Lafayette, Louisiana

We actually went from Atlanta to Pensacola Beach in the Florida Panhandle. I don't really have much to say about Pensacola Beach - this was one of the few private campgrounds we stayed at to date. That means it is more expensive (70.00 compared to the 20.00 to 25.00 we spend at State or National Parks), more crowded and just generally not as interesting. I much prefer state and national campgrounds which usually have something educational about them, interesting trails, park rangers, etc.

This was all true of our one-night campsite in Lafayette Louisiana, where we landed Saturday, December 2nd. Lafayette is smack in the middle of Arcadiana. It was originally called Vermillionville but was renamed for General Lafayette. Our camp ground was in the middle of town, cost $20.00, and was lovely. There was a nature walk on board walks that we were able to do before it got dark, and then we went to a local restaurant called Cafe Vermilionville which is in a landmark building. We shared an appetizer plate that had, inter alia, alligator, louisiana sausage and crawfish beignets. That was awesome although I can't really tell you what alligator tastes like. Then I had a lovely wedge salad with blue cheese dressing and we shared a rib eye steak. I gotta say - I am losing my taste for rib eye steak - I'm pretty sure they do some pretty unhealthy things to the steer to get that flesh so marbled, and I've seen steers in too many cramped stock yards (Coalinga comes to mind) to feel good about eating them. We'll see.

There were two things we wanted to do in Lafayette before heading off to Texas: one was visit a live oak tree that is supposed to be 500 years old. It's located in front of St. John's Cathedral in Lafayette and I have to tell you, I got goose bumps when I stood in front of it. The other was to visit a donut store in Lafayette called Meche's Donut King. We had never heard about it before but on our way to the Cathedral we went by it and there was a line! A very good sign. We were not disappointed. I made a video on the merits of those donuts which I will post as soon as I figure out how to do that.

Hope everyone is well and happy! xoxoxoRead more