Day Eleven - Born on a Bayou

Today we made our way closer to New Orleans. We did so by moving away from the major highway and taking other routes across the lower part of the state. We chose a few diversions as well.

The day stared with a visit to the McIlhenny Co. Tabasco Plant. It is located on it's own Island in the heart of Cajun Country. The tour of the plant is free, but there is a toll to get onto the island. We were a bit indignant about this until we rolled up to the toll plaza and a kindly little old local man asked us for a dollar. Add to that all the freebies they give on the tour and you can't beat that!



Tabasco is an interesting product. It has been made on Avery Island using the same process since it's beginning in the mid 1800s. They now use fields and workers in South America, but everything always returns to the home island for finishing. There the peppers are processed, prepared using salt from the island mine, and allowed to ferment for 3 years.

After the tour we wandered over to the Tabasco Country Store. There they provide you samples of every sauce available, as well as Tabasco Chili and two varieties of Tabasco ice cream. There is also a Cookin' Cart where a nice southern lady scooped us out servings of crawfish etouffee and crawfish corn maque choux... delicious!

It appears that there are a number of salt mines in the area. Along the road we came along a memorial to the victims of a salt mine fire which occurred in Belle Isle in 1968.Back on the road we continued toward the Mississippi River. Weaving through a variety of small towns and marshes, we finally came upon Oak Alley Plantation. This beautiful property was actually purchased because of the trees which were planted long before the plantation home was constructed. It is believed the trees were planted in the mid 1700s, making them over 300 years old. The home was not build until the 1800s.





Oak Alley is the quintessential southern plantation. We enjoyed seeing the home and having the opportunity to walk the grounds.








Before leaving, we could not resist driving up on the levy and walking along the shores of the Mississippi River.
Back on the road, we decided to treat ourselves to a night in a hotel. Unfortunately, the Jazz Festival was in full swing in downtown New Orleans and we could not find anything within almost 30 miles of the city. Finally, we stumbled upon a Days Inn with an open room and quickly snatched it up.