February 26 – March 1 Abbeville, Louisiana
Palmetto Island State Park
Our first stop was purchasing propane at the local Ace Hardware store. We squeezed into the very small parking lot. The head cashier was so excited to see an Airstream and we were relieved that we didn't hit any of their tractors.
We don’t know about you but being on vacation somewhere you’ve never been – well the anticipation is always there!! That’s kinda how we feel being on the road. We never really know what a place is going to be like until we get there. Satellite images and you-tube videos can only show so much…..
Pulling into this state park we felt we were on a tropical island but in reality, we were in swamp country. The park was stunning with tons of foliage in between neighbors so privacy wasn’t an issue. The sites were HUGE and LONG which makes it SO much easier to back in – LOL!!!
We had a couple days of nice weather before thunderstorms arrived one night and early the morning we were leaving. We rode our bikes thru the vast park, still hunting for those darn alligators!!! Not a one to be found. We did see an Armadillo, Buzzards, a snake (ewwww), and beautiful bright green lizards.
Since it was leap year, we decided to celebrate the 29th by going out to dinner. Based on some recommendations, we headed to a place in the historic district of Abbeville. Duruy’s didn’t disappoint. In fact, Mike tried Alligator appetizers. First time for everything. Based on Mike’s description of how they tasted, Donna politely declined because she is a very picky eater – LOL!!!!
Being as the south is known for its crawfish, we were curious where they all come from. Turns out all of the water filled fields with little bobbers are crawfish farms. Who knew??? Louisiana commercial crawfish farmers provide 85% of domestically produced crawfish to Louisiana markets and across the nation. When they aren’t farming crawfish, they use the fields to grow rice. And because the state is mostly swamps and bayous, there are bridges on just about every road - from huge bridges to the local drawbridge.
When we checked into the park, we were warned not to leave any food where the bears could get into. Not to worry we are prepared with bear spray.
We found a great place to unwind for several days……
