Alright, so Sunday morning, our little family of four hit the road, bound for Louisiana!
Max did a good job sleeping in the car most of the way. Soon it was time to wake him up, though!
When we arrived in Lafayette we had some time to kill before we could check in at the hotel. So we checked out the Mall of Acadiana ... (FYI: The "Acadians" are also known as the "Cajuns.")
... and Vermilionville, a sort of outdoor museum showcasing some of the homes from the early Acadian settlement. The Acadians were a people who came from France to settle and farm in Canada. When their land fell to British rule later, the Brits weren't happy with them and kicked them out.
Forced to flee their colony, the Acadians went all directions, and many died during Le Grand Derangement. Later, they discovered a new place to live, in Louisiana. This became Cajun country.
The museum looked like a place frequented by schoolkids, but on this summer Sunday, we were pretty much the only ones around!
There was a science room dedicated to teaching about weather, and the ecosystem of the bayou. Gabe and Max loved this model hurricane, and a steaming display that demonstrated the science of air currents ... (somehow).
Gabe asked to go back and see the hurricane machine again.
Studying specimens found in the bayou.
Here's Max, "studying" this display about rain water runoff.
Seizing a teaching moment.
Touring some of the old homes. Inside this one we met ...
... this guy, who played us some "black Creole" music. As far as I could tell, he was the only period actor on duty that day.
The staircase on the front porch (or galerie) of each home was used by the older boys in the household and led to the room where they slept. Boys were allowed to come and go as they pleased.
Cajun girls slept downstairs and were more closely supervised.
Inside the home ...
... outside the home.
It was a good place for Maxie to run around after the long drive.
Me, my boys, and the swamp ...
Gabe spent a lot of time worrying and obsessing over the possibility of Max throwing one of this toys in the water. (I'd say that this was a very real possibility!)
The book that I'm reading Gabe and Joe could have been set here. I found Vermilionville incredibly interesting and relevant to what we've been studying!
We had seen a picture of this restaurant in one of our library books!
So we went there. Perfect in that the atmosphere was neither too loud nor too quiet for our kids. It was like a Cajun version of Goodson's Cafe.
Etoufee was invented in Breaux Bridge, where we stayed. So Dan had some of that!
For me it was grilled vegetables and boiled, corn, potatoes, onions, and mushrooms!
Tomorrow I'll go into more detail about the wonderful bed & breakfast where we stayed, and the swamp tour! Goodnight!
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