Betty’s RV Park, Abbeville, LA

The day before we headed toward Abbeville, La was Ash Wednesday and since the weather was cloudy and cool we decided it was a great day to visit the Abita Brewing Company in Abita Springs, La. as George and Susie recommended. Loved the grey skies over Lake Pontchartrain! It was about an hour drive north of New Orleans and this place was worth the drive. The tour itself is rather short but the hospitality room more than makes up for it. Immediately upon entering we noticed the brewery offers visitors samples before the tour begins.  Visitors may sample as many beers as they like (with over 15 taps) and better yet everyone is allowed to go behind the bar to pour their own beer. Score! Our favorites were the Turbo Dog for Sharon and the Jockomo IPA for me…

The next day, on Thursday we hit the road to drive about 140 miles and pulled into one of our favorite RV parks, Betty’s RV Park , in Abbeville, La. Those of you that have been here know the scoop. This is not a resort park as the sites are tight and basically unappealing… so why is it our favorite and why do so many people come here? Betty!

Betty is the happy go lucky Cajun lady who owns this small 17 site park and the lady who will make sure you fully experience Cajun culture and cuisine before you leave. Not to mention the everyday afternoon happy hours on her porch where everyone brings snacks and has the opportunity to really get to know one another

In case you were wondering a Cajun is an ethnic group of people whose ancestors hailed from the Acadian parts of North America such as Newfoundland, parts of Quebec, Maine and the Maritimes. The area that these Cajuns reside in is often referred to as Acadiana. The culture is rich in French influence and as a result many of the Acadians still speak French and Cajun music has its roots in the French Culture as well.

The music is lively, energetic and is focused mainly around the fiddle historically yet more recently the accordion has taken a more central role. Couples of all ages fill the dance floor and although I don't dance much, I sometimes find myself leading Sharon out for a spin or two on the dance floor. Even when not dancing we find ourselves tapping to the beat of the music.The music isn't the only thing that you will enjoy here as the food is out of this world good!!! Some foods are not found anywhere else because many Cajun farmers were poor and became known for not wasting any part of a butchered animal. Thus they have two Cajun delicacies such as Cracklins (made by deep frying pork skins or fat) and boudin (made from the ground-up leftover parts of a hog after the best meat is taken and then mixed with cooked rice then formed into a ball or made into a sausage). It may sound gross but you really should try it!!!  Who knows....your first taste might even be at one of Betty’s 4:30 happy hours…

I am a bit behind in this blog because we have visited so many places in and around Abbeville.Therefore I have decided to write about these places not necessarily in a timeline fashion… next up will be about one of our cool Cajun experiences in Mamau, Louisiana…