Tabasco anyone?

Before heading out to do some sightseeing this morning, I hung around long enough to see if I could get someone out here to fix my latest stone ding in the windshield.  On my way here, an eighteen wheeler passed me and kicked up a rock that took a nice circular divot out of the exact middle of the windshield.  I hate it when that happens, as it makes me jump in my seat!  Ugh.

 

Once that was taken care of I drove to the Konriko Rice Mill in New Iberia.  A construction delay and detour meant that I arrived just after a tour had started of America’s oldest rice mill.  It would be another 1 1/2 hours before the next tour, so after spending about 15 minutes in the company store, I decided to leave. 

After driving another half hour or so, I was just in time for a tour of the Tabasco Pepper Sauce Factory on Avery Island.  I know that just about anyone who has found themselves in this neck of the woods has taken this tour, so I won’t go into details. 

All tour participants received three little bottles of Tabasco sauce. 

 

I will mention that by the time I got there, I was not feeling very well.  What is it with Louisiana?  I went on the tour anyway, but was so cold that I literally had the shivers.  It was in the 70’s for Pete’s sake!  Since the car had been parked in the sun, I just sat inside it until I stopped shuddering. 

Once I warmed up, I drove the Jungle Gardens three mile driving tour.  There is an $8/person fee to drive the gardens.  If I were to do this drive again, I think I’d do it toward the end of March.  At that time the azaleas and camellias would be in bloom and be just gorgeous.  There are simply enormous live oak trees covered in Spanish Moss along the drive, and I even found some nice holly plants along the way. 

My main reason for doing the drive was to view the Egret rookery.  Ned McIlhenny was instrumental back in the day with bringing egrets back from the brink of extinction as they were hunted for their feathers for lady’s hats. 

Each year 20,000 nests are build by great and snowy egrets at this manmade rookery.  It sure is a noisy place right now.  The young have hatched, and parents are busy flying back and forth with food for the young.  I wish I could have gotten a little closer for better pictures.

 

Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I may make a trip to a more dog friendly location tomorrow.

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy