A Shrimp Boat in Cameron

The drive down to Cameron is different than when I was young. Now, after the hurricanes, everything has changed. But one thing the hurricane did not take away is the spirit of the shrimper and their heart and soul, the shrimp boat. One shrimp boat in particular caught my eye as we drove down the main drag on our way to the ferry.  It was run-down and rusty but so beautiful. I love that kind of stuff, and I couldn’t wait to see it through the lens of my camera.

As I was snapping pictures of it, a head popped out of the door and gave a wave, and then the door closed. I took a few more photos then noticed a very small statured older gentleman coming down the boardwalk which led from the boat to the land. He came straight up to the truck, and at first I thought he might tell us we had to leave. But all he wanted to do was visit with us. He talked about his daughter going to college in Florida; that he had been a shrimper all his life; that he was born and raised in Cameron; and that the boat I had fallen in love with was his home. I could tell he felt the same way about it that I did the first time I saw it. It started to rain more, and as he turned to walk away he told us we could come by anytime to fish off his dock.

His warmth and friendliness put us at ease as he embodied true southern hospitality. Hurricanes will come and go, but they will never destroy all the beauty and culture of Cameron or the spirit of the Cameron people. 

          

Fearless Finds: Grandma's Garden Flower and Gift Shop

What woman doesn’t hope for a bouquet of fresh flowers on Valentine’s Day? I sure do! Actually what am I saying? I hope for flowers all the time! They are a timeless gift and perfect for every occasion. But Valentine’s Day might be the holiday most-known for flowers, so the ladies (and a few gentlemen) of Grandma’s Garden Flower and Gift Shop in Welsh, Louisiana, are hard at work preparing. Fortunately, they let us take a peek behind the scenes, and the owner, Roylynne Harris, shared her story about the shop’s humble beginnings.

 

The origin of the name alone gives me goosebumps. Roylynne told us that before her grandma passed Roylynne would go each Sunday after church to her grandma’s house for a home-cooked meal and a visit. Before she would leave her grandma would send her to the garden, clippers in hand, and tell her to cut whatever she wanted. Her grandma would then wrap the flowers in a paper towel for the long drive home where Roylynne would then arrange them in mason jars and vases. “I always said if I ever had a flower shop I would name it Grandma’s Garden because that’s where I found my love for flowers,” Roylynne explained. Nine years ago she made true that promise and started Grandma’s Garden out of her home.

Grandma’s Garden is now located on the corner of Main Street and Highway 90 in Welsh, Louisiana, in a re-purposed gas station. Before Interstate 10, 90 was the main road to travel, and as a gas station the building hosted Elvis and the infamous Bonnie and Clyde. Nowadays the building is filled with flowers and all sorts of gifts, including Tyler candles. I actually fell in love with this beautiful pillow embroidered with Louisiana spelled out in cypress trees.

As for the flowers, Grandma’s Garden has a widespread customer base and delivers anywhere from Kinder to Jennings to Gueydan starting at $5. Flowers arrive daily from Beaumont and Lafayette, and they take both walk-ins and phone orders. Their services also include weddings, funerals, Homecoming and other events.

With Valentine’s Day coming up quickly, Roylynne and her helpers are making sure they are ready for anything with over 800 roses and dozens of pre-made “green ahead,” as they called them, vases ready to be filled with whatever selection of flowers you’d like.

We really enjoyed meeting Roylynne and her crew at Grandma’s Garden and getting to see the inner workings of a flower shop! Please pay them a visit the next time you’re in need of a gift, and they’d love to help you find something perfect.

For more information or to make an order call Grandma’s Garden Flower and Gift Shop at 337-734-3597, and find them on Facebook.

The Creole Nature Trail: Cameron Prairie Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center

Roadtrip time!

Our day began with a stop at Chesson’s Grocery on La 27 for gas. When we drove up I noticed a brightly green colored alligator statue out front. I had to have a picture of it! So while Myron, my boyfriend, pumped gas, I went over to see exactly what it was. The sign read “Creole Nature Trail,” and this sparked my interest for a new blog series! After mentioning my idea to Myron, he said there was a place just down the road that he passed almost every day that we needed to check out.

It was the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center. When we walked in we were greeted by the sweetest, little lady working there. She gave us a brief once over of the place and explained what the center had to offer. I took a few pictures then we walked into the first room and met Tante Marie who turned out to be an animatronic replica of an old Cajun woman in a pirogue with a voice that took me back to my childhood days listening to my grandparents. She was so animated and realistic, not scary at all, and I know kids would just love her! She talked about the history of the Cajuns, their migration south to Louisiana, and their daily lives back then. She couldn’t stay long though because she needed to head home with her fresh shrimp to make her a big pot of shrimp and okra gumbo, so we headed into the next room.

Tante Marie

Around the corner was a hands-on museum set up with information about bird migration and conservation. From there we entered a movie room with this big wooden door and seats for about ten people. In the corner was a Gator on the Geaux (look for more on these brilliantly created statues in a future post) that was covered head to tail in commemorative duck stamps. That’s when we realized the next thing to see was outside in the chilly, misty weather. We went for it anyway, and headed to the observation deck in the back of the building.

It was well worth the walk! I’m sure in the summer there are more birds out, but we did get to see a variety of ducks and a couple beautiful geese. There is a covered place at the end of the boardwalk to stop and watch the birds in their natural environment. They even have a FREE telescope to get some close-up looks. As we were walking away there was the cutest little bird just swimming around. It sure didn’t care about the weather! I, of course, had to have a picture.

The Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center is a must stop before proceeding along the trail. Besides all the information it provides about the wetlands of Louisiana, it has plenty of brochures and maps to guide you on your way down the Creole Nature Trail. As we were leaving we were told we could head just two miles down the road to the Pintail Drive and Boardwalk, but we saved that for another day.

Here are the details to plan your own visit:

Cameron Prairie National Wildlife and Refuge Visitor Center

1428 Hwy 27

Bell City, La 70630

337-598-2216

For more information about the Creole Nature Trail and surrounding areas check out these links:

Creolenaturetrail.org

Visitcameronparish.org

Visitlakecharles.org

Fws.gov/swlarefugecomplex

Stay tuned for more posts as we travel along the Creole Nature Trail!

King Cake Bread Pudding

It’s Mardi Gras season here in Louisiana! And, as with any holiday, food and sweets are the second most important part, just behind family. When trying to think of a recipe to share, we wanted to do something a little different than the traditional king cake. Almost immediately mom suggested mixing king cake with our favorite bread pudding recipe from her mom and my Granny. As much as I hate to admit it, I wasn't too keen on the idea, but really I just wasn't sure how it would work. Determined to prove me wrong, my mom began scouring Pinterest. Within minutes she stumbled upon a king cake bread pudding recipe at showmeyournola.com! It was such a simple switch! However, to keep it in the family so to speak, we used Granny’s recipe to bring together these two tasty Louisiana traditions. With seven ingredients and a total of about one hour prep and cook time, the results were delicious!

Ingredients:

1 King Cake (we chose a cinnamon-filled variety)

2 tablespoons of melted butter

1 cup of sugar

2 cups of milk

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

4 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

Cooking Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Grease a 1 ½ quart baking dish
3. Cut up the king cake into small pieces
4. Combine and mix all ingredients in a bowl
5. Cook for 45 minutes or until top is light brown and there is no jiggle ;)
6. Let cool and enjoy!!

**Note: living in a house built over one hundred years ago, my mom only has a convection oven, so the baking time is based on that appliance. My Granny’s original recipe calls for a one hour baking time, so plan according to your situation.

 

The result was amazing! We even brought a couple pieces to Granny, the bread pudding queen, and she said, "My bread pudding is good, but y'all really hit it on the head with this one!"

Have any favorite Mardi Gras recipes? Comment here or e-mail us to share!

Fearless Finds: Rocket Drive Inn

I love cheeseburgers!

Not the fast food prepackaged ones. The real meat, homemade ones I found at my new favorite place, the Rocket Drive Inn. This great find is as old as me. No wonder we connected the first time I sat on the coolest red picnic tables, covered with the scratchings of years gone by. 

The atmosphere is so vintage even my seventeen year old son put down his iPhone and dug into his cheeseburger and fries. I knew I had to take Lexi, a fellow cheeseburger lover, and share this literal blast from the past.

We each ordered a cheeseburger, an extra large drink, and one order of homemade onion rings to share for about $14. Not bad for a quick daycation to the 1960’s. Now we can’t wait for summer to head back for some homemade Rocket ice cream (the cold kept us from enjoying some this trip).

I for one am truly grateful to the owner, Joann Leger, for keeping this little piece of nostalgic heaven available for all to enjoy. Next time you’re in Jennings, stop by 1118 State Street or call 337-824-2120 for more info.

If the Rocket Drive Inn happens to be a favorite of yours or you take our advice and try it out, let us know! We'd love to hear about your little visit to the past.

Vintage Memories: Mardi Gras 1967

Looking through old photos is a favorite pastime of ours, and it’s especially fun when there is an interesting story behind them. Vintage Memories is a series we are doing that spotlights just that kind of photo. However, we only have so many old pictures to go through, so we want y’all to share some favorites.

Pictured here is a Mardi Gras parade in Mamou, Louisiana, in 1967. Everyone is dressed in the traditional Mardi Gras garb usually only seen in rural areas. Most are handmade, brightly colored, and unique, but unlike the elaborate costumes of big city Mardi Gras parades, these outfits need to be durable and comfortable because parade participants are often riding horses and chasing chickens for the gumbo! Although it’s difficult to see here, the sign in the back is from Reed’s King Freeze. Seeing this sign sparked our interest, and our exhaustive internet search has left us empty-handed. We’d love any information on this vintage business. What type of business was it? Is it still open? Please comment or e-mail anything you might know about it.

Now that we have shared our vintage Mardi Gras, we want to see yours. Please contact us if you have a photo and story of a Mardi Gras of the past, so we can share it in an upcoming post.

Katrina & Lexi

bonveillercher@gmail.com

Welcome!

Hi y’all! Welcome to Bon veiller, cher and our very first post! We are Katrina and Lexi, a mother-daughter team living in small-town Southwest Louisiana. We have always had a very special bond and shared a great love for our home state, and now that we are both adults, we find ourselves yearning for more knowledge about the places and people around us. Plus, we both spent twenty years living in another state, and this only further fueled our passion for Louisiana. When the idea of a blog first came about, we knew we wanted to focus not only on the state as it is now but on the rich history and the people that have shaped it. From festivals and foods to traditions and trades, we will be sitting down to visit with locals from all around to delve deeper into what makes the culture here so unique. So many people look to other places for fun and adventure, but we want to show you that no matter where you live, you can find these things just steps outside your front door.

We already have quite a list of adventures planned, but we would love to hear y’alls ideas. Do you have a favorite hole-in-the-wall breakfast spot? Has your great nephew’s wife’s sister played the accordion since she was three? What’s the treasure in your town?Leave a comment here or send us an e-mail, so we can plan a visit to your neck of the woods!

Katrina & Lexi

bonveillercher@gmail.com