Dec 18 - 21 New Orleans to Lafayette, Louisiana

From New Orleans we drove to Lafayette, Louisiana. (Click on the map to enlarge it.) I use a GPS for navigating the route in the motorhome. If I miss a turn, it can be a big deal to get back on course because I cannot back the motorhome up with the car attached. It has nothing to do with driving skill -- it's because the front wheels of the car turn sideways and can damage the steering mechanism, and also a tire can be dragged sideways right off of the rim! So I pay a lot of attention to following the route. If I miss a turn, I either need to find a big parking lot, go around the block (if there is one), or unhook the car, turn the RV around, then re-attach the car. Partly annoying, partly embarrassing.

The GPS, a Garmin Streetpilot 2610 that I bought several years ago, not only shows distances and maps, but also reads elevation above sea level. It was interesting to note as we left New Orleans and drove west on I-10, about 40 miles from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, that we were at zero elevation much of the time, even 7 to 10 feet below sea level at times! Easy to see how the storms and hurricanes can wreak such havoc. The terrain is wet and swampy, and much of the roadway is elevated ten to twenty feet, like a very long bridge.

We stayed at an RV park north of Lafayette called "Bayou Wilderness" which had some interesting displays, such as this pitcher-fountain at the end of the row where we parked. (The bayous are waterways through the swamps, and can be used for traveling through the swamps in canoes or flat-bottom boats.)

The reason for visiting Lafayette was the Cajun culture of the area. The Cajuns originally were the French Canadians (Acadians) that migrated south from Canada in the 1600's due to pressures from governments and the church. (See http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2073/cajun.htm ) They have a different language, mostly French, and their food and music are distinctive. The real Cajun food is not as spicy and is much richer than the "Cajun" food up north. And the music is largely fiddles, guitars, and accordians. On Saturday morning we went to a weekly jam session at Marc Savoy's Music Center near Eunice, about 40 miles from Lafayette, to see the local folks enjoying making music. They had boudin (pork and rice sausage), cracklin (fried pigskin), and beer available. I didn't partake.

We also drove through downtown Lafayette. The downtown is somewhat deserted now as people have migrated to the southern part of the city, where the bigger homes and the shopping malls are. But it is easy to see how the city was once very impressive. The buildings and churches are still attractive, just not so busy. There are many "live oak" trees there, so called because they have green leaves in the winter when other trees have lost theirs. They live for centuries, and often have Spanish moss hanging from their outstretched curved branches.

After two days in Cajun country, we headed west to the Lone Star State.