Best Christmas Gifts- Adventure Two

December 20, 2016

I continued my first day with Steve and Chari, with a drive to Thibodaux to visit the another of the six Jean Lafitte National Park sites, the Wetlands Acadian Cultural Center. Since we finished out Chalmette tour in late morning, we figured we could easily drive the eighty mile drive. We enjoyed the little museum while waiting a few minutes to join a tour.  Actually, we WERE the tour. A ranger took us around several blocks of the town to discuss the history of the town as expressed through its architure.

Just across the corner from the Visiter Center was an Acadian cottage.  The cajuns had brought the steep roofed cottage from a land where houses needed to shed snow.  The young men of the family lived upstairs an most of the houses had a separate entrance to the top floor.

The style of house the Acadians built, when they first arrived

Around the corner, we passed the cemetery, and stopped to hear stories about some of the important movers and shakers buried there.

The graves are above ground, in most cases,  because of frequent flooding

 Then we passed Victorian homes, a bunch of different arts and crafts homes, and Beaux Arts Building. We also stopped to admire a church that incorporated several styles. We ended the tour at one of only two Second French Empire homes in Louisiana.

This dress shop was in what once was a bank.  The safe was too large to remove so it forms part of the beautiful decor. 

St. Joseph Co-Cathedral

The Thibodaux courthouse is a Beaux Arts building. 

A closer view of the courthouse

Close up of some of the fancy work on the courthouse

A beautiful topping

I think this was the first instance of the Louisiana State Seal. It is a picture of a brown pelican feeding here three babies from her own flesh. Birders and biologists know that pelicans only lay two eggs, and usually only one bird fledges. And they are fed fish.

Loved the ornateness of this building

Second French Empire House - belonged to a doctor

Detail of the Second French Empire house

We ended the day with supper at Fremins, which started life as a pharmacy but now is is beautiful, upscale restaurant. Loved the smoked oysters. And the rest of our entrees were also delicious.

This was on our tour but I took the picture as we stopped at our restaurant 

I loved how the evening lights had brought out the detail in the plaques 

A tour I hope to take another time is the boat tour on Bayou Lafourche.  The bayous were the first highways, so all the houses were built to face the bayous. But this tour is only offered in fall and spring. 

We were full, tired, and happy when we arrived back at the RV.  We only had time for a cup of hot chocolate before going to bed. We planned to go to New Orleans the following day. 

I spent Christmas in Louisiana and then went back to Galveston for parties, a Christmas bird count - another Christmas gift. Now I'm back in Louisiana and getting Physical Therapy for my shoulder.


Happy New Year to all of you.  I hope you achieve your goals and find it the best year ever.

PS.  I intended to get this out a week ago but had various computer and operator troubles. Computer is fixed.  Now working on fixing the operator.