Swamp boogie

By Steve Beard and Troy Meier

Entry 9. Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Click photos to enlarge

Woke up late and checked out of our hotel. We had seen a great recommendation for breakfast at Cafe des Amis in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana (pictured here). The town is not far from Lafayette and has this kind of trendy antique shop haven vibe. When we pulled up, there was this guy in a black t-shirt heading into the back of the building. I started thinking, "Oh man, I hope he is not our waiter." The interior was very hip, very unlike our Cajun redneck surroundings. Of course, the wait staff was scurrying around in their black t-shirts acting as if they were way cooler than the silly dopes that were coming to the cafe to eat (and pay the bills and tip). If you saw the episode of Donald Trump’s "The Apprentice" when the teams had to run a restaurant, you will know what I am talking about.

Well, wouldn't you know it--we got the dude I had seen outside. When he saw us looking at the breakfast menu, he snootily told us that they were no longer serving breakfast. Okay, wait a minute. It is 11:05 a.m. We were exactly 5 minutes late. We pleaded with the guy, appealing to the fact that we had come from California and Kentucky in order to eat their famous breakfast. That fell on deaf ears. "I am sorry," he said, "almost all of our business is from tourists so they are not going to change their mind."

Okay, let me give a little perspective. There were only six different tables in use. It was not as if this is there was this huge corporate structure and regulations to follow, we simply were asking for a little exception to the hard-line 11:00 a.m. deadline for breakfast. No go, nada, no way sucker.

I have eaten in restaurants all over the world and I have yet to watch a wait staff that seemed to have more disdain for the customers. We ended up ordering some syrup cake (they raise tons of sugar cane down here) and white chocolate bread pudding. Despite the fact that I want to slug the pretentious waiter, I have to shoot straight and say that our desserts were terrific.

Since we are celebrating our 40th birthdays, Troy really was hot to do a swamp tour on one of those airboats -- the high speed, flat-bottomed boats that can cruise over mud, grass, swamp terrain, alligator heads, water and every other kind of surface.

We tried one place but both of their air boats were in the shop. They offered a swamp tour in a bedraggled old pontoon. Thank the Lord, we passed on that.

Troy called his crack research team back at his office and had them do a Google search for airboat rides on the Atchafalaya Swamp. Sure enough, they came up with Airboat Tours in Des Allemands, about 25 miles outside of New Orleans. We called them up and made an appointment. This company is run by Arthur and Kathy Matherne (800-975-9345). They fish, catch shrimp, hunt alligators -- they are the real deal in the bayou. Kathy gave us a little lesson on the environmental issues affecting the swamp and some background of the animals that we would be seeing.

We were introduced to Greg Dufrene Jr., a crazy and entertaining Cajun who was our airboat captain and tour guide. He was a hoot. Troy and I got onboard and Greg took us out into the swamp. Riding an airboat is a once in a lifetime experience and we loved every minute of it. The boat is powered by a Chevy 502 engine and that sucker could rip up some swampland. What a rush. Greg took us over all manner of terrain with precision and whipped us through weeds in search of a few alligators. We spotted some of those gnarly muthas and that was very cool. If you want your kids to be environmentally sensitive, promote conservation, and get a grip on wetland issues, take them on airboat tour.

I have to admit that I was thinking a lot about what would happen if we run out of gas, had engine failure, or flipped the boat. Of course, Greg has been doing this stuff for a long time and we had nothing to worry about, but one could not help but think about having to survive in this swamp by wrestling a gator, dodging water snakes, or having a Great White Heron peck your eyes out.

Greg was a terrific guide and we learned a lot, but the perma-smiles on our face was just the sheer rush of cruising over all this swamp brush at high speeds. Very wisely, Greg waited until the end of our trip to tell us about an airboat in a neighboring community that flipped and drowned two of the people on the boat. Thank the Lord, we were back on the dock, safe and sound. If you ever have a chance to do it, we cannot recommend it highly enough.

We stopped by the Gator Shop (a deli inside a Chevron station & highly recommended by our hosts) where we had a few boudin poboys. They hit the spot as we made our way into New Orleans. Fittingly, we listened to Lynard Skynard on the road after our swamp tour.

We met an elderly Catholic priest in the parking lot of a rest area. I was telling him about our trip, and he was one of the most kindly men I have met. He gave us fair warning about watching our backs in New Orleans. I asked him about his parish and he told us that he was priest in the French Quarter. I told him we might drop by for a blessing. With a warm smile, he said, "Anytime, anytime."

While we were at the Acadian Culture Center, I found a segment about religion in Louisiana: "Les Cadiens celebrate Roman Catholic feast days but often with a pagan flair, and augment les benedictions de leurs pretres with home-made shrines and rituals. For many Cadiens, home altars supplement l'eglise as a place of worship. Candles and rameaux (blessed palm fronds) enshrine portraits and memorabilia. Traiteurs cadiens recite special prieres to perform cures. Often housed in elaborate homemade grottoes, les statues de Jesus at la Saite Vierge Marie protect homes."

We found this to be very evident throughout Louisiana. It is very Catholic--expressed from the pro-life billboards and stickers to the religious statues in front yards or porches.

The Acadian Culture Center also had an additional note of interest: "Bishops stage elaborate processions to bless shrimp fleets each August when freshly painted and decorated bateaux pass in review to receive benedictions. Les recolteurs de canne a sucre request the same blessing au commencent de la rou laison (grinding season of harvest)."

We are staying at the Dauphine Inn in the French Quarter. It is a great place, with terrific location near Bourbon Street. We ventured out for dinner at the Gumbo Shop and had some great food. The place is packed and air conditioned. I cannot tell you how hot it is here. I am sweating like a warthog, but the food was everything we had hoped for. I had Jambalaya and Troy had Gumbo and some boudin. We shared some of the tastiest pecan pie.

As to be expected, we headed over to Bourbon Street to hear some terrific R&B at The Rock Club. This place is crazy.

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