Cajun Gala in Henderson, LA

We had a fun filled week at the All Inclusive Motorhome (AIM) Cajun Gala in Henderson, LA at the Cajun Palms RV Resort.
 
Our first night was Mardi Gras themed complete with zydeco band & dancing and the first of many great Cajun meals during the week.

While we have lived in the south and close to this area all of our lives, we did several things at this event that we had never done before...

We toured the Tabasco factory on Avery Island

With only 200 employees they bottle 100s of thousands of bottles of Tabasco each day, 4 days a week, and sell/ship to almost every country(188) in the world!   I didn’t realize they had so many diff flavors - some of which you can only find locally/at the gift shop.  We had a great lunch in their restaurant after our tour - yummy crawfish etoufee, chicken & sausage gumbo and red beans & rice.

We took a Swamp Tour
This was never on my bucket list (LOL), but it was fun.  We have crossed the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge on I-10 many many times on the way to MS, but this was our first time to view I-10 from the water - LOL

There was one alligator still out ( not hibernating from the cold). The guides call her “couyon”, which means “crazy” - since she stays out all year.  And gets up close and personal with the guides. (Check out the video)

 Visited St Francisville,LA where We toured two Plantation Homes and Grace Episcopal Church

Rosedown - A beautiful plantation home purchased and renovated by one of the Fondren family from Houston TX.
Myrtles Plantation, which is believed to be haunted with various phenomena over the years - none of which we saw during our visit there - LOL.  We also had a nice dinner at the Myrtles restaurant

We also toured the beautiful gothic Grace Episcopal church/cemetery in St Francisville, which actually survived bombing during the civil war, where we also heard about the “Day the Civil War Stopped” between the Union and Confederate Army for a funeral.  In the cemetery we saw the burial site of Lt. Commander Hart  of the Union ship the Albatross.

 When he died his men took him on a small boat (with a white flag) to the shore to request that the defending Confederate officers allow a burial for their Lt. Commander with full Masonic honors.  The town & confederate officers agreed.   Ironic, since it was this Union ship, the Albatross, that had directed their shells at the Grace Episcopal Church causing some damage there.  Each year the town re-enacts what is known as “the day the civil war stopped”.