SOME LIKE IT HOT, SOME NOT

We wait for the arrival of our mail.  And we wait, and wait.  

You know the "postman's motto" ..... neither rain, sleet, hail, etc., etc.  Well, it is no longer true.  The frozen roads and runways for the U.S. mail planes slowed down the delivery for days and days.  

Finally, under way, we turn our attention to Avery Island, the home of Tabasco Pepper Sauces.  

We are not first in line!  Ahead of us is a bright canary yellow vintage motorhome with Tweety Bird looking out the back window.

This looks to me like a very nice restoration.  

I note the painting on the inside of the door.  How cool is that?   

As I walk up to the visitors center, I am greeted by someone who looks a bit familiar.  I wonder, did I see him greeting customers at Wal Mart? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            I have it from a good source that Queen Elizabeth II likes Tabasco sauce.  

The buildings look like some of the distilleries located in Kentucky.  

 Would you like a splash of Tabasco on your pizza? Or maybe you like Tabasco on your eggs.  I am sure there is enough here to satisfy your craving for hot sauce.                                                                                                 Avery Island is not only the home of Tabasco sauce, but also the home of Jungle Gardens and its Bird City.  

"From pepper pods obtained shortly after the Civil War, Edmund Melhenny cultivated a crop, invented a product and founded a company.  

Today on Avery Island you can see pepper plants like those being nurtured for next year's crop.  Seeds from plants grown on the Island are exported to Central and South America, where Tabasco peppers are cultivated and harvested at the peak of their ripeness.  Only these choicest peppers from the tropics are used in making Tabasco pepper sauce.

Tabasco pepper sauce was first produced from capsicum pepper plants first grown on Avery Island.  Its recipe, so unique, McIlhenny was granted a patent on the sauce.  This recipe is closely followed today.

Each January, seeds are planted in greenhouses, seedlings are transplanted to the fields in April.  By August, the peppers reach just the right shade of red and are hand-picked.  Newly harvested peppers are mashed at the factory with a little salt from Avery Island.  

The mash ferments and ages for three years in white oak barrels.  Finally the aged mash is mixed with special premium vinegar, stirred for one month, strained and poured into slim bottles with their familiar red octagonal caps, green foil neckbands and diamond-shaped labels."  From Avery Island, bottles of the pepper sauces are labeled in nineteen non-English languages and shipped throughout the world.  

After visiting the production line, we walk to the Country Store where everything Tabasco is sold, including shirts, scarves, glassware and nic-nacks.  

After our visit to Avery Island, we drive a bit further to Louisiana's Palmetto Island State Park just outside Abbeville.  

With our America the Beautiful Senior Pass our daily fee is eleven dollars.  What a deal!  





And you would not believe it, but they provide washing machines and clothes dryers for FREE!  

This is the first time that I have used a commercial laundry since we began full timing.  

I do prefer to do laundry in the motorhome, but the previous night, the Splendide gave me a scare.  

I decide not to take any chances and use the park's facilities.   




I come back to the motorhome and John is gone so I walk down to the lake to see if he is there.  

Look at what John is doing while I slave over the laundry!  

He says that he came close, but not too close to an alligator sunning on the bank.  

The alligator slips into the water and John decides to paddle in the opposite direction.  







 Olivia is concerned about her dad and sits on the bank to wait for him.  

Now that we know that John can handle a kayak, we will start looking at ones that will better serve our needs.  

In my blog about visiting the pottery studio, I had many photographs of all the pottery and teased you with the question, which did we buy?

  

Well, here is our choice.  These two heart shaped bowls can serve as our salad, cereal, and soup bowls.  We really enjoy their design and diverse functionality.

Last, but now least, I have a new photo of Eme.  She is growing so fast.  It is hard to believe that she is almost two months old!





Well, I am almost caught up on our adventures.  Next blog, Where were the Talley's last weekend?