Tabasco and Cajun Music

Louisiana Avery Island, Tabasco and Cajun Music

Getting an early start on the day of travel is necessary if we we're to arrive in the afternoon. On March 9^th it was before 6:00am and the temperature was 17ºC and a bit windy, when we left Lillian, Alabama to drive to Lafayette, Louisiana.

We were on the road at 8:10 am and to get to the I-10 we had to go east into Florida then west on the I-10. As we drove we noticed that the trees were leafing and appeared greener. A half an hour later we were back in Alabama west bound on I-10. Entering Mobile, AL on the North end of Mobile Bay, we encountered the cities very long bridge and tunnel close to the ship yards. After leaving the city the traffic was heavy along I-10 with many trucks. The road was lined with trees and swampy land.

It did not take long to get through Alabama, as we entered Mississippi at 9:50am. We were very close to the Bay St. Louis, part of the Gulf of Mexico. This part of the Southern US is only a few feet above sea level which was evident by the many swampy areas along the highway. 


We stopped at a rest area near the Mississippi at the Louisiana border at 11:15am for a bathroom break and something to eat. 


We saw one area where the trees were broken off at various places on their trunks, may have been done by a hurricane. 

After that we bypassed New Orleans on I-12 for 86 miles. The temperature had gone up to 26ºC. We stopped at Hammond, LA to fuel up at a trucker stop. The traffic on the street were the truck stop exited was  very heavy (noon and only one person per car) so it took us and the two truckers in front of us 15 minutes to get back onto I-12 towards Baton Rouge.

There we were back on I-10 and the 10 mile Basin Bridge which elevated over all the swamps, bayou and river systems that enter into the Gulf of Mexico. This is named the Henderson Swamp where tourists can tour by boat. When we left the bridge we found our self on a cement I-10 highway, which was very rough causing the truck and the trailer and us to be shaken up.

We arrived at Lafayette, LA at 2:24pm and shortly after were in Scott and the KOA- RV Site. We got a pull-through cement pad and were set up with in 20 minutes.

Randal did an amazing job driving six hours through all the traffic and ruff highways. I am very proud of his quiet ability to get us here safely. I was the driving photographer and when the batteries died, I missed taking pictures at the Mississippi River. 

We had to wear ear-plugs for there was constant noise of the trucks on the I-10. The KOA site is just off the highway and the traffic is heavy. We woke up to rain which lasted all day. It was a good day for baking a batch of buns and a chocolate cake. 

The rain stopped at noon so we went out to see Acadian Village Lafayette, LA. It's an account of the of the arrival of the Acadians who were expelled of the French from Nova Scotia during the 1700s to Louisiana, LA along the Bayou, 1763-1785.

In the evening we walked over to the Information Centre across the road from the KOA to a Cajun Jam Session We were there for 3 hours listening the a volunteer group of enthusiastic musicians, young and old. 
The instruments they played included the Cajun Accordion, fiddle, the Cajun triangle and guitars. (photo). They atmosphere was electrifying as each player put their heart and soul into the music. A couple of young men from England arrived later on to video tape the group. Each were filmed as they played. It will nice to be able to see the final production,  if only we knew where to find it online.

The next day we had went on a tour of Tabasco Company, Avery Island, Louisiana.

We drove south of Lafayette the highway was 2 feet above sea level and Avery Island is 5 feet below sea level. Louisiana is a very low swampy State, with Bayous and rivers almost everywhere.

The Tabasco company was started just after the Civil War by the McIlhenny family and is still run by them. They grow Capsicum pepper plants and send the seeds to Central and South America where climate is suitable for growing and harvesting the peppers. Peppers are sent back to the Plant here for processing. 

There were many tourists from Canada and US that took the tour with us. We were shown a short film, given samples to take with us and to taste. The Tabasco Country Store was kept busy with mad shoppers, us included.

We got our first taste if “Boudin”, a rice and pork mixture with Tabasco sauce, in a gut casing. All along the South Louisiana there were restaurants and stores named “Boudin an' Cracklins” They are obviously one of the main courses here. The “Cracklins” are fried pork skins. Another favourites is beans and rice.

There is a salt mine that is eight miles deep and makes up the Island. The soil on top of this salt is rich for the vegetation and the growing of peppers. It is also used for the processing of the peppers into Tabasco.

 

The Jungle Gardens of Avery Island was the most intriguing. We spent 2 hours walking, taking pictures of awesome trees, several types of bamboo, camellias, azaleas and alligators. The trees most be well over 300 years old and are covered with Spanish Moss. In the bayous had alligators in them and they are great places for mosquito to breed. Plants from all over the world have been planted here to add beauty of the Island.

The Chinese Garden comprises a large 800 year-old Buddha, which was brought here from Peiping. He was placed in Jungle Garden to bring peace to the area.

Bird City is a heron sanctuary is placed on an artificial lake between hills. These white heron were all most extinct at one time are now over 20,000 migrated here to nest and raise their young each spring.

Until next time, Discover it Live it