Day 2 Lake Arthur to Avery Island & Franklin

In addition to waking up in a beautiful, peaceful home, Dawn & Veronica had a treat this morning...meeting my crazy Cajun Uncle Jeffery Boudreaux.  What a great guy!  He and Brenda are a couple of the most hard-working and honest people you'll ever meet AND they happen to be two of my mostest favoritest people in the Whole Wide World!!! Jeffery wasn't able to join us last night, but arrived this morning about 9.  It was another hour before we could tear ourselves away from our hosts. 

Our first stop today was LA, LA for shrimp and corn chowder at the Sugar Chic Bakery before going next door to the LA Bar for their famous bloody Mary. (One of us felt obligated to have a little food before our first drink of the day...hmmmm...don't remember which) 

As we meandered around town (we're great at meandering on this trip), we made an incredible discovery!  Lake Arthur has a new hotel, L'Banca Alberto.  I guess the incredible part is that neither Brenda or Karen told me about it - what were they thinking?  The owner, Bob Palermo, proudly gave us a tour of each room.  It's a fabulous place..check out the room that still has the drive-through window and vault door as part of the decor:

 

 

We lunched at the Regatta restaurant overlooking beautiful Lake Arthur and the Mermentau River. 

BBQ shrimp and grilled shrimp salad

Next stop...McIlhenny Tabasco Factory in Avery Island, LA.  We drove through Gueydan, Erath (which we had even Namibian Veronica pronouncing E-Rat) and Abbeville along the way.  I love those little Cajun towns. 

Building Entry

 

Arrived in the nick of time for the last tour of the day at 3:30

Although we didn't have time for the full tour, we got a glimpse of the beautiful Jungle Gardens and bird sanctuary located on the grounds.  We'd also planned to visit Rip van Winkle Gardens in Jefferson Island.  Alas, we meandered a bit too long.  Maybe next time, but we didn't want to be late for our big adventure...kayaking on the Bayou Teche!

 

Through my friend Jacquie Wenning, we booked a room at her friend's Bed and Breakfast.  We were delighted to meet Donna Tesi, and she was delighted to give us the grand tour of her delightful B&B, Provost House.  The main house, where we stayed, is circa 1897, located in Franklin's historic district.  The ceilings were 14' high and each room was breathtakingly furnished.  The walls featured paintings and sculptures by local artists. The additional B&B home, the St. Joseph Cottage, was also beautiful and homey. 

Tea time in the tub

 

As we unloaded the car, Jacquie arrived to drive us to meet Donovan Garcia, historian and kayak guide extraordinaire.