Still in Louisiana and Loving It

We hit the ground running today.  We have a very full day planned so we want to be at our first tour when they open.  Most days we get up and move slowly, enjoying the fact that we are not on a schedule.  

We started at the Konriko Company Store;  America’s Oldest operating Rice Mill.  It was a low cost and very interesting tour.  The Rice Mill was built in 1912 and the equipment and building are original.  They still mill and package the rice the way they did in years gone by.

Visit  www.conradricemill.com to order their rice products which are all gluten free, organic, MSG and GMO free.  We were able to sample their Pecan rice—which was delicious.  It is as healthy as brown rice, but fluffy like white rice.

We enjoyed taking a driving tour of this Louisiana town.  

There are large plantation style houses with huge cypress trees dripping with Spanish moss.  These houses are exactly what I see in my mind when I think of Louisiana.  This town, as with others we saw yesterday; ooze with history of the area. 

We enjoyed a Seafood Po’ Boy at Bon Creole.  This restaurant is local favorite.  I probably would not have gone inside, if it had not come so highly recommended by the lady at Konriko.   We tried this sandwich because it had a variety of seafood:  Shrimp, craw fish,oyster and catfish.  It was a delicious treat and we enjoyed the atmosphere of the restaurant—we were glad we did not let the outward appearance keep us from enjoying this local gem. 

The chandelier is made with different size Tabasco bottles.

We sampled sauces, dips, pickles and even ice creams.

After lunch, we move toward Avery Island.   Avery Island is the home of the Tabasco pepper sauce factory.  This is the ONLY place Tabasco sauce is made.  Throughout this tour we think of our daughter, Catrina and grandson, Justin.  They both love hot foods and hot sauces—so we think of them often throughout this tour. 

Tabasco was invented in the Civil War era, and has been produced here on Avery Island since that time.  Many of the peppers are actually grown on the Island, although some are now grown in Central and South America.  The peppers are hand-picked and then placed in oak barrels covered with salt and left to age for over 3 years, creating a chili pepper mash.  This mash is mixed with vinegar and left to stir non-stop for a month.   There are,of course, other “secret” steps to add special spices depending on the variety of sauce or product you get.  We were amazed at the time that goes in to creating Tabasco. 

During our tour we met another full-timing couple.  It is always fun to meet new people that have also chosen this full time lifestyle.  It was as if we had been long time friends.  We talked for a long time and found that we will be at the same RV Resorts at the same time over the next couple of months.  Next week we will both be at the Abita Springs RV Resort so we make a plan to share dinner and possibly go on a tour together.

On our way back to the RV we drive by a Lao Buddhist Temple.  It was an intricate temple.    This was something they we had not expected to see in this Cajun community.

Another long day, but we loved each sight that we visited and

 the new friends we met along the way.