Louisiana

Laissez les bons temps rouler! That's Cajun for Let the good times roll! Which we did, here in Lafayette, LA.

Thursday we left Ocean Springs, MS, early. From our Roadfood book I had picked out (award-winning) Prejean's in Lafayette, LA, for a Cajun lunch, so that was our goal. But first, ...

Not once, but twice I managed to get us in a situation where I had to disconnect the PT in order to get out of a tight spot. I was looking to take a break at the LA welcome center on I-10, but it was closed. Sign said tourist info several exits down the road. Took that exit, but info site looked to be a gas station too tight to enter. So, that meant we continued down a side road looking for a place to turn around. I hate doing this. Tend to pass up good spots, then in frustration pick one not so good. Which I did. Took a chance on a tight U-turn through a business parking lot -- complicated by looming drop-offs into a ditch -- and barely, but smoothly, made it. So it was back to I-10, noting on the way that there was a postage-stamp size parking lot for the travel info center. No way of stopping there.

On down the road I picked another exit for a rest stop (can't believe LA has no rest stops on a major interstate). The exit I picked had signs for several gas stations, so I figured one of them ought to have enough room. Picked a station -- oops, wrong one! Car at a pump prevented me from circling and then two cars pulled up to convenience store parking slots, totally blocking me. I kept cool, though. Susie went in to buy snacks, I unhooked the PT and parked it out of the way (it's really a quick operation, no big deal except injured pride). Thought I would need to back up several yards in order to get turned around. Miraculously, though, all the cars in the way disappeared. If I'd just waited patiently, ... . Anyhow, I was able to pull forward and turn around. I rehitched and away we went -- fortified with Cokes and junk food. Actually feeling pretty good about how calmly I handled the situation.

Continued west. There's an 18 mile stretch in which the I-10 is a bridge all the way, except for a couple of exits. You're crossing rivers, lakes, and swamps generally about 20 feet in the air -- midway up the trees that line the route. Reminded me of the treetop walkway that Dick Reinert and I took in Australia. Later that night we learned that because of an accident somewhere out there, that whole stretch of road, roughly 60 miles connecting Baton Rouge and Lafayette, was closed until further notice. No frontage roads out there!

Got to Lafayette and found Prejean's, with some help from a nice lady at a convenience store with a large and empty front lot, when I took a wrong turn. Lunch time, though, and the parking lot was pretty full. Too tight to try. Went around back and pulled into a gravel lot that I thought might encircle the restaurant, but it didn't. Stuck again. Time to unhook the PT again. Susie had the good idea of parking both vehicles, separately, then completing the turn-around after lunch, which we did. Again, it went quickly and smoothly. Not even slightly embarrassed, we acted like we planned it that way.

How was lunch at Prejean's? you ask. Very good. I started with a cup of "famous" chicken and sausage gumbo, followed by blackened shrimp on a bed of rice, red beans, and sausage. Now, 10 hours later, I can still feel the burning. Susie had a milder chicken and pasta dish. We debated staying in Lafayette for the night -- we'd covered 200 miles -- or continuing up the road a ways. Susie asked a guy at the next table if there was a place to hear Cajun music on a Thursday night in Lafayette (Susie's good about taking such initiatives). Well, Prejean's had a Cajun band at night. That settled it. We would stay, so we went about three miles west of town and checked in to an "award-winning" KOA.

At KOA I asked the nice lady on the desk about Cajun music. She said, go to Randol's. They've got a dance floor and great music. This is where the locals go and where I take my guests. We had a relaxing second half of the afternoon and then found our way to Randol's, helped by the nice lady's excellent directions.

The full name of the place is Randol's Restaurant and Salle de Danse. It's a seafood restaurant that opens on to a separate large room that has a stage and dance floor. Good, traditional Cajun music was being played by a trio -- accordion, drums, guitar. We found out later that their fiddle player was called away by something urgent, but the group still sounded great. We went into the salle de danse and sat on one of the benches that border the dance floor. Maybe a dozen couples were dancing, most of our age group. But, it was almost like high school -- the girls clustered and the guys asked the lucky ones to dance. After listening a while, Susie and I even did a couple of Cajun waltz turns. Left two-three, right two-three, left,right ? ... . When the band took a break we went into the restaurant for dessert, then stayed through the next set. Bons temp, for shure.

On to Oklahoma.

Cheers,

Rob and Susie