Parade of Boats at Vermilionville Living History Museum & Folklife Park

Abbeville, Louisiana
Betty's RV Park

It's amazing how something doesn't work out and then it gets better.

I mentioned a few days ago that we went to visit Vermilionville and ended up in the National Parks parking lot.  By the time we toured the National Park it was too late to go to Vermilionville Living History Museum and Folklife Park.

Sharon Del Rosario told us to check it out, so we went back.  It was so much better today than it would have been the other day.  Today was the parade of boats festival and they had Zedeco as the entertainment.  

The parking lot was packed but I was able to find a spot that the truck with its eight foot bed would fit into.  Nearly everyone had a kayak or canoe on their roof.  


I was surprised that the admission was only $8.00.  The village has 19 structures and they are filled with artifacts and many of them were not roped off.  There were signs to please not touch the artifacts, but I did notice one adult man had to pound on the piano.   

This explains the difference between Cajun and Creole.  

The grounds are surrounded by the Bayou but we didn't see any alligators.

Thought of Miss Terry when I saw this.

The trees and plants all had signs identifying the species.

This man who plays the fiddle is 92 years old.  

Cliff, the woodcarver, showed Bill some of his work.  

When Cliff found out that Bill does a little carving, he gave him a piece of cypress wood so he can carve a duck.  You have to love the people around here.  They are so generous and always giving you something.

 Most of the homes do not have a hallway.

Despite all the cars in the parking lot, there weren't a lot of people touring the village.

This may look like a two seater, but is actually a three seater.

Notice how trusting these people are?  No ropes or barricades, no cameras, they just trust people not to bother the artifacts.

This was so much fun.  Do you think I could get a job as a ferry driver.

The rope is tied off on both sides and you just pull on it to get across the bayou.

I did come back for Bill and let him try it.

There is a lot of water around, but you can't see the water because of the vegetation. 

All of this brown is water under the vegetation.

Do you think this was one of the first waterway rest stops?  Notice the dock and the relationship to the outhouse.

The part was the music in the performance area was wonderful.  We tried to find a seat but that was impossible.

  The little girl was great.  Everyone was dancing but you couldn't help tapping your foot to the music.  We ended up on a bench on the outside to listen to the music.  

Not sure what the washboard like instrument was called but the man in the middle and the girl both played them.  I believe the band playing was Zedeco.  

It was a little cloudy this morning but the weather was perfect for a boat parade.

By the time we left, it was getting late.  I didn't want to leave tomorrow without more Cajun food.  

Betty had given us a brochure from Suire's Grocery and Restaurant in Kaplan that has been listed as favorable food reviews in The New York Times, Miami Herald and Houston Chronicle and many more.

Unfortunately, we when we went to go in

they were closed.  How could they close?  I still haven't tried Cajun fries, Texas toothpicks, Fried oysters, shrimp etouffee, crawfish pistolette, brisket corn soup, turtle sauce picante or alligator poboys.  

We drove back over to Abbeville and found a couple of other seafood restaurants closed.  One last try was Cajun Crawfish.  They were closed too.  At this point we ended up at Chili's.  We never do the chain places, preferring to try some local places but today was the exception.  I did order Cajun pasta though.  

When we came back to Betty's it was past happy hour time.  I guess it doesn't really matter that we didn't make it.  Everyone else is gone.  

It's been a wonderful experience in this part of the country.  The Arcadiana people are the best.  There is so much to do that time didn't allow, but that is OK, we'll be back.  

Turtle Safely........

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