In May 2000, Anne and I took our first and only biking vacation together. It was the first active adventure trip we had taken together. We had recently got into Cajun and Zydeco music and I thought a trip to Louisiana would be a chance to experience the music first hand. We went on a five-day trip with a tour company that specialized in biking through the Cajun Prairie of southwest Louisiana.
The focus of the tour was to experience the Cajun culture. We biked the back roads of the Cajun prairie, ate Cajun food, stayed in quaint B&B’s, met local people, heard stories from the region, and went dancing every night. The tour company – French Louisiana Bike Tours, did a really nice job. Tour leader Michael and his friend Wayne were great hosts.
Our bike tour group
We biked in a big circle around Lafayette. I learned that the Cajun country is not near New Orleans, but rather it’s on the western side of the Mississippi, northwest of New Orleans. The Cajuns we met had some scorn for New Orleans calling a place where Yankees come down to vomit in the streets. Having been in New Orleans a couple of times, I knew that description wasn’t entirely inaccurate.
Cajun Prairie
The Cajun prairie is flat. The only hill we had was riding up over a highway overpass. Most of the back roads zig zag around crayfish ponds, rice paddies, and pastures. It’s also really different.
There are two places in this country that I’ve been to where it felt like a foreign country; Santa Fe and the Cajun prairie of Louisiana. It’s different because, the language is different (most people speak French), the signs are mostly in French, the food is different, and the people behaved differently (e.g. most restaurants had live bands and most have a dance floor).
We had 15 in our group, mostly retired, many doctors, who were very fit, and loved to party. Michael had a small school bus that would lug us around to the various restaurants and dance halls in each town. Being on the school bus with a bunch of drunken doctors telling dirty jokes and singing was entertaining.
- Marvin & Nancy – both retired, living in Orange Beach, AL
- Wayne & Harriet – retired general MD, living in Orange Beach, AL
- Bruno & Sandy – working ER MD from Orange Beach, AL
- Marion – teaching MD from MS.
- Tom – boat repair shop owner from West Palm, FL
- Tom & Mona – retired pediatric MD and 30 yr old trophy wife from Cincinnati, OH
- Sean & Nancy – Construction firm owner from Cincinnati, OH
- Barbara – friend of the MD’s from Orange Beach
We all had a great time together. The people were fun-loving and outgoing. The weather was great, with sunny days and temps in the 80’s. Our host, Michael, loved to party and dance. He was a real Cajun and did a great job exposing us to the Cajun culture. Below are some of my noteworthy comments and memories from this trip.
Most of the street signs in the Cajun prairie are in French. All the roads and streets were Rue de this and Rue de that. Rivers are slow-moving and called bayou’s. We biked along the Bayou Teche, which in French essentially means the snake river.
Bayou Teche
We learned that the Cajuns love to party. Allons dancez! – lets dance and Fais Do Do! – lets party. Every place we ate had a Cajun band and a dance floor full of people. At Mulates, kids in the local high school honor society (the Beta Society) had the dance floor while we were eating our diner. All these high school kids were up waltzing, jitterbugging, and two stepping. We wouldn’t see that back in New England.
At Mulates, we saw Lee Benoit play. He was really good and sang most songs in French. A very touching moment was when he turned his back and sang a song to his wife Valerie, who was the bass player in the band.
Our host Michael loved to dance. His face would light up and feet would start tapping every time a two step started playing. He made a point of getting each lady in our group on the dance floor whenever he could. Harriet, who was in her mid 80’s, gave a panic look every time she danced the Cajun Jitterbug with Michael. At Fred’s Lounge in Mamou, Michael stood outside the lady’s room asking ladies coming out the door to dance with him. He got shot down seven times, but got an A+ for effort and perseverance.
Dancing at Mulates
Fred’s Lounge in Mamou is a Cajun landmark and a must see for Cajun music fans. Every Saturday morning the dance party at Fred’s starts at 9:00 am. Michael told us we had to get there at least by 11:00 am in order to experience the party. I got there around 10:30 am and found the party in full swing.
Fred’s Lounge
The bar was packed with everyone drinking beers, dancing, and a Cajun band playing right in the middle. And it was all being broadcast live over the radio. Big signs on the wall said “No dancing on the tables”. The party ended at noon time with most folks going back to their farms. In New England, folks would be hanging around the coffee shop eating donuts, but in Mamou, Saturday morning is party time.
One high point of our trip was staying at the Country House B&B in Washington. This B&B was run by Miss June Lowrey. Miss June was a very interesting lady. She had lived on a plantation with her husband. Now, she was a part-time artist and ran a very nice B&B.
Cat on Miss June’s porch
Miss June was a very elegant and engaging lady. While most were taking naps, a few of us spent a lazy afternoon on her porch drinking ice tea and just talking and listening to her tell stories about living on the plantation. She engaged each one of us wanting to know what we did and where we were from. Anne and I stayed in the room called “Miss Polly’s Suite”.
At one town, we stayed in an old plantation house called Chretian Point. It was huge and looked right out of the movie, Gone With the Wind. Anne and I stayed in “The Nursery” which had a large four-posted bed that required a small step-ladder to get up onto it.
Prior to going out to dinner, we all sat on the front porch and drank mint juleps. Michael’s assistant, Wayne, rode his bike up to the front of the “big house” yelling “Miss Scarlet, Miss Scarlet, da Yankees is comin, da Yankees is comin!” It was hilarious. As we were getting to leave, Mona (the trophy wife of one of the doctors) went around and drank the last few drops from everyone’s glass.
In Eunice, we stayed at Potiers Prairie Cajun Inn. We had a nice Cajun meal and afterward had a talk from the Reverand Paul Potier, who spent the most time trying to sell us Budreaus Butt Rub, which was some type of cure-all skin lotion.
That night we walked over to the Liberty Theater, which runs a show called Rendezvous De Cajuns. It’s basically a Cajun version of the Prairie Home Companion with dancing. It’s broadcast live over a local TV channel. Anne and I impressed our group by getting up to dance a waltz in front of 100+ people while on Louisiana TV. Here’s a sample of what the Rendezvous De Cajuns show was like.
And those were the highlights of our trip biking the Cajun Prairie. Our hosts Michael and Wayne did a great job showing us the Cajun culture. I’m glad we got to see it by bike. Overall, it was a fun trip.
