Arrived at our second stop feeling a little more confident that the Beave is doing okay. Cajun Palms is a beautiful, well laid-out park with plenty of room for us "big rigs". Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which way you look at things), we are a bit "off season"....no big crowds, kids, parties (Louisiana does seem to be quite a big party place and boy, do they like their football!).
Arrived in need of a grocery store and nail salon (not necessarily in that order) as soon as possible. Luckily, found both with great direction from the office at the resort. Met and chatted with a wonderful local lady at the nail salon who gave me all the tips on where to get some good food...both restaurant and store. Since we had spent so much time in restaurants in New Orleans, I was really looking forward to some home-cooking (although it wasn't quite "home-originated" food). Went to the local Piggly Wiggly; got some stuffed pork chops and jalapeno chicken breasts. Went to the local Heberts; got some chicken jalapeno sausage and jalapeno turkey burgers. We have grilled and baked three of the four since we've been here and today went back for more; have packed them and they're waiting in our freezer for whenever we're ready....I'm sure that won't be long.
In order to reach this next destination, we travelled across the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge on I-10 between Baton Rouge and Lafayette. With a total length of 18.2 miles, it is the second longest bridge in the U.S. (after Lake Pontchartrain Causeway which we just crossed). I do have to say, I only saw that it was a "bridge" when looking at the other side....as far as I was concerned "our" side was on dry land and it made the trip much easier to handle!!
Day two offered the best forecasted weather, so we headed over to McGee's Landing for an tour of Atchafalaya Swamp, the largest wetland and swamp in the United States. It is a combination of wetlands and river delta where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. The swamp is filled with bayous, bald cypress swamps and marshes, as well as all sorts of egrets and, of course, alligators of all sizes. 
Our captain, Robin, a true, born and raised Creole Louisianan, was hard to understand sometimes, but really knew what he was talking about. Quite an interesting trip and not at all what we were expecting when we began our "swamp" tour.
It was interesting seeing the "underbelly" of the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge....this was the westbound side that we had travelled and I had believed was on dry land!!!
We spent the next two days catching up on regular, everyday things and trying to keep warm. Ice storms just north of us and, luckily we are not experiencing any of those, but the temps are back in the 40's and we sit here, in the Beave, with the furnace running and craving some of that warm, southern weather. Maybe next stop?
I will always remember Breaux Bridge / Henderson / Cecelia as the place where I fell in love with the southern Louisiana cruisine.
Am reminded of another visit to Christmas lights in Murrell's Inlet, South Carolina.....this wasn't as big a production, but put one in the spirit of Christmas, nonetheless. Happy Holidays to all!
Next stop: League City, TX where we plan on visiting NASA and Kemah Boardwalk........
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