We had our first trip to Houma, Louisiana, this weekend to visit Parrish's Mom and Ronnie. But first, an aside...we discovered that Sylvie had grown a mini-Fu-Man-Chu while playing on the rug. Look closely, Daniel-Son.
Anyway...
We drove down Thursday night to the bayous of southern LA. Sylvie was fairly fitful in the car, which we are now blaming on the incredibly bad road conditions in Mississippi and Louisiana. Are you kidding me...it felt like we were constantly gearing up to go down a big roller coaster or that we had a flat tire. For about four hours. For real? After we arrived, Sylvie had a hard time settling down for the night so we had an unprecedented event...she slept with Parrish and me. Horizontal between us. Kicking Parrish periodically in the ribs. I slept in the fetal position so as to not wake the black belt in the bed. Needless to say, we vowed to not have a repeat performance the next night.
Ronnie serenades Sylvie.
We played the next day in Houma, enjoying time outside on the bayou in the backyard, a swim in a friend's pool, a fabulous long lunch at a yummy Italian restaurant, Sylvie shopping and a tour of Houma. We were right smack dab in the middle of oil rig central...we even saw the helicopters that take the oil workers to and from the rigs. Houma is filled with fishermen and oilmen who are really suffering due to the oil spill. It's strange to experience that part of history firsthand.
After a delicious homemade supper, we headed to the Jolly Inn (or Happy Jack's, the Crazy Cajun, Jolly Inn, Jolly Time, whatever). I don't think it matters what you call it, as long as you call it just plain fun. A for-real Cajun dance hall, with patrons age eight to 88 (or ten months if you count the crazy parents who brought their baby there). Accordions and washboards really do add to a song, in case you were wondering. We danced the fasted waltz of our lives and became honorary coon-asses (their word, not mine). We have the certificate to prove it. After a brief stop at an old-fashinoned ice cream parlor, Sylvie slept all night! Yay, so did we. Alone.
On Saturday, we set out for an adventure all over the place. Did you know that Louisiana produces Tabasco, salt, sugar and oil (black, not vegetable)? Well, we do now! We had a day of learning starting at Jefferson Island for lunch, followed by a tour on Avery Island (Tabasco and the Jungle Gardens). We saw lot of nature, including gators, egrets, turtles, mullet, a big dragonfly, a rabbit, a duck named Louie and some squirrels. We then enjoyed a brief trip to Lafayette for dinner and shopping (something I prefer to so much nature).
A very old Buddha stolen from China a long time ago that is then gifted to the Tabasco man. Very mysterious.
Happy family in a garden.
Then, the best part of the day...DRIVE THRU DAIQUIRIS.
That's right, folks. Pretty much every corner of Houma has a daiquiri restaurant (is it a restaurant if you drink your dinner?) on it, and I just had to have one. They also offer jello injectors. Mmmmm. And yes, I did bring my sleeping infant with me. If you're concerned, don't be. The state just passed an open container law protecting innocent civilians from daiquiri-drinking-and-driving. Here is the management's clever solution to preventing us from enjoying our frosty cocktail on the road:
No, you're not wrong. That's masking tape over the straw hole. A perfect, fail-safe method for keeping those daiquiri-lovin' Cajuns from sipping on the go. Of course we had to get in on the fun these guys have apparently been having without the rest of the country catching on to this genius idea.
Some more things I learned this weekend (DISCLAIMER: I LOVE colloquial phrases and different cultures. I am NOT making fun of Cajuns. I just find it amazing that just by crossing three state lines you can emerge into a completely different world than yours).
Cajuns "make groceries."
If you don't know who the stray cat who is always in your yard, you say "I don't know who that cat is for."
Need gas? Just head to a casino. Most gas stations have a mini-casino attached. How convenient.
Ok, enough is enough. I'm tired of writing and I'm sure you're tired of reading. We had a great trip! Up next, to the lake to see my parents and sister and niece. Can't wait!
Sylvie plays (or tortures) sweet Casey.
Hope you're all having a great summer!
God Bless,
Katie
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