The Frog Capital of the WORLD

Day 11 Scott LA  to Dickinson TX  230 miles

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

We said 'Au Revoir' to Lafayette this morning. This is Cajun country, french is spoken and the many of the street names are 'Rue'.

Nice site at the KOA

Reminds me of a Rhode Island city, Woonsocket, that still clings to its french heritage...French Canadian, a little removed from Europe, but french nonetheless. My mother and Jim's father were from this french-Canadian connection. It's quite and interesting read. The short version is that the king of France didn't like his soldiers taking up with the native people of Quebec. So he sent chaperoned young women over to uh...keep them company. Eventually, they all paired up and married.  If I remember correctly, there were 700 soldiers and almost all of the french surnames in new England can be traced back to them. Obviously, at least ONE of those soldiers had the name La Croix, and that was my mother's maiden name.




Today we traveled US90, the old route across the country. It parallels I10 and passes through all the little towns, along the railroad tracks. Tiny, towns, every few miles, some quaint, others almost abandoned, falling on hard times, line this route. One boasted that it was 'The Frog Capital of the World'. Really?

Rice is still harvested in this part of Louisiana, and if you're looking for protein, crawfish seems to be the favorite snack food....there are boiled crawfish shacks everywhere. I'll pass. Never could get into those little buggers, I put too many of them on fish hooks when I was a kid, to me they are BAIT. Well, that and Cajun seasoning is too spicy for my wimpy palate.

Although, the scenery was more interesting than the interstate, the pavement was not so enjoyable and the jostling was getting old. Just before we returned to the interstate, we stopped for gas.  I noticed that sign out in front.  Now...where else would you see a sign for BOUDIN at a gas station?  My mother occassionally ate this stuff.  The french calleded it , 'blood sausage' or 'blood pudding'...how's that for appetizing?  Sorry, but that combination of words, blood and pudding, is just wrong!   As a kid I remember opening up the refrigerator and seeing this *thing* in there...like a big, purplish, gigantic CLOT!  Is your mouth watering yet?  Ugh.  Animal blood, mixed with a filler and some spices...pronounced boo dah (the ah nasal) emphasis on the dah - just in case you want to order it in a restaurant!

We jumped up onto I10 for the remainder of Louisiana, over the Texas line to Beaumont.



There's a SAMS in Beaumont, it was lunchtime, and we needed a break from the road. So we dined at chez  Sam's snack bar. Big hot dog, and a drink $1.50, can't beat that anywhere. Would have been a money-saving stop...but we had to pick up some soft drinks (which we never got) and passed by the men's shirts. Jim has a problem with shirts, they are like video poker to him, he can't seem to walk by them. He only got three, he restrained himself. I happened to look over and saw a couple of t-shirts that I liked so I got two...by the time we left, our 'cheap' lunch cost us an extra $89.

We turned off the interstate at Winnie and onto one of the straightest two lanes roads on earth. Straight and flat for miles to the Bolivar Peninsula, the area ravaged by Hurricane Ike. Some people may remember the photo of one lone beach house left standing...that picture was taken in Gillchrist . The area is being rebuilt. I understand people wanting to live by the ocean, but the same thing will happen again. If they are lucky, not for many years and the next time hopefully, people will remember the loss of life here and leave sooner. 

Finally, we came to the end of the peninsula and boarded the ferry for a short ride over to Gavleston.

On the ferry

One of us is going to turn, right?

Rookie kept an eye on me, while I stood at the railing of the ferry...

The ferry ride from Bolivar City to Galveston is free and a nice break from driving. We are staying about 20 miles up I45 from Galveston, about half way between Galveston and Houston. Between those two cities we certainly should be able to find things to do.

We are staying in Dickinson tonight, Wednesday and Thursday...