Our winter in Texas came to a close in mid April, and it was time to start making our way north and east. We were headed to an RVQuilters Rally in Franklin, NC in early May, but had plenty of time to get there so we would be taking it slow and stopping in a few new areas along the way. We were hopeful that we could avoid any severe weather as we made our way across the southern states – always a concern in April!
We avoided Houston on our way out of Texas by going slightly south toward Galveston and then looping around on Hwy 146 and picking up I-10 in Baytown, which is well outside the outer loop around Houston. That worked out pretty well, although we still hit some pretty rough roads from Beaumont to the state line.
Hello Louisiana!
The roads didn’t seem to bother Casey at all!
Things got a little smoother in Louisiana, but there was a fair amount of construction to deal with – not our favorite thing to see when we’re travelling in the motorhome!
Before too long, we made it through Lafayette, LA and to the small town of Breaux Bridge, where we would be staying the next few days at Poche’s Fish Camp.
The name kindof made us wonder what we were getting into, but some RVers at the previous park assured us that we would love it there – very peaceful and quiet, with sites along the water.
Sure enough, we had a nice site backed up to one of the lakes, and it was a very peaceful setting, out in the country & well away form the noise of the interstate.
There was plenty of grass and sunshine for Casey, and lots of area to walk her around the RV park.
The park was surrounded by cattle, which we could see and hear in the distance (but thankfully not smell!), and we often saw wildlife hanging out by the lakes when we walked. – like this Great Blue Heron that got spooked by Casey!
We had some beautiful sunsets over the lake, too!
WE spent most of our days just hanging out, and Tom found people to talk to while I worked, but I did take one afternoon off so that we could go to Avery Island, the home of Tabasco Sauce.
We bought the combo tickets, which included both the factory tour and the Jungle Garden tour. We started out in the Museum, where we learned about the history of the Tabasco Company, and saw memorabilia from the various decades of their history.
The next stop on the tour took us out behind the museum where we hopped on the hot pepper express,
and went to see where the process of making Tabasco sauce gets started, being careful to watch out for bears! I guess they like peppers!
I had hoped we’d get to see the pepper plantation, but we were only able to see a few plants in a small greenhouse.
Beyond the greenhouse were two large buildings that are used to house barrels of pepper paste while it ages for 3 – 5 years.
The oak barrels are filled with the pepper mash and topped with salt,
from the salt mine located right there on Avery Island,
and then the barrels dated and stacked in a pyramid, six levels high, and left in the barn for the aging process.
It smelled very potent in there!
The next step in the process takes us into the plant.
The plaque next to the front door announces that Tabasco is the official supplier of hot sauce to the Queen.
Inside,
we viewed the mixing tanks, where the pepper mash is mixed with distilled vinegar and any other ingredients needed for the particular sauce they are going into,
and the bottling plant.
The bottles going through the line that day were destined for Japan . . . they must like their hot sauce!
At the completion of the plant tour, we went into the General Store, where they have every possible Tabasco product you can imagine! There was a tasting bar . . . Tom tasted pretty much everything, and I tasted a few things . . . including Tabasco ice cream, which had a pretty good bite to it! We picked up a few items to take home, and headed over to the Jungle Gardens for the driving tour of the grounds.
We stopped in at the gift shop for our final stamp of our tickets, and received our free gifts – we each got a bottle of Tabasco Sauce. We’re well-supplied now!
The driving tour took us around the residence area of Avery Island. The first garden area has small canals running through it, as well as the larger canal that circles the island.
This canal provided access to the river, and then the Gulf, and the family had a boathouse on the site to provide shelter for their boats. It doesn’t look like it’s getting any use right now.
This was a prime alligator habitat, and we were on the lookout for them!
Kindof ironic that the first one we spotted was right by the warning sign!
As we drove along, and walked around the ponds, we spotted many more!
In the canal,
and warming up in the grass!
There was another big gator hanging out in the grass, but he quickly dove into the water as soon as we pulled off the side of the road – didn’t even give us a chance to get out of the Jeep!
Some were pretty good at keeping themselves camouflaged,
and others didn’t bother to hide!
We were surprised to see this gator and turtle looking so friendly – the last time we saw a turtle with a gator, it didn’t end too well for the turtle!
Snowy Egret looking for fish . . .
I hope he keeps an eye open for gators!
Leaving the Venetian Gardens area, we stopped for a photo op at the Cleveland Oak, a 300+ year old Live Oak Tree named for President Grover Cleveland.
It’s a big tree!
We drove through the Holly Arch, and alongside a clump of timber bamboo.
Jungle Gardens includes one of the oldest timber bamboo stands in America. Ned McIlhenny was a conservationist who experimented with many types of plants and studied their impact on the environment.
The next area on the tour was an Asian garden, were the centerpiece was a temple on a hill housing a Buddha statue.
In 1936, Ned McIlhenny received the Buddha statue as a gift from some friends. He built the beautiful shrine for the Buddha, and surrounded it by an elegant garden and lagoon.
Palm Garden
Sunken Garden
Our last stop on the tour was the most impressive, and my favorite.
Bird City – I had no idea what to expect. In the 1890s, Ned McIlhenny became concerned over the number of egrets being killed for their feathers, so he captured several young snowy egrets and raised them in an aviary that he built on the property. He released the birds in the fall to migrate across the Gulf of Mexico, and he was delighted to find that most of them returned to Avery Island, with their mates, to nest the following spring. Mr. Ned continued to build on to the floating city, and the number of birds nesting on Avery Island continued to grow. In just 16 years, it was estimated that there were 100,000 egrets and other birds nesting in Bird City.
It was a pretty amazing sight! We have never seen so many egrets in one area!
The Jungle Gardens were very beautiful, and are probably even more beautiful a little later in the year when all the flowers are in bloom! We certainly enjoyed out visit!
LOL
