We drove from Beaumont Texas to Abbeville Louisiana today November 5th. It’s 140 miles. It took us about 3 hours which is longer than it should have because I decided it would be nice to take the “dotted green line” road that connected to Highway 14 right into Abbeville. That was a MISTAKE. Lucky we only cut down to this road at Highway 26 at Jennings. Had we cut south from Lake Charles it probably would have taken another 2 more hours. All because of this highway 14. It was in terrible shape. Pot holes and rough area and very narrow. At times there was no shoulder at all. We thought the motorhome might fall to pieces during this 50 mile long bumpy road. It was like a 7.0 earthquake on the road.
Our destination was BETTY’S RV PARK. We had heard about Betty and her RV park through the Boomer’s Bulletin Board. Once we arrived at Betty’s and got parked, we went into Abbeville to do some grocery shopping check out the town. We went into town and had a beer and some appetizers at a local pub called DUPUY’S OYSTER SHOP. The we hustled back to Bettys in time for the traditional Happy Hour for all the campers at her park. Betty’s is a small RV park but BIG on hospitality, that’s what makes her famous. She is a delightful host and makes you feel like family.
We drove the Inter-coastal Highway the next day and I took photos of birds and Alligators. We saw a beautiful White tail deer that maybe was being chased by a hunter, It was really on the run right toward us. We drove over 60 miles to Grand Chenier. It was getting late or we might have driven further. Don’t miss Suires Grocery and Cafe when you are in this area. They have local style food to take out or dine in.
We took Champagnes Swamp Tour in the Bayou on Lake Martin. This was excellent. $20.00 for two hours and he takes you in a small boat, gliding through the swamp seeing birds, otters, alligators, and beautiful trees and water plants.
Here are a few of the photos I took on this swamp tour.
Another must see is Avery Island. It’s a privately owned island and located on the island is the original Tabasco Factory. This is where all the flavors of Tabasco are made. Did you know that once the special chilies are picked they are processed into a mash, put into oak barrels (that where originally used to make Jack Daniels Whiskey) covered with a thick layer or salt (from the island) and stored for up to three years before the peppers are at their peak in flavor, then they are processed into Tabasco Sauce. You can taste All the flavors of sauce, jelly, and even Ice cream in their General Store. ICE CREAM, are you Serious? Well I thought this is really going too far with the whole tasting thing, but, OMG it was very good. Just a hint of heat combined with the cool ice cream…awesome.
In addition to the factory tour you can continue onto much of the gardens on this island. $8.00 per person and take as long as you like. More birds and alligators, but not many flowers during November. I’d like to see this place in Spring when the azaleas are in bloom.
Next we headed Off to MANDEVILLE Lousiana. We were invited by two of our Boomer friends who were working at the Mandeville Christian Church. We had a lovely place to park and we enjoyed time with our friends and met many new friends. Since we were not far from New Orleans we took 3 trips there to see some of the French Quarter, Eat Delicious Cajun Lunches.
I met up with an old high school friend who lives there. Mark, Larry and I had lunch at Santa Fe. I would call it a gourmet Mexican restaurant. Not your run of the mill Mexican food. Cold Beer, Good margaritas too.
Here we are traveling the 23.8 miles across Lake Pontchartrain heading over to New Orleans. This causeway is the worlds Longest Continuous over water bridge in the world. We had a great time walking around the French Quarter. our first lunch was at DEANIES RESTAURANT at 841 Iberville Street. Excellent.
Here is a link to the history of this famous New Orleans landmark. St. Louis Cathedral
This is Louis Armstrong Park, it is full of amazing sculpture.
In the French Quarter you can expect to see just about anything. The live street sculptures are quite good.
No trip to the French Quarter would be complete without a stop at Cafe du Monde for Beignets!
Don’t forget to pick up a VooDoo doll for your friends!
