April 6 - 14, 2008
9 days - $1,032.00
Last tour the group fell in love with the Cajuns, and almost became Cajuns after having spent a week with the locals. Their life style is SO laid back and they LOVE to have fun!!! What a good time we had with their activities. Look through the list of highlights and the itinerary and join us on this, a very memorable tour. This certainly proved to be truly Cajun and truly fun!!
HIGHLIGHTS: • Creole Nature Trail • Beach at the Gulf • Mardi Gras Museum • Agriculture Experience Rice & Crawfish • The Acadian’s Story • Southern Antebellum Mansion • Tabasco Factory • Avery Island • Jungle Gardens • Historic Konriko Rice Mill • Off-shore Drilling Rig • Cajun Man’s Swamp Cruise • New Orleans City Tour Jazz Luncheon Cruise National D-Day Museum French Quarters • Waterlife Museum • Cajun Jambalaya • Bayou Communities Sugarcane Plantation Cemetery Crawfish boil • Antebellum Mansion and much more…
Day 1: Leaving Yoder this morning, we are eager to enter the world of the South maybe with the question: “What is a Cajun?” Culture defines today’s Cajun. We’ll be ready to experience the definition with them. We’ll be driving south most of the day, arriving in Tyler, TX for the night.
Day 2: By noon today, we will be approaching Lake Charles. From Sulphur, we, along with our local guide, Capt Sammie, will start discovering the wild and beautiful Creole Nature Trail known as “Louisiana’s Outback”. This world-famous drive begins in Sulphur and winds through vast, unspoiled marshland for close-up views of alligators, birds and other wildlife. We do our turn around at the beach on the Gulf of Mexico. Our lodging is in Sulphur.
Day 3: Into Lake Charles this morning, we will meet with a group of local senior citizens for a tour through their Mardi Gras Museum and the unique Charpentier Historic District with a local guide. Heading east toward Lafayette, we will enjoy an included Cajun meal before being met by a local, to direct us to the agriculture industry of crawfish and rice farming. Then it’s on to the Acadian Culture Center for our introduction to the events of the arrival of the Acadians, having been expulsed from Nova Scotia. Following an afternoon outdoors, we enjoy our lodging in New Iberia.
Day 4: This morning, we are off to Avery Island for a tour of the Tabasco Factory, their Country Store and a tour of the Jungle Gardens. Back into New Iberia we’ll tour the famous 1834 sugar plantation home, “Shadows on the Teche”. In the afternoon we’ll visit St. Martinville, home of Evangeline, birthplace of Acadiana and the most photographed tree in the world, the Evangeline Oak on the Bayou. The legacy comes alive here as we try to understand the arrival of thousands of Acadians finding refuge in Louisiana. Late afternoon we’ll visit America’s oldest rice mill the Historic Conrad Rice Mill. Back to the same motel.
Day 5: As we leave New Iberia and continue south, we will be in the heart of sugar cane country. In the small town of Jeanerette there is this little museum that best describes the sugar cane industry. This small, off the highway, hidden treasure is where the locals are eager to share the story of the 200 years of Louisiana Sugar Cane Industry. Continuing down the road, for a more modern experience, we will learn of the important contributions of the offshore oil and gas industries. We will be able to get on this rig which has now been retired to a museum and training facility. This evening we are in for a real treat as we join a “Cajun Man’s Swamp Cruise”, with his accordion and guitar in hand. Arriving in Houma, LA, we’ll check into our motel. For those of you that enjoy a good time, following check-in, those that would like, it’s off to the Waterlife Museum for an evening of local entertainment.
Day 6: Today we head to the big city. New Orleans is famed for the old world charm. We’ll first visit the National D-Day Museum showing what the Americans experienced during WWII. For lunch, we experience Southern hospitality steamboat style, aboard the Steamboat Natchez for our live Jazz luncheon cruise. Then on our city tour we’ll hear about the Old French Quarter, Market Places, Squares, French and Spanish Homes, Parks, Giant Moss-hung trees, above ground burial, and much more. Our last stop will be at the French Quarters, where you can enjoy your evening meal at Jackson square or in the French Quarters. Back to Houma for the night.
Day 7: Today we will be with a local guide to travel into the bayou communities. Local Cajun and Indian residents have retained a unique lifestyle and they share that with us today. A few of the places to visit are a sugarcane plantation, local cemetery, Old General Store and enjoy an included crawfish boil. Back to the motel after a full day of Cajun Culture.
Day 8: This morning we step into the past with a visit to Oak Alley Plantation. We will enjoy her beauty and dream of her rich past as we tour this grand antebellum mansion. Departing Oak Alley via the river road will take us past some of the old plantation homes along the Mississippi River. The rest of the day will be driving as we start our journey home. Overnight in Canton, TX.
Day 9: What a nine day experience of Cajun and Creole culture that we can share as we make our way north along the interstates back to Kansas.