Jan 7 - Deep in Cajun Country are we! Tough roads, man! Most are made of concrete, and they ripple, so it's bumpbumpbump down the highway, dishes and pots rattling as we go. Heaven when you find a smooth stretch. We're talking local highways, not the interstate, so you get what the locals get. Land is flat as a pancake, used now in this area for growing cane sugar. Rice is grown north and west of here, where the soil and conditions are more favorable. Cotton? Not much around here, meaning New Iberia, St. Martinville, and Breaux Bridges, where we are now. Sugar, baby! Grows tall, up to 12 feet, and is being harvested now, far as we can tell.

The land is flat but for a series of 5 salt domes that were pushed up millenia ago, forming 'islands' in a straight line south and east of New Iberia. We visited two of them, one formerly owned by Joseph Jefferson, probably the most famous American actor of the 1800s. He portrayed Rip Van Winkle for decades, performing a play he created many hundreds of times all over the country, in England, even in Australia, making him a rich man. One of his homes was built on Jefferson Island, and now is open for tours. Madeleine, a southern belle if ever there was one, guided us through the house, and provided a great narrative. Surrounding the house is a wonderful garden with a Balinese theme, which we also enjoyed.

Being a salt dome, a mine was developed, producing some of the purest salt in the world, which was shipped to a wide market. The mine was adjacent to a small lake near the Jefferson House, as well as to a house that his grandson had built. Shell Oil was drilling nearby about twenty-five years ago, pierced the wall of the mine, and caused a huge collapse of the underground structure. Eight barges, most of the lake, the grand-son's house, even the kitchen of the master house, and a good part of the garden, were sucked down into the abyss. There remains a hole under the lake of several hundred feet in depth. The lake is considerably larger than before, and only a few feet deep except for the hole. Six of the barges popped back up to the surface, but two were never found. And not a soul lost his life.

The other 'island' we visited is called Avery Island. It is home to the Tabasco factory, the original sauce invented there by Edmund McIlhenny in 1868. The family still owns the business, and takes an active part in the process of growing, selecting and processing their special peppers. Now there are all sorts of offshoots of the original, as well as a whole line of other products and souvenirs for the consuming public. It's a big operation, so provides a lot of local employment. This salt mound also houses a wonderful garden, the Jungle Garden, developed by a McIlhenny successor, Edward, who was an avid horticulturalist, We did the walkabout, logging about 5 miles in an effort to see the entire property. Azaleas and camellias (over 600 varieties on the property) are the main feature, as well as a rookery for herons and egrets which houses hundreds of birds in mating season. The live oaks here are also spectacular, which is true all over this area. There's even a thousand year old Chinese Buddha on the property.

We mentioned rice earlier. We visited the oldest rice factory in the U.S., the Konriko Rice Factory in New Iberia. They still employ some of the original equipment used a hundred years ago, and have modernized only in small ways. They produce a product that is gluten free, as close to organic as you can get, and they successfully send their product all over the States and to Canada and Europe. The factory is ancient in appearance, but 15 people, including the owners, make it work.

We stopped in St. Martinville today, to see the Acadian Memorial. Included: a replica of the Deportation Cross; an eternal flame dedicated to those who were forced to leave Nova Scotia in 1755; a wonderful mural depicting about 50 people who were among those who arrived in Louisiana, descendants doing some of the modelling; two wonderful display rooms, one outlining the Acadian Expulsion, and one the movement of African slaves to the U.S. and elsewhere. Finally, there is the huge Live Oak adjacent to the Bayou Teche, which was the actual meeting place of the sadly reunited couple depicted in Longfellow's poem, "Evangeline".

To cap off these two fun-filled days, we found a great Cajun restaurant tonight. Tried our hand at shuckin' crawfish. Enjoyed gumbo, hush puppies, and bread pudding. Great dinner. There was also a four piece band doin' Cajun. Good music! An older party of 8 were there to celebrate a birthday, and were up and dancing nearly every number. They did the Cajun two-step, so we screwed up our courage and gave it a whirl. Awkward at first, but a lovely woman came over and gave us a little lesson. We did quite a lot better after that. More practice needed, as we were no match for the local regulars.