First stop in Alabama

Athens State University, Athens, Alabama
Far from Cedar Grove, NJ

Jim’s sister Patricia and brother-in-law Joe graduated in 1970 from Athens State College both with majors in Physical Education. Of course they met there and dated during these college years. We did a quick tour of the deserted campus.  It was semester break time.

Dauphin Island

South of Biloxi, Mississippi on historic Dauphin Island we found a beachfront campground on the Gulf of Mexico. The entire Gulf is densely populated with gas drilling platforms.

Mobile Bay saw extensive naval action during the Civil War bringing Admiral Farragut great acclaim for a Union victory.

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath

The Mississippi Gulf coast from Biloxi through Gulfport and to Bay St Louis shows amazing recovery from 2005 hurricane Katrina. This recovery certainly has been helped by the construction of what seemed to us a never ending sequence of dockside casinos and Las Vegas style resorts.
Many historic buildings along the beaches and in the towns have also been restored to their original splendid appearance.

With easy access to fishing piers and the well-groomed beaches, we were able to briefly stretch our legs and enjoy the warm sun.

Live Oak Trees

The live oak trees are well respected for their age.  When a tree reaches100 years of age, it is given an official name and its continued health is closely monitored. This live oak is 250 years old. Even the most remote roadways are lined with live oak trees forming moss covered tunnels.

Southern Louisiana-Land of the Acadians, Cajuns, and Creoles

 This area of Louisiana was settled by the French Acadians who were exiled from Nova Scotia, Canada by the British. Remember Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s Evangeline.

Our culinary experience here started with crawfish which can be boiled, stuffed, fried, sauced, or stewed.  Especially tasty is crawfish etouffee. Crawfish have a lot of shell for one very small piece of meat. This time of year, flooded rice fields are crawfish nurseries and feeding grounds with the crawfish trapped like lobsters. Breaux Bridge, LA claims to be Crawfish Capital of the World.
For an authentic Cajun menu:  http://prejeans.com/images/menus/lunch-menu.pdf

Tabasco Sauce 

No matter what you order in a restaurant, it is spiced with Cajun seasoning or hot pepper sauce. Tabasco sauce was created just after the Civil War to add some flavor to the limited food resources at that time. It has been produced in this area since 1868.

   
With seven flavors to select from for sampling after the factory tour, we tried Red, Green, Sweet & Spicy, and Garlic Pepper Sauce in addition to Tabasco Raspberry Chipotle Ice Cream, which we found to be very delicious.

 

Another industry in this area is rice which is processed for red beans and rice, gumbo and rice, and jambalaya. 
Due to his experience in the weighing and packaging industry, Jim was very interested in examining the vintage weighing and bagging equipment during our tour of the historic Konriko Rice Mill.

Mardi Gras
Even though Mardi Gras is not until Tues February 28, Mardi Gras excitement has been very evident everywhere along our coastal route through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.  We will see if this continues as we move on to Texas.

Spanish moss

Not really Spanish and not really moss
Found on the Southern live oak
During the 18^th, 19^th and until the mid-20^th century Spanish moss was harvested for practical uses. How is Spanish moss processed for use? What might it be used for?

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