Wednesday May 29th

We traveled to New Iberia,Avery Island.... By the numbers

1 Ferry ride. Free and lots of fun.

4 dolphins fishing in front of us as we waited on the Ferry

Length of Ferry ride 10 minutes.

100+ rice fields

15ish Sheriff's

49 cemeteries, many small family, some buried under ground, many in cement graves above ground.

Thousands of house and shacks on stilts.

5 draw bridges we crossed.

4 huge ships being unloaded.

1 super tanker ship coming in.

3 huge refineries

22 dollar generals

2.90 for gas

2 alligators

5 7 foot Tabasco bottles

4 turtles to dodge crossing the road.

1 large Rat crossing the road.

100 plus miles, one gas pump from 1950

1000 road kill specimens

4 air boats.

106 RV parks ish

62 ish Shrimp boats

We had a great day taking the coastal road from Texas to Louisiana. Right along the Gulf of Mexico most of the way. Very rural. Nice house, beach house on stilts, dilapidated shacks, and a massive amount of RV parks. The RV parks were tiny to large, most appeared to be permanent residents. So many with out buildings etc. Even the schools and government buildings were on stilts. As we got further east some house were just built on raised ground.

As we left Texas we saw a super tanker coming in to port. My they are huge. Just making a small ripple as it moved down the channel. Definitely Oil country. The refineries are lit up like Christmas.

We had the pleasure to ride the ferry, just part of the road. It was free. We drove right on with the trailer. While we were waiting we watched huge pelicans sit and watch for food. We saw 4 dolphins playing in the water. Dave said they were fishing not playing 🌞.

The coastal water is not really clear, there are so many rivers that feed into the Gulf in this area they bring with them debris and dirt. We did see people walking the rocky beach, looking for shells and using a metal detector.

The Sheriff presence along the Gulf

Road was very strong. We didn't see many other folks at all.

There were lots of fisherman, in the bayou and in inlets to the ocean as we headed further east. Shrimp boats were scattered throughout our trip. We saw lots of hand painted signs for Shrimp and seafood....also bait. 🎣

As we got further east and a bit more north of the ocean, canals and waterways. All kinds of people pulled over to fish. We did see a few flamingos.

We did see our share of road kill. Skunks, armadillos, possum, birds, snakes, gator, etc.

Dave did good at dodging the turtles we saw crossing. Yes they were at a turtles pace.

We saw churches too, noticably the majority were Catholic with a few Baptist thrown in. Nothing else. Strange to see them built on stilts!

We did see many herds of Brahma Bulls and cows. Those boys and girls are huge.

We got to our campground for the night about 11:30 am We set up and we're on the road to Avery Island, Home of Tabasco. What a neat story and great afternoon. We toured several museums, the green house, barrel making workshop, the mixing room and the bottling facility. We then ate lunch at the restaurant there. We tasted all 9 flavors and one in development. I had a great crawfish PoBoy and Dave had Gumbo. It was good and the cafe had nice cold AC. It was a warm humid day. We hadl to walk outside from building to building.

We cooled off, ate yummy food and then went to the store for some goodies.

The ticket to that tour also included the pass the Avery Island Gardens and Bird Sanctuary. Built by McIlhenny, the founder of Tabasco. Worth every minute. Stunning beautiful gardens built on over 1200 acres. Live oak trees, wisteria arches, Holly hedges, Gater ponds, bamboo Forrest, sunken gardens, swaps, salt flats, pelicans, eggret, cranes and so much more. We loved it. So peaceful and meticulous maintained while keeping the beauty of nature in tact.

Lots of outdoor walking so I used my walker to make sure I could keep up. Bless Dave's heart for taking care of me and waiting on me.

The weather was great. Just a few sprinkles after we got back home.

Off to Mandeville LA tomorrow to stay with my friends the Plauch

e's. Can't wait to be with them and see their neck of the woods.

I forgot the mention that we saw Mount Rush Hour yesterday in Houston. I have added the picture. It is a relief for waru drivers on the 10.