Cajun Country

"Cajun" is actually an americanization of "Acadien," and seems to be used to refer to anything which has some roots in the transplanted french colonists who, after being forcibly deported from Acadia (now Nova Scotia) wound up in Louisiana. In some places the word "Creole" is also used, but that seems to have widely varying meanings depending on who you ask, and most seem to just use "Cajun." The French areas of southern Louisiana are also referred to as "Acadiana" and Lafayette is the central city of the region.

When most people hear the word Cajun they think food, and with good reason. The food in Lafayette is incredible. The best meal of the trip thus far (including South America) was definitely Megan’s blackened catfish with crawfish etouffee. If you can’t fly down to try it (worth the trip) you can get the recipe at http://prejeans.com.

On the way to our next campsite we paid a visit (paid homage?) to the Tobaasco factory on Avery Island. We learned a bit about Tobasco production, learned that after 150+ years it’s still very much a family business, and scored some hot and spicy Tobasco swag.

We drove to a state park near New Orleans with the intention of moving into a hotel after a day or two at the park, but the park ended up being so convenient that we just stayed. This was good for our budget, which was in for a bit of a beating over the next few days. We took one day of R&R at camp before heading into the Big Easy.



Dave finds a new use for a bit of old climbing rope