Monday, September 14, 2009

Cajun Country

This is Cajun Country here in Abbeville, just south of Lafayette. So we have tried to indulge in the culture as much as possible. We visited Vermillionville which is an Acadian Cultural Center. The day we went they had entertainment. Cedrick Watson, a zydeco musician, was the quest artist.

 
But not only did we get to listen to the music, but we got to see the dancers as well. Cajun dancing is different than what I am used to.

Earlier that morning we went for breakfast with several others from the RV park. Cafe Des Amis in Beaux Bridge has a musical breakfast every Saturday morning. Starting at 8am there is a zydeco band playing. Some people come to eat, like us, but many more just come to dance every Saturday morning. Many are regulars as most of the people knew each other.

We went outside later and saw this parked across the street. It's not quite ready to hit the road yet, as the owner is more interested in having something to tailgate with. Inside is a cooler, stove and heater.

But we did get our crab boil. Sunday afternoon the call came that the crabs were in. Betty, owner of the RV park, has many friends in the area who make a living by shrimping or crabbing. Whenever they have extra they are willing to sell to friends and she gets a call. I'm not sure how many dozen were purchased, but one of the residents here at the park boiled them for us. What a feast.

Betty also has this night blooming flower. Yes, it really only blooms between 10pm and midnight.

But it has been raining most of the last few days. Yesterday we went for a drive down to Intracoastal City on the Intercoastal Waterway. It is all commercial fishing and offshore oilwell businesses. Here were a string of these big rigs. Not sure what they were for, but they looked rugged.

I said it had been raining. Many roads were flooding. This was supposed to be a parking lot but the canal had flooded. Luckily the road was still dry in most places.

4 comments:

Diana said...

Did you do any Cajun dancing? I call it the "limp."

ladynomad said...

We did some cajun dancing, but not zydeco.

Claudia said...

I've spent a lot of time in Cajun Country and the Gulf working and there is nothing like the shrimp right off the boat. The locals all had at least one freezer full of shrimp and crab. The season continues until around Thanksgiving. We used to to down and wait for the boats to come in. YMMMM.

homeiswhereweparkit said...

You got some really good photos on the way to Venice! I didn't know that Fort Jackson was closed now. Betty's oldest son lives just off of Belle Chasse Highway in the tiny town of Jesuit Bend. Had another great potluck here the other night . . . missed you!