Plantation

 We’re approaching the end of our stay in southern Louisiana and are trying to stuff in as much as we can of the flavor of the area. Oh, wait, it’s all about the food…

A well known restaurant, The Cajun Table, specializes in Crawfish, and they have their own Crawfish farms a few miles out of town. The bugs are harvested at their peak size, generally from December to June, so we’re in luck. Sort of.

Donnas camera had a wide angle setting going, giving the impression that I had more brain power than the plate of Mudbugs in front of me. I’m obviously wondering what to do with 3 pounds of Crawfish cooked in a spicy garlic sauce. At least I wore the right shirt.

Donna, on the other hand, looks like she is prepared to expand her horizons!

The crawfish, although a little intimidating to a newby, are actually delicious! Our server gave us a quick lesson on pinch, twist, tear and peel, and voila! A perfect little lobster tail! As we watched other patrons, we noticed that most sucked the “stuff” left inside the body after the tail was removed. Since it vaguely resembles over cooked cream of wheat, we elected not to practice our sucking skills. The servers all wore shirts with the company logo (a crawfish) and the phrase “Claws down, Tails up, That’s the way we like to suck”. Make of that what you wish and post it in the same file as the local hunting poster that declares “Shoot it, Stuff it, Marry it”. Sorry, no pictures of these masterpieces.

The sunsets here in Broussard have been spectacular!

This morning our local crane visited as he does about 9:30 each morning. We’ve taken to having coffee on the patio and playing ball with Sasha. She and the crane have developed a tolerant ignorance of each other.

Across Bayou Teche (River Teche by appearance, but not in fact), is the first state park in the state of Louisiana, Longfellow-Evangeline state historic site. This Creole cabin was the inspiration for Longfellows poem of lost love Evangeline. The bayou was a significant means of transportation back in the day, both for sugar going to market and supplies coming back. The Teche is the original path of the Mississippi River and serves as a safety valve as water rises.

The house is unique in that the first floor is raised above flood stage, a new idea at the time. It was almost destroyed during the civil war, and it’s owners were abused and enslaved peoples released. The owners never recovered and died penniless.

The veranda is a cool, breezy spot to get relief from the heat.

Hand hewn Cypress timbers are original to the house.

A few miles south, in New Iberia, the plantation home of the Weeks family was a “town house” for the family whose 2,000 acre sugar cane plantation is farther south.

Four generations of the family lived and prospered here until the site was made into an historical society project. 

The last member of the family to reside here, known by his last name “Weeks-Hall”, was a gay painter who frequented New Orleans Jazz establishments. A variety of celebrities visited the home during his ownership, and many left their names and notes on an upstairs door.

The tour was conducted by Adam, whose passion for the home and family was evident throughout. He related names and dates with abandon, focusing a great deal on the relationships between the plantation owners and enslaved peoples.

After about an hour and a half tour, we walked the grounds as we left.

The Teshe is just visible theough the trees. Yes, it’s that muddy spot.

We couldn’t leave the area without a couple of pictures of the Steamboat House. Now a private residence, tours are not available, but the exterior was extravagant.

And there you have it! We have thoroughly enjoyed our time in Louisiana and are reluctant to leave, but duty calls…there is more southern cooking somewhere out there!