Or heaping spoonfuls of Louisiana. I recently visited Cajun Country (home to one of my favorite tour groups) where I was served crawfish jambalaya, seafood gumbo, boiled shrimp, boudin kolasches, boudin balls, homemade biscuits, crawfish maque choux, red beans and sausage, graton, beignets, andouille grits, fried alligator, a tasso omelet, as well as piece of a giant omelette made in the middle of the street.
I love visiting my tour groups. When they come here, I'm usually the one local giving a tour to dozens of out-of-towners. When I go there, I'm the one out-of-towner getting a tour from dozens of locals. In this way, I've attended a cattle auction in Centralia, Washington, learned blackjack in Reno, Nevada, and tubed the Comal in New Braunfels, Texas.
This trip took me to Lafayette, Vermilion, St. Martin and Iberia Parishes, in the alluvial region west of New Orleans, east of Lake Charles, and south of I-10 (this last phrase was repeated throughout my stay). During hurricanes this area can be said to be part of the Gulf of Mexico. Fortunately, the tropical storm/hurricane that threatened my departure bypassed us and was actually more severe by the time it reached New York.
I think my hosts always enjoy having me visit partly because they can run me as ragged as I ran them. The itineraries they create for me are packed with excursions, meals and parties. After one late night, I was told to "take a quick nap," because we were leaving at 6:30 in the morning to drive to Cafe des Amis for breakfast and zydeco dancing.
I went with it and, as you can see below, even played percussion with my thimbles and washboard tie. (The latter object--long, metallic, serrated--was the reason I was pulled out of line by security at LAX.)
One of my favorite stops was a tour of the home built by Joseph Jefferson, one of the great actors of the nineteenth century, who gave us the oft-repeated quote...
..."There are no small parts, only small actors."
According to a sign, Grover Cleveland once took siestas underneath a live oak on the property while visiting Jefferson. I took mine on the porch.
And a trip to Jefferson Island should always be paired with a trip to its neighboring salt dome, Avery Island, home of Tabasco.
Bobby and Dot's, a highly successful catering company, let me sample several dishes and gave me a t-shirt. Here I am pretending to work their tent at the Omelette Festival in Abbeville. (Come back Monday for more on the Omelette Festival.)
I send you into the weekend with one of my favorite shots.
In Louisiana, people paint graffiti on their own property. Interesting.
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