Not Blue Down by the Bayou

That's our Excel on the Galveston Ferry!

We left Galveston Island via the ferry.  Once again we decided to take the back roads.  We hugged the coast most of the way to Abbeville, LA.  And these really were some lonely roads.   Once we moved away from town of Port Arthur the drive became more and more desolate.  A house here or maybe a small grouping, but no towns.   Not even a gas station to be found.  So if you take this way make sure you have a full tank.  There was one more ferry crossing out in the middle of nowhere over a river whose docks were dotted with shrimp boats ( not shrimping season yet).  

The landscape started to change,  gradually seeing more trees and  swampy areas.  And like magic the sun even came out! We were entering Cajun country.   We noticed fields flooded as we turned north.  Rice fields?  But what are those red topped wire things?  Turns out the fields do double duty.  In the winter months they are used for harvesting that Louisiana delicacy crawfish.  Only the large ones get trapped in the cage allowing the smaller ones to go on to be eaten another day.   

We found the Abbeville City RV park nestled down a long tree lined road.  It does not have any facilities so you do have to be a self contained rig to camp here.  It does however have full hookups, large sites, a nice nature trail, not crowded and some very friendly folks.   We decided to stay a few more days than we originally intended and enjoyed it very much after the sardine and concrete parks we had been staying.  We also got to know some of the regulars who come back year after year from colder climates to winter in the park.  I even got to see a giant owl swoop past me!

So why exactly did we come to Abbeville?  Well, believe it or not it was centrally located to interesting but not well known places.   One day we visited Avery Island and toured the Tabasco plant.  Another day we visited Rip Van Winkle Gardens which has an interesting history and an amazing story about Lake Peigneur which it borders. Do take the house tour and watch the link above  about the lake – it is amazing.   Beautiful grounds and peacocks in trees.  I even got to sit under the Cleveland Oak.  

There was plenty to do in the area and some good restaurants to sample the local Cajun cuisine. We had a few nice days but we also had some really cold and rainy ones.  The crawfish were digging in deep. The local restaurants were having a crawfish  shortage but the oysters were plentiful at the nearby Shucks.   We decided we better head out to New Orleans before the next big storm and Mardi Gras hit.