this route to slow the
pace and enable us to view the old southern homes and yards that
line
this route. The ubiquitous azalea bushes are in full bloom and yards are
a blaze of color. Wisteria blankets areas with a splash of lavender.
Dogwood trees with their white blossoms are scattered throughout as if
their job was to tone down gaudy colors of the other plants.

We head west not knowing where we will stop for the night. We
discuss
Farr Park in Baton Rouge then change our minds as we near Baton
Rouge.
It is just too early to stop. Acadian RV-Park in Lafayette is just
45 miles farther and we will arrive there around 4:00 even with a
stop
at the Boudin Shop at exit 115 on I-10. They have fried crawfish
boudin balls to die for, and we weren't disappointed.

Louisiana is enjoying its best crawfish season in years. The drought of
recent years had made crawfish scarce. Louisiana crawfish are harvested
from commercial ponds as well as from natural areas. Harvesting them from
natural areas is unique to Louisiana. It is intricate to Cajun culture.
Some of today's craw fishermen are second and third generation. Many
farmers grow crawfish in rotation with rice. Pond yields average around
700 pounds per acre with intensively managed ponds often producing in
excess of 1,000 pounds per acre. There is nothing like a good crop of
crawfish in this part of the world.

By 4:30 we are in Acadian RV-Park, operated by the City of
Lafayette,
with 50amps working both air conditioners. We know about this
wonderful campground because an RV'ing friend told us about it,
thanks
Berliner. I know some of you will wonder why we are running air
conditioners in March, but it is hot and humid. The air conditioning
feels good.

Joyce was looking through our Louisiana folder and ran across a
Southern Living article from October of 1999. The article was
describing Randol's Restaurant in Lafayette. Randol's sounded so
enticing we decided to give it a try. Around 5:00 the crowds began
to
arrive filling this huge rustic restaurant that seats around 500. The
band started playing at 7:00 and the dance floor was full before the third
note was struck. Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez is Cajun for "let the good
times roll" and that is what these folks are doing. Cajun dancers aren't
just the usual couples. Moms dance with their teenagers. Dads dance with
babies in their arms. Girls in need of a partner just dance with each
other. Cajun music is a bit different it has to have a fiddle and an
accordion. Without those two you just do not have a Cajun band. Joyce
and I never made it to the dance floor there was not room. Instead we
shared a crawfish platter that turned out to be more than the two of us
could consume. Fried crawfish, dirty rice, crawfish etouffee, crawfish
boulette, and crawfish bisque.
Wow! Our waitress said there were individuals that could eat the
whole platter by themselves. Unbelievable. Joyce hit a home run
with
Randol's. We will put it on the list of places to visit again. Try
to make it on a Friday or Saturday night for the band and dancing.

This was our first encounter with fried crawfish boulette (boo-let)
but it will not be our last (delectable to the 10th power). It is a
ball-shaped fritter similar to a hush puppy containing onions peppers and
crawfish tails. Sometimes Cajun restaurants will place a small boulette
in the bottom of your bowl of bisque. This is what they call "lagniappe"
(a little something extra). We have noticed the tasty morsel in the
bottom of our bisque before but had no idea what it was.
Now we have partaken of a fried one. Either way they are great.

Sunday, March 30, 2002
Acadian RV-Park operated by the City of Lafayette. N30º 15.340'
W91º 59.246': Site #12 with 50amps and water for $9.00 in a wonderful
shady Park within several miles of downtown Lafayette.

Around daylight a series of thunderstorms moved through pounding
us
with torrential rain us for several hours.

After noon we headed to St. John Cathedral, Cemetery and 500
year-old
live oak. The Dutch Gothic Cathedral built in 1916 is located in the old
down town area of Lafayette. This magnificent structure serves as the
seat of the Diocese of Lafayette. Equally impressive was the 500 year-old
live oak. We have seen historic live oaks before but this one was head
and shoulders larger than the others. This tree has a girth of 28' with a
limb span of 145'. The cemetery inters many of Lafayette's founders plus
several Civil War generals and an Ambassador.

Monday, April 1, 2002
Acadian RV-Park operated by the City of Lafayette. N30º 15.340'
W91º 59.246': Site #12 with 50amps and water for $9.00 in a wonderful
shady Park within several miles of downtown Lafayette.

Tour guide Joyce planned a trip from Lafayette to Abbeville about
26-miles south. A French priest who named it after his home in
France
founded Abbeville in 1843. The town is noted for its two town
squares
that give it a distinctly Old World Charm. Steen's Syrup Mill stands
waiting for the fall sugar cane harvest. Just down the street Riviana
Rice Mill is processing Water Maid and Mahatma rice. We can only imagine
the activity around this place in the fall when rice is being harvested.

Like in Canada the French influence is so imbued in this area many
plaques are in both English and French. Around 45 percent of the
people around here still speak French as a second language.

We lunched at Dupuy's in down town Abbeville. Our intention was
to
sample some crab bisque but the lunch special was red beans and
rice
with sausage and a salad. So much for the bisque, it will have to
wait. The red beans and rice were exquisite. Dupuy's is a place we
will return to.

Next we headed south of Abbeville to Intracoastal City. This is flat
country just a few feet above sea level. Building roads in this land
requires digging canals on both side of the road to obtain enough fill
material to construct a macadamized surface a few feet above the
surrounding countryside. Cattle ranches and rice fields dominate the
land. Rice fields double as crawfish ponds once the rice is harvested.
Intracoastal City is where offshore workers gather to be ferried via
helicopters to offshore oil and gas rigs. Businesses in this area cater
to the offshore oil or shrimping industry.

Intracoastal City is also home to a huge fleet of Gulf shrimp boats.
We were surprised to see the number of beautiful brightly colored
steel shrimp boats. We have seen large steel shrimp boats before
but
never before have we seen over 50 of these vessels all in one
place.
They were beautifully painted and in top condition. Vietnamese
fishermen who migrated to the area after the fall of Vietnam back in
the late 60's and 70's owned the majority of these immaculate
vessels.
These 150' steel vessels are million dollar plus investments and the new
cars and trucks dockside indicate these immigrants to our country have
done well. Virtually all these gigantic steel boats had names with a
Vietnamese flair. I suspect that the Vietnamese work ethos has severely
impacted the "good-old-boy" Cajun shrimper.

Our next stop was Pecan Island. We did not see the Islands
namesake
pecan trees but did see a lot of cattle. The other notable thing
about Pecan Island was the wild iris growing in roadside canals and
low areas. These beautiful blue irises were as gorgeous as any we
have ever seen. Our memories of Pecan Island will be of the
Brahman
cattle and wild blue iris.

On the way back we stopped at a local grocery store & gas station.
In
this part of Louisiana Mom & Pop places have a crock-pot or deep
fryer
ready to serve up boudin. Boudin substitutes for the ubiquitous
hamburger most of us are accustomed to. Cajun Country is known
for
its fine cuisine, but not all of it is found in fancy restaurants.
Some of the best Cajun food is found at service stations and Mom &
Pop
corner stores. Boudin is one of the main attractions at these small
family-owned businesses. This place had crock-pot boudin and
Joyce
split one with me. It was great. Some visitors to the area may be
afraid to try boudin, but once they do, this succulent mixture of
rice, pork/crawfish and seasonings captivates their taste buds.
Crock-pot boudin is best when taken right from the wrapper and
eaten
at the check out counter or in the parking lot. Make sure you have
something to drink handy. For Cajuns that drink would be cold beer.

Across the road was a hand painted sign "We clean ducks $2.00
each".
The area for miles and miles around here is the winter home for
literally millions of migrating ducks and geese. These shallow rice
patties make good forage for the visiting waterfowl.

Another funny road sign reads "HOT BOUDIN + COLD BEER ='S
GOOD COMPANY". You have to love this place.

From there we headed north toward the motorhome in Lafayette via
Kaplan. Kaplan is noted as being the hometown of Sammy
Kershaw. A
large plaque downtown proclaims the place as Sammy's birthplace.
For
those of you that do not know Sammy is a Country Music artist with
multiple platinum albums. He is also married to Laurie Morgan.
(Another Country Music artist)

Between Kaplan and Lafayette rice fields cover 90% of the
countryside.
This is rice country.

One thing that catches our eye is the "Daiquiri drive-thru". A
daiquiri drive through is an establishment selling daiquiris. They
are usually located on an easily accessible corner. The humorous
thing to us about these "daiquiri drive-thru" establishments is that
drinking and driving is against the law in Louisiana.

Tuesday, April 2, 2002
Acadian RV-Park operated by the City of Lafayette. N30º 15.340'
W91º 59.246': Site #12 with 50amps and water for $9.00 in a wonderful
shadyPark within several miles of downtown Lafayette.

Tour director Joyce planned another jam-packed day. Our first stop
was the Tourist Information Center in Lafayette. We have decided
to
stay in Lafayette through Sunday and wanted to find out what
festivals
and other entertainment is scheduled for the weekend. Several
festivals are scheduled in cities nearby. We will just have to decide
which ones to participate in.

We headed to Breaux Bridge a few miles east of Lafayette. Breaux
Bridge is a historic turn of the century town on the banks of Bayou
Teche. Many homes from the turn of the century line the bayou
north
and south of town. Joyce had read about an interesting place south
east of Breaux Bridge that we went looking for. Using the GPS and
Street Atlas software plus the directions Joyce had we headed out
through sugar cane and rice fields. When we arrive at our
destination
it appeared that the establishment had suffered a business
downturn.

Back in Breaux Bridge we lunch at "Bayou Boudin and Cracklin".
Several locals have directed us to this RUSTIC restaurant on the
banks
of Bayou Teche in Breaux Bridge. Joyce had Cajun round steak,
rice
and gravy, homemade black eyes, snap beans, salad and bread. It
was a
plate that would have made a lumberjack proud. The Cajun round
steak
and gravy had a kick emanating from a healthy dose of red pepper.
I
had their scrumptious chicken and fresh pork sausage gumbo
served with
rice, country boiled egg and French bread. Like the locals told us
this was a great place to eat. It was my first experience with a
hard-boiled egg in my gumbo, odd but good. This place serves
something different every day for lunch. If you are adventuresome,
and want to truly experience "Cajun Swamp folk" stop by for lunch
and
get the savory special de jour. You will be glad you did, but be
warned; this is not a cloth napkin place.

After lunch we headed to Lake Martin and the Nature Conservancy's
Cypress Island Rookery. We found it at N30º 12.204' W91º 54.034
on
Rookery Road just off SR-353 about 10-miles south east of
Lafayette.
This is by far the largest rookery either of us has ever seen. It
contains the largest white-ibis rookery in the world. Herons, egrets and
roseate spoonbills by the thousands, in addition to ibis were nesting in
the trees. Like other rookeries alligators protect these nests. Many
alligators in plain view are 10 to 15 feet long. We have never seen live
alligators anywhere near this size. One gigantic gator appeared to be
larger than the Florida State record gator that we had seen recently in
Apalachicola, Florida.

Any chick that falls out of the nest becomes alligator lunch. Any
raccoon or mink that ventures into the rookery will also become
lunch.
In addition to the thousands of brilliantly colored nesting birds
were the equally colorful wild iris in colors ranging from deep purple
through shades of blue to yellows and solid white. To my utter
astonishment we watch several nutria's frolicking in this alligator
infested swamp. How have these nutria been able to elude those gators?
One can only imagine the excitement a nutria must experience spending the
night in a swamp full of gators.

Later I drove Joyce to the small town of Broussard a few miles south
of Lafayette. It seems that Broussard has the most historical places in
one small community in the state of Louisiana. Joyce wanted me to take
her on a driving tour of these historic homes and businesses. The places
were in exceptional condition considering they dated from the 1830's. If
you are into turn of the century architecture Broussard's driving tour of
the historical district would be ideal for you.

Wednesday, April 3, 2002
Acadian RV-Park operated by the City of Lafayette. N30º 15.340'
W91º 59.246': Site #73 with 50amps and water for $9.00 in a wonderful
shady Park within several miles of downtown Lafayette

Joyce guided us around Lafayette this morning following a 20-mile
"azalea trail". Most of the azaleas were past prime but we still
enjoyed the old yards and homes on the trail. We toured the
Alexander
Mouton House Circa 1835 currently the "Lafayette Museum". The
original building (still standing) consisted of one large room with
kitchen in the back connected by a "dog-trot" (open walk-way), and
was
constructed circa 1800 by Jean Mouton, one of the first settlers of
Southwest Louisiana. From 1825 to 1849 a succession of owners
each
added to the house. A unique feature of the house was a large
cupola
in which the women could go to see if boats had arrived at the city
docks. The house was furnished with magnificent period pieces.
Mr.
Mouton originally constructed the one large room with detached
kitchen
as a "Sunday" house. Since his plantation home was about 10-
miles
north near Carencro, this little house was used as a town house
when
he and his family came to town, especially on Sunday for church.
These
small town houses were a custom among the more affluent planters
and
were called "Maison Dimanche" (Sunday Houses).

For lunch we headed north to Carencro looking for Enola
Prudhomme's
Cajun Café. Year after year Prudhomme's gets voted the favorite
Cajun
restaurant in the state. Enola Prudhomme is the sister of the state's
most famous chef (K-Paul). The place has closed. It seems that Enola got
sick and closed the restaurant. What a bummer!!!! Well if we can't lunch
at Prudhomme's we will dine at Prejean's tonight.

We spent the afternoon at Vermillionville. Vermillionville can best
be described as a "living history / interpretative center" consisting of
around 20 houses from the turn of the century. The purpose of
Vermillionville is to preserve and interpret authentic elements of life
and culture of the area peoples between 1765 and 1890. The Village seeks
to enlighten visitors and youth about the history and culture of Acadians
and to help ethnic groups of this area gain a better understanding and
appreciation of their own culture. Many of the houses have someone inside
performing period tasks from basket weaving to cooking.

In one a craftsmen was making bousillage (a mixture of mud and
Spanish
moss). In the mid-1800's houses in this area were of colombage
construction (a half-timber wall framing system) and bousillage
filling in between the framing. Our docent did not know the R-value
of bousillage but explained that at night the bousillage walls
absorbed moisture then as the sun heated the walls during the day it
would give up the moisture thus cooling the home.

Another woman in period dress was removing seeds from raw
cotton by
hand then carding the fiber and finally using a manual spinning
wheel
was making thread. In the 1800's children were expected to remove
seeds from cotton by the age of 5. By age 10 girls were carding
cotton fiber. The woman of the house spun the fiber into thread. It took
40 hours of labor to make a square yard of material. As the interpreter
explained women had more to do than process cotton into cloth. It was
something they did in addition to all of the other chores.

Another interpreter was demonstrating early survival skills: boat
building, net and trap making, and decoy carving. The early settlers
(1800's) lived near water and used the bayous for transportation, for
communication, for hunting and fishing. This craftsman demonstrated how
to make a rope from Spanish moss. I was amazed. The rope was very strong
and small in diameter. I would never have believed it but seeing is
believing.

In the schoolhouse we were reminded that school children were
prohibited from speaking French in school. An early 20th century
Louisiana law forbade the speaking of Southwest Louisiana's
principal
language even on the school playground!

Another interpreter demonstrated blacksmithing skills. Blacksmiths
were an essential part of every community where they fashioned
agricultural and construction tools, wagon wheels, hinges, nails and
the like.

In the church we learn that Catholicism was the only religion legally
allowed to be practiced in Louisiana before the Louisiana Purchase in
1803. The early settlers practiced "la messe blanche" (a prayer service
conducted by laymen) since the priests visited so infrequently. Slaves
practiced the religion of their masters. Free men of color enjoyed social
prestige, were economically independent, engaged in many trades, and
worshipped in the same churches used by whites. Slaves sat in small pews
on the side isles.

Next to almost every chapel is a simple cemetery. Grave markers
were
generally made by the local blacksmith of recycled materials. A
wreath of flowers, made from paper dipped in wax and dyes, often
hung
from the top of a cross.

We dined at Prejean's tonight. This is one of Louisiana's more
heavily advertised Cajun Restaurants. We did not think the food
was
any better than the mom and pop places we most often frequent.
The
atmosphere was more upscale as was the prices. The restaurant
featured a number of awesome mounts including: a 540-pound Jew
fish, a
14' 800 pound alligator, a 209-pound alligator gar, a gigantic
snapping turtle plus a host of other mounts including a trophy size
blue marlin. The best thing we ate tonight was corn and crab
bisque.
Prejean's is worth a lunch date just to view the incredible menagerie of
mounted fish, ducks, turtles and mammals.

While viewing the 14' 800 pound alligator Joyce and I began
discussing
what we have recently seen and heard about "record" gators. The
Florida State "record" alligator was 14' long and weighed 750
pounds.
We saw this gator hide in Apalachicola. Another Florida gator
weighed
over 1,000 pounds but was shorter. When Joyce and I visited the
wading bird rookery on Lake Martin the other day we saw a number
of
alligators that were every bit as large (weight & length) as the 14'
800 pound gator mounted in the restaurant. One was MUCH larger.
When
compared to the mounted one I suspect that the largest one I saw at
Lake Martin was at least 18' and 1000 pounds. A docent at
Vermillionville yesterday conducting a Cajun cooking demonstration
was
entertaining us while her jambalaya was cooking. She lived off
Rookery Road on Lake Martin and the school bus route was up and
down
rookery road. She said that alligators as large as 20' long regularly
sunned themselves in the middle of rookery road. She related that several
times a year a school bus would be late because a large gator would not
move from the road and the bus could not get by. I thought she might be
blowing a little smoke when she talked about 20' gators. Now that I have
seen the 14' gator mounted in Prejean's and compared it to the gators we
saw the other day I suspect she was not exaggerating.

Thursday, April 4, 2002
Acadian RV-Park operated by the City of Lafayette. N30º 15.340'
W91º 59.246': Site #73 with 50amps and water for $9.00 in a wonderful
shady Park within several miles of downtown Lafayette

We met June Borel this morning. June is known in these parts as
the
"swamp lady" or "swamp queen". She has her own swamp tour
business
out of Catahoula, Louisiana. She is a true sure fire no joking native
Cajun Swamp Lady. June was in the Nature Center located here in the City
Park waiting on a group of school children. When we told her that we had
been on Rookery Road yesterday she asked if we had seen the BIG gator. Of
course we had. She said that locals estimated that it was between 16' and
18'. She said that it was a large gator but there were some even larger.
She is a "Story Teller" extraordinaire. One could sit and listen to her
tell about her life in the swamp for hours. It was her family that
started the crawfish craze in Southern Louisiana back in the 1950's. Her
father taught a local grocer how to boil crawfish. The grocer started
selling the boiled crawfish in his store. Before long it took all the
family could do to supply the grocer with crawfish. Her family was not
farming crawfish; they were harvesting wild ones from the Atchafalaya
Basin. It was years later before farmers started "farming" crawfish.
June still harvest "wild" Atchafalaya Basin crawfish and goes frog gigging
at night to supply local restaurants. She told us that at night you could
see hundreds more gators because their eyes glow in the light. Gator eyes
are one color and bullfrog eyes are another. So much for June, we could
sit and listen to her all day. If we ever do another swamp tour we will
go with June. For those interested her phone number is 337-394- 8119.

We stopped in Breaux Bridge at the Café Des Amis for lunch. This
quaint Café is located in the heart of historic downtown Breaux
Bridge
one block west of the bridge. We have eaten here before and know
what
to expect. Café Des Amis is the essence of French Louisiana.
There
is so much on the menu to try yet we want to go "lite" for lunch. I
had a cup of their exquisite turtle soup and we both had a cup of
corn
& crawfish bisque. Both dishes are out of this world scrumptious.
After savoring this we split a delectable bread pudding with white
chocolate sauce. It just does not get any better! If you can only do one
restaurant while in the Breaux Bridge / Lafayette area make it Café Des
Amis. It is the best hands down! For RV'ers transversing I-10 that want
to stop and try this place you will need a place to park your RV. There
is a City park with space for RV's to park less than a block from the
Café. The park is the first road to the north on the west side of the
bridge. Did I mention that they serve lunch with a loaf of fresh warm
French bread and real butter?

For the next several hours we drove north along the western bank of
Bayou Teche crossing a bridge in the small town of Arnaudville and
followed the eastern bank of the Teche back to Breaux Bridge.
Sugar
cane is the predominant crop on both sides of the Teche. Then we
headed south along Bayou Teche through St. Martinville to New
Iberia.
Between St. Martinville and New Iberia broad fields give way to
more
live oak and pecan trees. Limbs of live oaks meet over the broad
highway in moss-draped archways. One old homestead has an ally
of
centuries old live oaks leading from the highway to the front porch.

Back in Lafayette we chose the Blue Dog Café for dinner. Everyone
talks about the good food at the Blue Dog and it is noted for its
award winning Cajun cuisine. From the name "Blue Dog" we
thought the
place would be another mom and pop establishment located in a
turn of
the century building. WRONG! The Blue Dog Café is a white
tablecloth
and napkin place. Joyce and I split a "Crab Dinner" consisting of: a cup
of corn & crab bisque, two crab cakes, a stuffed crab, seafood jambalaya,
shrimp Au gratin, corn maque choux (pronounced mak shoe) green salad and
Cajun fries. Everything was wonderful and top of the line. The corn and
crab bisque was different but every bit as good as bisque at Café Des
Amis. I have no idea how any one individual could consume a platter of
food like that by themselves. To top off the evening we split a desert of
bread pudding with pecan praline sauce. There is no other way to describe
that desert other than "to die for".
This is the dining place for the more couth and urban sophisticates
among us. If you want to impress your lady best you take her here
rather than "Bayou Boudin and Cracklin". The later would frighten
the faint of heart.

Mike & Joyce Hendrix