Last Days in Louisiana

 We survived our 3 days at the swamp camp without getting eaten by alligators or mosquitoes (jokingly referred to as the State Bird of Louisiana!). On our way home we called in for a delicious rib BBQ lunch at Diane and Ben's lovely home. Later that day Mike thrilled Murray by taking us to check out the newest Bass Pro store which was really amazing. It had its own aquarium and a century old Snapping Turtle just resting in the water at our feet. We have visited many Bass Pro stores during our years touring the USA, but this new store beat them all hands down. Amazing. Murray supported the local economy by buying some more fishing tackle!

Our last 3 days in Louisiana have given us quite a lesson in Cajun history and culture! Cindy and Mike have exposed us to many experiences that we would never have had if we had been on our own. Who would have guessed that such an ordinary looking building as the Cajun Museum could house such a wealth of information about the Arcadian migration. We would probably have driven right past. In the mid-1700's, the French speaking people in the Canadian Province of Nova Scotia were forcibly removed by the British and packed in primitive boats and sailed to settle in parts of USA. Eventually many found their way to join the French speaking population in Louisiana where they have become known as Cajuns, derived from where they came from in Arcadia (see explanatory photo below). The Cajuns were strong Catholics and as you drive around this area, you will see statues of Our Lady or an Angel in the front of houses, and many of them also have a grotto - some use an old bath tub to create the grotto by burying the bathtub in the ground as in the photo below. 

Our Lady in a bath tub grotto

Origin of Cajun term

As you drive around there are billboards advertising local culinary delights such as boiled crawfish (similar to our yabbies), hot 'cracklin' (they roll the pork crackling in a cajun seasoning and deep fry it), boudin (a sausage made from rice and either pork or chicken mixed with seasoning, garlic etc), frogs legs and 'Po Boys' (a type of sandwich). We had tried crawfish, boudin, frogs legs and Po Boys on previous trips, so we couldn't resist pulling in to buy some cracklin'. Boy was it good - so nicely seasoned! Our cholesterol levels would have shot up a few points though...

Mike and Cindy love to dance, and so they knew just where to take us on a Saturday to experience Cajun music. One place makes musical instruments, but they also hold a jam session each Saturday morning for a few hours, so we called in there to check it out. 

Jam session in progress

Crawfish net

As we drove around we saw rice fields, submerged in water, and noticed white things bobbing in the water. Mike and Cindy explained that the farmers would seed the water with crawfish and put nets in to trap the mature crawfish. They made their income from crawfish AND rice. 

Those white caps you see in the rice field are crawfish nets

The next music stop was in Mamou, 2 hrs west of Baton Rouge - a famous location is Fred's Lounge, and they had a bar open and dancing until 1pm when the hotel across the road took over. Each location plays cajun music and they sure live up to their motto: 'Laissez les bon temps rouler' - let the good times roll. 

The band announced we were from Australia, so we thought we should join the dancers

Every Sunday for the past 2 years, Ben, Diane, Cindy and Mike have met for lunch at The Hilltop Restaurant. We decided it was time to join in (if only once) for their traditional lunch. Little did we realise that it would fall on Mother's Day, which in USA is the busiest day of the year for restaurants! We waited a while to be shown our table (not many restaurants take bookings) but it was worth the wait. Each mother was handed a beautiful long stemmed rose, and the food was delicious.

Cindy Murray and Mike outside Hilltop 

Here we are with our roses!

Cindy and Murray at Cafe Du Monde

All good things come to an end, and this morning Cindy and Mike drove us 1.5 hrs into New Orleans to catch our train. We left extra early to beat peak rush hour, so we had time to enjoy a Cafe au Lait and Beignets at the world famous Cafe Du Monde (located on the banks of the Mississippi River), followed by a delightful stroll around Jackson Square before saying our goodbyes. Thanks Cindy and Mike. Our American friends in Florida and Louisiana have certainly looked after us very well. Now we make our way to San Antonio, Texas, where we will spend 6 days and stay with Aussie friends Bev and Ross, and visit with American friends Wanda and Randy. Family, friends, good health and travel, add up to an interesting and fulfilling retirement. I told Murray today that even if we won a million dollars, we might update our RV and buy a tow car, but apart from that, I would like us to keep living our life just as we are. Retirement doesn't get much better than this from our point of view - others might think otherwise of course.

Behind us is the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the USA