LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULER (Let The Good Times Roll)

 Lake Charles, Louisiana is located in Calcasieu Parish.  Our visit to this area included a stop at the Mardi Gras Museum of Imperial Calcasieu.  The idea of this museum originated in 1997 when enough Lake Charles Mardi Gras costumes were collected to fill two classrooms of the Central School Building in Lake Charles.  This amazing collection now takes up the entire east wing of the second floor of the Central School Building (built in 1912), and is now recognized as the largest Mardi Gras costume collection on display in the world!  Many of the original costumes on display are valued between $3,000 to $5,000 each.  Not only does this museum display these elaborate costumes, it also preserves and interprets the tradition of the Lakes Charles history of Mardi Gras.

ONE OF THE FIRST OF THE KREWE QUEENS
IN LAKE CHARLES, LA.

Many people mistakenly associate only New Orleans with Mardi Gras, and once you travel through the different parishes and small towns of Louisiana you know this celebration takes place in Louisiana as well as Alabama, Texas, and some parts of Florida, as well as Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Cayman Islands, etc.  Several years ago while visiting Lafayette, La. on the day of their Mardi Gras celebration, a friend explained there are many Mardi Gras celebrations, most of which are family oriented and the New Orleans celebration does not portray Mardi Gras in the tradition it was intended.

AN AFTERNOON IN THE MARDI GRAS MUSEUM OF
IMPERIAL CALCASIEU
may not give you time to see everything!

Mardi Gras is a day long celebration the day before Ash Wednesday.  The term Mardi Gras, French for "Fat Tuesday", refers to the old custom of leading a fattened ox through the streets of a Catholic village.  The ox is later cooked and celebrants feasted and made merry before the dawn of Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent.

What is Carnival?  Carnival is the name of the season derived from two words:  "Carne" meaning meat, and "Vale" meaning "farewell to meat" during the 40 days of Lent.  The Carnival Season begins on the "Epiphany" or the twelfth day of Christmas, January 6, and goes until Mardi Gras day.

THE MARDI GRAS MUSEUM OF
IMPERIAL CALCASIEU

Many museums are presented in such an amazing fashion that they take your breath away.  This one qualifies as one of those museums that defies your imagination.  We walked away imagining the talent, the creativeness of the designers, the years of tradition, and I'll have to say....if you can believe it...WE WERE SPEECHLESS!

LAGNIAPPE (A Louisiana Creole Custom)

We completed a visit to southern Louisiana and what made it even more enjoyable was that our tour guides were Louisiana natives, er,  our Cajun friends.  Our friends made sure we visited several   well-known established restaurants and national landmarks.  We enjoyed the hospitality of our friends throughout our entire stay in Louisiana.

Our friends not only have generational French ancestry but Italian ancestry as well... back to the earliest settlement of this area in Louisiana.  All we can say is "Unbelievable, when you put the sensory, historical and tastes together."  You may need more than a month, but to be honest, after a month you may not fit into your clothes.

We enjoyed getting together with our friends Carol and Don Stenger
in Alabama - more seafood.

More seafood - Pat's of Henderson, La
The Kimball's joined us!

McIlhenny on Avery Island, La.
Home of Tabasco products

We began our trip with a caravan of 3 motorhomes.  We left Alabama and arrived at Pontchartrain Landing Marina and RV Resort to experience New Orleans for a week. There are so many restaurants in New Orleans you definitely benefit if a friend from the area can inspire and direct you.

Jacque-Imo's Restaurant
New Orleans, La.

Mandina's Restaurant - one of the oldest Italian restaurants in New Orleans
One of the best meals ever! 

Want oysters?  Go to Acme Oyster House
New Orleans, La.

Central Grocery - New Orleans
Home of the Original Muffuletta

After New Orleans we caravanned to Breaux Bridge for a week, and if you haven't noticed, there are several staples in southern Louisiana you have to try.  

"Crazy Bout Crawfish Cajun Cafe"
Breaux Bridge, La.

The Boudin Shop and Country Store
Cajun Meat Market - Henderson, La.

Boudin (a sausage), crawfish everything, oysters everything, blue crab anything, shrimp anything and alligator anything...so many things your head spins if you understand the beautiful French Cajun dialect.  I have left out some food....like crusty French Bread, but I promise you, we ate it.  We left New Orleans before the Jazz Festival began, only to go to Lafayette, La. to experience the International Music Festival..... think zydeco on steroids!

Lafayette, Louisiana
Home of the Festival International de Louisiane

From Breaux Bridge we spent a day at McIlhenny and Avery Island to enjoy all there is to know about Tabasco products and history.

  

My Little Hot Pepper, RV
McIlhenny Co. - Avery Island, La.

On the way to Avery Island we stopped to enjoy the Evangeline Oak in St. Martinsville I wrote about in our last published blog.

The Evangeline Oak on Bayou Teche
St. Martinville, La.

Driving to Lake Charles we passed acres and acres of rice fields on one side of the interstate and the other side of the interstate were crawfish farms.  Our new home for a week, Lake Charles, La., was the hometown of our friends.  We learned so much from them about their interesting heritage in southwest La.

  

Rice Fields off I-10 in La.

Crawfish Farms off I-10, La.

This part of Louisiana is supported mostly by the petrochemical industry on a grander-than-grand scale.  Even so, there is much natural beauty in southwestern Louisiana.  

One of many petrochemical facilities in
Lake Charles, La.

We were extremely lucky to find a place to stay in the bustling town of Sulphur, La., west of Lake Charles.  The area is booming and I want to write about that later.  We drove to Holly Beach, a small town on the coast in this part of La.  We drove the  Creole Nature Trail, and came upon an industrial area under construction that was larger than many cities. 

New facility near Hackberry, La under construction

Creole Nature Trail - on way to Holly Beach
on Louisiana Coast Line

If  you've never visited Louisiana make it a point at some time in your life.  The people are friendly,   the food was delicious, and the countryside was scenic.