Food, Music And Swamp Tours

A few years ago, the Louisiana Office of Tourism conducted a survey at the welcome centers and asked people entering Louisiana what were the top three things that they came to Louisiana to do, and the answers are in this posts title.


Sushi at Tsunami


Smoked Salmon and trimmings at The First Annual Alaska/Louisiana
After Black Pot Festival Party and Feast


The Figs performing on the back porch


Cedric Watson at Festivals Acadiens et Creole


Sunset at Lake Martin



A rainbow over de la Houssaye's Swamp Tours.





The Food.

With over 300 restarants in the city of Lafayette alone, finding a good restaurant is not a problem. Deciding which one, is! Undoubtedly some of the best restaurants are often the hard to find, little mom and pop version, like T-Coon's, Chicken on the Bayou, and The Creole Lunch House. Further complicating the issue is scheduling.




Creole Lunch House is open 5 days a week, lunch only from 11AM-2:30PM


~ LIKE EATING AT GRANDMA'S HOUSE!
337 232 9929,@12th and St. Charles in Lafayette.


Planning on a early morning and want a home-cooked breakfast?


T-Coons is open for breakfast at 6AM



and lunch 7 days a week, 6AM-2PM ~ SMOUTHERED RABBIT IS MONDAY FOR LUNCH Ohhhh! @1900-A Pinhook at the intersection of Kaliste Saloom Rd in Lafayette!




About 10 miles east of Lafayette on I-10, Chicken on the Bayou is open for breakfast, lunch, and supper, 7 days a week,



but like most restaurants in the Lafayette area, it closes early.





So get your order in before 8:30PM, because they are closed at 9PM. And be forewarned: if you try to stay after 9PM, you will be politely asked to leave. Chicken on the Bayou is on I-10 at exit 115 Henderson. Get there early and order the #10 on the menu; Crawfish ettoufee with fried shrimp, you will be glad you did. Not that hungry, but the shrimp sounds good, try the poboy.




The Music


Aside from special occasions like festivals,




most of your dance and music options are primarily on the weekends,

but...

If you want live Cajun music with your food, 7 nights a week, at Prejeans, you can hear traditional Cajun music performed while you eat from 7-9PM. Award winning cuisine, great atmosphere decorated with wild life mounts of local fish and birds, and the centerpiece of the restarant is this 14 foot alligator, as seen below.



Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week,
Prejeans is always open,
but the music is only at night from 7-9PM.

A great family restaurant.

My personal vote for #1 Cajun restaurant in Lafayette.

On I-49, three miles north of I-10 @ 3480 N.E. Evangeline Thruway, 896-3247.



Being labeled as the best music offered between Austin, TX and New Orleans,



The Blue Moon Saloon, is my favorite dancehall.




The Blue Moon Saloon is on the back porch of the Blue Moon Guesthouse, so you can spend the night in the guesthouse and not have to drive home after the show, and..




best part about the back porch is it is well ventilated;

I hate second hand smoke!

worst part is it is always hot in the summer and sometimes cold in winter, although the patio heaters work real well, if you stand close enough.



With great jam sessions on Wednesday night, often led by living legends like Mr. Goldman Thibodeaux as seen above,





and live music every Thur-Sat, with great bands like The Lil Band Of Gold, as seen above,




and quite often late Sunday afternoon shows, like last night as seen above, with The Radiators, out of New Orleans, The Blue Moon, is the most reliable good dance music after the local restaurants in Lafayette and Breaux Bridge.




Swamp Tours

According to my daughter Christina, and she should know,

having been on thousands of my swamp tours,




I am the worlds greatest swamp tour guide,

now if you think I am all puffed up on myself, relax it is a joke!
And an inside joke because there is someone who wants to be like me and that is what he is telling everyone. ~:-)





and should you want to join me,




for a Louisiana swamp tour,




please call for reservations @ 337 298 2630.

In The Autumn Transition

The Woodducks are as brilliant as ever.


With cooler temperatures and drier air I am now returning to a full time schedule, where we can do tours every day, all day. Because of oppresive heat and humidity, my summertime schedule allowed swamp tours at sunrise and sunset only.


If you are interested in joining me for a Louisiana Swamp Tour, you can call my cell phone at 337 298 2630 to make a reservation.





Now, just because we can do tours all day, doesn't mean I am there waiting for you everyday. If you do not make a reservation before going to Lake Martin, you may be wasting your time.

It could be that the boat is already full of passengers, or we just left and the next tour is two hours later, not to mention, I could be fishing in the Gulf, and...

Hey, it is Whitetailed Deer hunting season, need I say more?

Please call 337 298 2630 for reservations.

The swimming woodduck suddenly explodes into flight.




The neo-tropical cormorants are back.












And because the lake is full of baby shad,




the Great Egrets are fattening up for winter.




The Little Green Herons are headed south and disappearing until April...




and The Great Egrets will be nesting in about 2 months.




Let me not forget to mention, the moorhens came in with the cormorants.
A.K.A. Poule d'eau (in Cajun that is pronouned "Pull Do")



With the decreasing temperatures and increasing wind, the birds are starting to hunker down in protected areas,






All photos above are copyrighted and courtesy of Claude Nall.




The American Lotus are starting to sink, and the Bald Cypress trees are well defoliated giving the swamp a decisive look of grey for the next 5 months.




The Bald Eagles are patrolling the lake daily, and with duck season openning tomorrow, the eagles will have plenty of lost ducks to bring to the nest.




I can't remember seeing this many cormarants in about 10 years...




In the air, in the trees, and in the water, the cormorants are everywhere.




The once dark winding corridors through virgin cypress, are now being illuminated, as the canopy falls away.




Although fall and winter can be dreary at times, this fall has been superb weather wise.




With Bluebird skies and natural air conditioning, who could ask for more?





Well more wind is what we got and with Spanish Moss whipping around and whitecaps on the lake,



it got a little dramatic at times.




I try to stay in the drama free zone as much as possible.