Abbeville LOUISIANA to Bayou Segnette.

Track. Go hard or home-  Lil Nat and the zydeco big timers.
"I often quote myself, it adds spice to my conversation." George Bernard Shaw

Day 34.

Had a free texan breakfast in the RV park. No sign of the FBI at breakfast, we had seen a surveillance van on the wifi list the night before. Turned down 'biscuits and gravy' - which looked like stale scones and a white pepper sauce, Mmmmm, but did go for the DIY waffles that came oue in the shape of texas.

 Half an hour down the road we reached the Louisiana State line and called in on the Tourist Information Centre. These, we now find, provide free coffee and maps and are very useful. Shame we only just discovered them 5 states in. We left overwhelmed and laiden with too much information and caffiene. We got flustered and hot back in the RV trying to come up with a plan, so opted for no plan, like usual.

 Drove over bayous and past swamps and then down into the parishes. The scenary now rice paddies and crawfish farms. Lots of porches and swinging chairs. More churches than seemed sustainable. We made it to Gueydan by lunch and had a welcome break. There were hundreds of mating black flies around.

The town prides itself on its claim to be duck capital of the USA and the Creole Cafe we went to for lunch had duck quesadillas on the menu which becs went for and they were delicious. Dylan went for a Shrimp Po'boy, essentially a prawn sandwich, and Pete grilled shrimp. The whole town seemed interested that we had turned up in our California plates.

We drove on Abbeville in the afternnon, the sky was black, and we went around and around indecisively. Eventually we found the towns RV Park which was stunning.

Minimal facilites, a cajun style hut and nature trails, very peaceful. Had a lovely bbq and campfire.

Day 35

 The early start didnt transpire as planned but we still managed to make good time in leaving the amazing rv park and set off towards Avery Island, birthplace of Tabasco sauce.

We started the visit with a quick tour of the factory and history of how it all started. Amazing really, the guy had married a plantation owners daughter, was chased off during the civil war only to return to their home after the war had ended. During this time he grew chillies and invented pepper sauce. They now make 750, 000 bottles a day and it is the only place in the world where it is made. They have loads of different varieties and we hogged the tasting table for quite some time.

 There were extraordinary gardens with a notable tranquililty.  The spanish moss hung from the ancient live oaks and there were alligators, turtles and snowy egrets lazing in the sunshine. Pete and Becs thought about asking them if they needed anymore workers.

The peace was momentarily shattered when R2D2 dropped over a fence and was temporarily missing in action. For lunch we sampled traditional cajun cuisine, shrimp etoufee, boudin sausage and tabasco chicken. It was great. We very sadly moved on and drove to Bayou Segnette State Park, another cracking spot just outside New Orleans.