Frog Festival--Was that Dennis HIll?

Abbeville, LA
Betty's RV Park


We headed out this morning to Rayne, Louisiana.  The weather was once again perfect and it was a short drive to Rayne.  We were a little early as the Frog Parade didn't start for about 30 minutes.  

I asked a police officer where the parade route was and where we could park.  He said the parade goes up the Boulevard and we could park the truck anywhere we wanted even on the grass.  

I spotted one car in a bank parking lot that was lined with trees.  Bill brought the truck over and backed it in so we could sit on the tailgate in the shade.  

That was the plan, but when it started we didn't stay in the shade or seated. 

Len and Debra were parked next to us and were a lot of help.  Len explained how he  catches frogs.  

Here comes the parade.  I noticed that everyone watching the parade had big bags.

I was surprised how well the school bands played.

Notice the tow vehicle for the floats.  Do you see the frog on the front?

The people on the floats threw cups, stuffed animals, footballs, balls, beads and lots of candy.  I'm sure kids had more candy than a whole night of Halloween.  Now I know why they had those bags.

Bill and I thought we saw Dennis Hill ride by.

It was difficult to tell if it was him because he had one wheel in the air.  He was on an orange trike with orange shoes and gloves.  You never know where he'll turn up so I guess we weren't surprised.  

Len showed me how to get them to throw stuff at me.

I collected some beads and candy but had to start putting piles in the bed of the truck because they got too heavy.  

There were lots of floats and everyone was having a good time.

Is this an older RV?

Here's the stuff I couldn't hold onto or wear anymore.

There were little tadpoles with crowns and also a petite tadpole probably about 2 or 3 years old.  

Once again, it's the people you meet that make the difference.  

Bill really enjoyed the parade.

Here's the end of the parade and they were following with leaf blowers to clean up any leftover beads and candy.  That's quick clean up but honestly, there were no candy wrappers left on the ground. 

We decided to walk through this five and dime store to give the parade a chance to disband.  I'm sure the merchandise hasn't changed in the last 50 years.

This small town of 8,000 people has murals depicting frogs everywhere.  After all it's claim to fame is The Frog Capital of the World.  

The festival runs for four days and today was the last day.  Today they charged $5.00 admission but the parking is free.

These frogs are huge, but I didn't see any turn into a prince.

Of course it had the usual carnival fare of rides for the kids and the usual fried pickles, alligator on a stick, fried twinkies and food your cardiologist wouldn't approve.  

This is where they had the frog leg cooking contest.  I was surprised there were so many entries.

There was an accordion playing contest and I must say they were all good.  It's a different kind of music for us, but we enjoyed it.

They also had some famous people playing but we weren't in the stage area at that time to see them, just to hear it.

 This stand offered Boudin and I wasn't sure I'd like it.  The man gave me one.  Bill said he was looking for a sandwich and the man pulled out some bread and put the Boudin on it.

No charge for mine, and he charged Bill $3.00.

Look at the size of that sausage.  Bill's seems to be doing fine eating all this spicy food.  

This is filled with frogs for the frog race.

There also was a frog leg etiquette eating contest.  One fellow was wearing a tuxedo for it.  

At this point I have to say, I was really disappointed.  I left my purse in the truck which had my phone and spare camera battery in it.  The truck was parked pretty far away.

I have no photos of the kids with the frogs in the frog race.  All different ages were competing.  There is a huge circle drawn on the floor and the frogs are placed in the middle of the circle.  

It was a wonderful day and we had a great time.  We got back in time for happy hour.  Monica came out with crock pots full of food and they fed everyone.  

Next thing I know, a car pulls up and Nancy and Jim get out.  They left a couple of days ago and headed north.  Their engine light came on in their motorhome.  They ended up in Beaux Bridge.  They drove down for happy hour.  It was so good to see them again.  We knew we'd see them again in Vermont, but didn't expect to see them this quickly.

Around 8 pm, we decided it was time to come in.  It's hard to believe our week is almost up.  Bob and Bonnie are pulling out tomorrow as well as another couple.   

Turtle Safely......