Chapter Sixteen May 15, 2001 Tuesday Lafayette, Louisiana to New Orleans This was our day to enjoy Cajun Country. From Lafayette, with a dozen stops, ending in New Orleans. We woke up early in Lafayette and caught a quick breakfast snack.  We met our goal of being there to open Acadian Cultural Center at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. It was operated by the National Park service, and we met a delightful tour guide that carried on a long conversation about her experience growing up in Louisiana (since nobody else was there). The museum had broad presentation about the Cajun experience and diaspora from France via Nova Scotia (Acadia). We watched the video presentation, and toured the small museum. We bought some books, and zydeco music CD's and a nice wall poster of Cajun history. We headed for the door as the bus full of schoolkids noisily burst through the door. Although it is highly regarded, we did not stay to see the adjoining Acadian Village. We drove one last time around town and the Ragin' Cajun campus of the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Then we drove out to Breaux Bridge (the crawfish capital of the world), picking up another county for Dave and drive by Mulate's restaurant, our second choice from the previous night (too bad we were only staying one night). We crossed the delightful bridge over Bayou Teche (decorated with crawfish, of course)  We found a bakery and sent Lyn in to fetch us snacks and sweet cakes, then headed south to St Martinville. We drove south to St Martinville, the honorary capital of Cajun Country and the site of the Evangaline Oak. Of course, we would have to snap a picture in the famous embrace of Longfellow's heroine and Gabriel, her one true love. We had watched the local TV news the previous night before Randoll's, and saw a short human interest piece on the Romero Brothers, the two guys long famous for playing zydeco and singing for tourists (like us) at the park alongside the Bayou Teche. Sure enough, on our arrival, Lennis Romero and his brother, Ophe were there and what a delight. These ambassadors and troubadours told stories and sang songs, then asked about us and our visit to their town. They were a  pleasure and seemed to enjoy us as much as we were enjoying them. We did our best to make sure they got a lunch, took the pictures you see above, then headed on our way to Avery Island. Of course, Avery Island Louisiana is the home to world famous McIlhenney's Tabasco Pepper Sauce. We took the tour and enjoyed the visitors center, then bought way too many souvenirs in the Tabasco "country store". We learned alot about making pepper sauce. Actually, more than we wanted. We bought Tabasco flavored sauce and ketchup and BBQ. We tried so hard to like Tabasco, but even months after being home none of us have come to appreciate it. We expected to stay to visit the famous Avery Island bird sanctuary, but decided instead to relax on the shaded porch, then press on to New Orleans. On our way from Avery Island to New Orleans, we stopped in Morgan City, LA spontaneously when we saw the colorful downtown area from the highway bridge over the Atchafalaya river.  We took a few pictures from the flood gate and then drove around a little. Dave wanted this picture of a nearby small house on a muddy bayou (brand new homes are just off to the left). Lyn was captivated by the tiny donut shop with its windows laden with treats. We ended our day in New Orleans. We quickly found the Courtyard in Metairie, and then headed out to the ballpark to see the New Orleans Zephyrs minor league game. The stadium was new, with lots of entertainment typical for the minor leagues these days. But mostly, it had lots of good eats! We took turns between Cajun, BBQ, Po-Boys, and traditional baseball fare. What a delightful night. Original Web Upload May 2001 Last Update: September 30, 2001