Hot Hot Hot! Tabasco Sauce Factory Tour

We pack up and leave New Orleans. We sit in traffic on the I-10 bridge that was damaged by Katrina, while they have only one lane open during repairs. We arrive at the Tabasco Factory Tour and Museum (at Avery Island) in the afternoon and take their tour and learn all about making tabasco sauce. Did you know they ferment the peppers for 3 years in oak barrels? It's an interesting stop. Though we were disappointed that the jalapeno ice cream machine with free samples was broke :-)

Interesting sidenote: Avery Island has a 15-20 foot long bridge to get onto the island that they charge $1 to cross. Some guy actually sits in this little shed to collect the toll. We thought it was a joke when we first saw the sign, but there was a guy in the little wooden booth and he said "$1 please".

We continue on our long drive towards Texas and stop at one of the Passport half-price campgrounds that my father bought for us. There've been several billboards for Cajun restaurants, so we decide to try to go out for dinner, Cajun food. Well, the two places within walking distance of the campground were dives, BUT there was a Cajun meat outlet across the road. Jere's hesitant, but I tell him I'm going in and check it out. They had many kinds of Cajun meat, but we settle on buying the Cajun alligator burgers and Cajun sausage. We go back to the RV and I fry the burgers -- they're hot hot hot, but good. Joe ate leftover spaghetti :-)