This is the (third) Evangeline Oak (e.g., the first one died and this is a replacement tree) that was described in Longfellow's poem, "Evangeline," which described the Acadian exile from Nova Scotia in 1755. The tree is located in St. Martinsville, Louisiana, which is probably the most beautiful city I saw in the state.

The Konriko Rice Company is located in New Iberia, Louisiana, the town where I was staying. I toured the factory on the first full day I was down in the area--it was an interesting tour, but I didn't buy any of Konriko's products at their company store because they seemed overpriced.

After my tour of Konriko, I headed to a nearby grocery store, Simoneaud's, where I wandered around and suddenly looked up to realize that the row I was looking in had an interesting combination of goods for sale.

That evening I joined my friends at the West St. Mary's High School first football scrimmage of the fall 2001 season. It was, I can honestly say, my first high school football game ever--not that it was a real game, but it was fun--until the mosquito repellant wore off. Then the scrimmage lasted an additional hour.

Sunday, my friend and I headed the 13th Annual "Le Cajun" Cajun Music Association Festival & Awards Show. Strictly speaking, it was only the festival when we went on Sunday. La Bande Feu Follet was playing when we showed up and they were most excellent. Part way through the set an older gentleman (playing the accordion) joined the group. He was 94 (I think), and had been playing for 84 years. Unfortunately I failed to get his name down.

Ok, I know this is cheesy, but there were seven beauty queens parading around the dance floor at the Cajun French Music Association Festival, and I had to get a picture of them--and then, when I got home, I had to use the silly cut out in my image editor.

One of the places we stopped was the Delcambre (Dell-Cam) Shrimp Festival. While the Shrimp Festival was a bit of a bust (expensive, boring), outside the local fire departments were engaged in a water fight.

One night for dinner, my friend prepared us fresh shrimp--straight from the Gulf of Mexico--she is holding a shrimp with its head still attached.

Naturally, since I was in New Iberia, Louisiana, I headed over to the world famous Tabasco factory and watched bottles of Tabasco headed for Germany being filled. Wahoo! I did get my free tiny bottle of Tabasco. Trust me when I say, it is my life time supply. I did like the fish on display!

Well, I had to include two pictures from my friend's house--this is an obscure reference from a really great book, "Red Sky at Morning."

To end the tour, I stopped by a Louisiana bayou grave yard, where instead of being six feet under, you're six feet above. If I die in Louisiana, I want to be cremated and have my ashes scattered--otherwise people might trip over me.

While visiting Louisiana in summer 2001, I saw my first fields of sugar cane, so I stopped in one of the fields and had my photo taken. It's pretty darned amazing!

When staying in Louisiana during the summer of 2001 I stopped by the Gulf of Mexico to enjoy its warm waters. It was an interesting experience, and next time I want to hit the Gulf, I think that I will head to Texas or to Florida. There is a reason Louisiana isn't famous for its beaches.