Bayou Teche Scenic Byway

We drove the Bayou Teche Scenic Byway yesterday from Lafayette to New Orleans. SO glad we didn't just take I-10. These first few shots are around New Iberia, LA.

Apparently the Louisiana Sugar Cane Festival is going on in New Iberia right now.

We were driving down one of the main streets through New Iberia and we heard a bunch of sirens and realized it was coming from behind us. We pulled over, and three or four motorcycle cops and a couple of SUV cops were escorting a school bus through town, fast! with sirens and lights going. We figured perhaps it was Sugar Cane Queen and her Court. 

Gator on a stick. We don't have that at home.

We turned off the main road and headed over to the Tabasco Plant on Avery Island. There's tons of great information here on their website. Here's a quick bit about Avery Island though: Avery Island is one of five salt dome islands rising above the flat Louisiana Gulf Coast. These islands formed over the eons when alluvial sediment covered a vast plain of salt left behind by an ancient saltwater ocean. Surrounded by low-lying swamps and marshes, Avery Island stands at 163 feet above mean sea level.

The Tabasco Country Store here is killer…tons of fun Tabasco sauces and things you don't find in regular stores. They make jalapeno ice cream and raspberry chipotle ice cream and both are pretty good and interesting. We picked up a couple bottles of sauce and some spicy green beans that we had tonight in our martinis and they're good…and spicy.

More shots as we continued:

Downtown Franklin:

We had a little bit of rain, which resulted in the Airstream getting a bit of a wash (yay) and a cool double rainbow:

This was one of my favorite shots and it was good in color, but better in black and white:

We're crossing the Mississippi!!

Here's our new spot at Ponchartrain Landing:

Oh yeah…I forgot to tell you that yesterday as soon as we entered Louisiana, I saw an armadillo (road kill)! But still!! I thought it was cool. Kevin (from Texas) was not so excited about it. Whatever.