Traveling America By Van: Off To Cajun Country
By: John Kumiski
We left Ocean Springs by US 90 west, crossing over the high bridge and descending into what passes for glitz in Mississippi- Biloxi. High-rise casinos, looking horribly out of place, line both sides of the road here, hoping to lure gullible gamblers into donating their hard-earned monies.
As we traveled, we could not help but notice the frequency of that restaurant known as the Waffle House. There had to be one every mile! It became a joke we didn't have to say a word for- one of us would point and we'd both bust out laughing.
The Gulf was on one side, beautiful oak trees and the Waffle houses were on the other side, and the miles passed by most pleasantly. We came to a sign welcoming us to Louisiana, and the vibe changed immediately. Salt marshes extended off to the south. The fisherman in me started drooling, something that wouldn't stop until we left the state.
We stopped and took a short walk on the boardwalk at Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge.
These giant, old oak trees grow in Fountainbleu State Park.
In spite of the fact I wanted to avoid the interstate, we found ourselves on I-12 (thanks, Siri), headed to Fountainbleu State Park, in Mandeville, Louisiana. The park lies on the north shore of Lake Ponchartrain. Arriving there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the place was full of people enjoying themselves, playing soccer, splashing in the water, kayaking, fishing, cooking, eating, throwing footballs and frisbees, and who knows what else. We saw women wearing burkas, and sunburned rednecks, and every skin color you've ever seen here on the planet; heard people speaking a multitude of languages. It was awesome!
We took a walk on the hiking trail. Lots of flowers were blooming, especially the blue flag irises. They were lovely.
We went to Mandeville Seafood House for some shrimp boil. We wanted crawfish but neither of us had ever eaten them and we didn't know how. Instead of asking (they were very busy) we had delicious, fresh Gulf shrimp instead!
A historical marker where the giant oaks grow, Fountainbleu State Park.
In the state park you find a large field with several giant old live oaks growing. In the morning we went there. I was hoping to get some better photos of the trees. We wandered around, and there was a historical plaque telling about the slaves who lived where people now hold parties and weddings. I found the contrast striking.
We had lunch under a pavilion. At a neighboring table was a couple, with a big plate of crawfish! I went and pleaded my ignorance, and asked for a crawfish lesson. Sheralyn and Charles were happy to oblige, and showed us how it was done. Susan and I were now eager to practice!
Susan appears eager to dig in to a pile of hot crawfish!
We got our chance at a place called Richard's, in Abbeville. Three pounds of crawfish and a couple cold bottles of Abita and we were off! The crawdads were every bit as delicious as they looked, and now I have a new item in my food arsenal.
Abbeville was a great place. They have an Omelette Festival there every year (2020 excluded), where they make a giant omelette. How giant, you ask? It uses more than 5000 eggs! It's stuffed with onions, peppers, and crawfish tails, and I would love to go back to see the festival in person. As it was, a mural had to do.
Abbeville is also home to the Abbeville red iris (Iris nelsonii), a rare, red, wild iris that grows only in a small area in Vermillion Parrish, Louisiana. Some were growing at Palmetto Island State Park, where we stayed, and I was able to photograph them.
The Abbeville red iris, growing at the entrance of Palmetto Island State Park.
We visited the Tabasco Factory (tours closed due to COVID, and the town of New Iberia, which is in the middle of a renaissance. The museums we wanted to visit were closed however. We were there on the wrong day of the week.
Another sunrise found us on the road again, after what was too short a stay in Cajun country. But, our ultimate goal is San Francisco. It was time to continue moving west.
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