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| Konriko Rice Mill |
Another early morning. I hope I get used to the time zone change soon; waking up before 6:00AM is just wrong, at least on a trip! I did take a shower since it was already 67°F at 7:00. The showers were clean, plenty of hot water, even a shower curtain. On the down side, the shower sprays right at the curtain, and under it, soaking the entire drying area & the shower room outside the stall. There is no seat in the drying area, no shelf in the shower area for soap or a shampoo bottle, and only one hook for your stuff. I do sometimes wonder if any of the campground staff ever showers (or even attempts to put themselves in the place of a user of their showers).
I ate breakfast, read my Syracuse paper on the iPad, and headed west around 9:00. Most of the drive was on I 12 & I 10 since trying to get from LaCombe to New Iberia on secondary roads was many hours longer than the interstates. There is a big swamp in the way!
As I mentioned in the 1996 post, I love the area around New Iberia - I first read about it in James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series of books. I have to admit the Belmont Plantation campground reminded me of the novels far more than here at the KOC.
I wish I had been able to find the campground we stayed in in 1996, but it no longer is in any of the guides or campground reviews. In any case, I'm in site 50 at the KOC Kampground (yes, that is a "C", not an "A" in the name). Right of US 90, in fact, lots of traffic noise. Good for an overnight. I revisited the Konriko Rice company store - the name is back to the 1996 name. This is the oldest still operating rice mill in the US. While they have all kinds of rice & other products for sale in the store, none of the Pee Wee's Green Spiced Pepper Sauce both Don & I liked on the previous stop. In fact, when Don's bottle ran low he ordered a case of the stuff over the internet. Alas, it seems the company disappeared in the early 2000's. I purchased a different green pepper sauce (Louisiana Jalapeño Hot Sauce) made by Bruce Foods Corp here in New Iberia. Not as good as Pee Wee's, but I'll let Don test it.
Continuing the tourist track, I headed to Avery Island for the Tabasco Factory tour, a visit to their store to replace a worn out "T" shirt and to drive through the Jungle Gardens, something we skipped on the last trip. The gardens were a bit of a disappointment since the large flock of birds were vacationing in South America, and most of the flowers were in in bloom, but there ware some great Live Oak trees & a Buddha. Someone left a plastic frog posing as a Buddha in front of the door. The photo isn't all that good - the Buddha is inside a glass walled building that makes many reflections. There were a couple of elephants guarding the steps to the exhibit. I also included a photo of the nesting area that would be filled with egrets if they weren't on vacation. As usual, more photos at today's Lakeshore Images page.
Not sure what dinner will be - I have no picnic table, so outdoor cooking would mean dragging out my folding table. I might hit a restaurant since there are lots of places to eat in the area.
Until next time -
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