food truck round-up

Local brewery, Tin Roof Brewery, recently hosted a food truck round-up. The location has plenty of lawn space and a covered outdoor patio to accommodate everything and everyone. Each food truck offered something different, so there was a variety of food, and the beer was flowing in the tap room. There was even a stand for gourmet frozen pops and ice cream. 

Eric says, "hello"!

Eric prefers darker beer, so he stuck with their Parade Ground Coffee Porter. He enjoyed it enough to have a few, so it must have been good. We parked ourselves on the covered outdoor patio. The fans were humming over-head, but this is South Louisiana. It was still plenty hot. There were a number of picnic tables out on the lawn, but we weren't giving up our shade. 

That is one dark beer. Looks like coffee.

Our Spot on the patio was good and bad news. Good in that were were in the shade. Bad, however, because there was suppose to be live music. The bands usually set up on the patio, so we would have been baking out in the sun if the band was there. Apparently, the planner and band couldn't come to terms in time, so the advertised live music was a no-go. That was a disappointment, but it kept our pale skin from burning, so there's that. 

#priorities

Like I mentioned, the food trucks offered a variety, but there were only three. A couple of more could help make it more of a must-go event. The available options were Rice and Gravy, Rock Paper Taco and Mr. Ronnie's Famous Hot Donuts. The line the Rock Paper Taco truck was evidence of both everyone's (correct) desire for tacos and the need for more options. Like everyone else in line, we wanted tacos. The line was long and Eric wasn't having that. We later heard someone say the wait was an hour even after you ordered. Again, we needed more trucks there.

That is one long taco line.

We opted for the much shorter line at Rice and Gravy. Eric and I both went with the Swamp Hawg:  smoked pulled pork, boudin, pepper jack cheese on garlic toast with a side of pepper jelly. Eric apparently ordered the last ones, because subsequent orders were denied. They were out. Again, need more trucks. The weight of the sandwich felt like we were getting our nine dollar's worth. It was heavy, but really good. The side of pepper jelly was a little odd. It was like a spicy strawberry Jello. I can't say it was bad, but I can't say it was good either. To the sandwich's credit, it made us (mostly) forget about tacos.

The Swamp Hawg

To Tin Roof's credit, there is also a Family Friday event on the first Friday of the month. That is an afternoon/early evening affair. It is similar to the round-up. There are food trucks and musical entertainment, but also inflatable bounce houses and face painting. Still though, summer in Baton Rouge is hot. Even when the sun goes down. But no sun helps.

Stay Classy!

I think the round-up is a good idea. The space at Tin Roof is a good spot for it. If a band had been on the patio and we were out on the lawn then it may have turned into a borderline miserable experience. The humidity is too high here, so even the patio doesn't keep you from sweating through your shirt. It only delays it. The tap room doesn't offer much of a reprieve, since people are constantly going in and out (as well as being a little cramped). If they want to continue and improve on the experience then I think it is best suited for a nighttime affair. At least between May and October. We want to go back...but at night.  

oh the places we go

Our adventures are often planned out. There's the place. Then there are the places to go when we get to place, knowing that we'll find other places in between the places. That's what makes these trips adventures. The unplanned events make for the best stories. Our recent excursion was something different. We had the place. Madisonville, LA. We had the place there that we wanted to visit. We wanted to see docked ships on the riverfront. We never really landed at the riverfront. This adventure ended up being entirely things found upon our way. We had a better time for it. 

Home

We made it to Madisonville, but instead of turning left, we went right. Okay, technically straight, but you get the point. We went in another direction with no real reason why. This is where we stumbled upon the Lake Pontchartrain Maritime Museum.  They're closed on Mondays, but most importantly know that they close daily at 4:00pm. We just happened to have been lucky enough to find it before then. 

The giant anchor and mini-lighthouse outside the museum is what caught our attention. Of course we had to stop to take pictures with them. Even better, if you're asking Eric, was the Jurassic Park Jeep that was parked there too. Turns out that one of the employees there owns it. If you catch Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom on opening weekend in the Madisonville area then you can get a look at it too. It will be parked outside of the theater.

Didn't know it was a documentary, did ya?

The museum will set you back $5, so I'll call it affordable. The museum concentrates on the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, the lower Mississippi River Valley and the Louisiana Gulf Coast. You'll find photos, motors as old as time itself, a film room to hear the oral history of the area and there's even a submarine from the civil war. They also offer a robotics camp where kids have the chance to build their own underwater remotely operated vehicle. Complete with lights and camera. How cool would that be to take to the beach or a local lake?!

Restored light house lamp.

I asked about the local lighthouses that are featured in the museum. We were pointed down the road where we could get a view of the Tchefuncte River Lighthouse. It isn't accessible by car, but you can see it from the shore or a closer look by boat. It was even featured in the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Who knew?!

Civil War Submarine Surfaces (colorized)

On the way to the lighthouse, we came to a bridge where cars were pulled over and people were out looking at something in the water. We knew what that meant. Gators! So, of course, we jumped out and got our gator fix. These had some size to them that our previous encounter did not (see our Jungle Gardens and Scorpion Sauce blog post). These were adult sized. The one that came the closest looked to be about ten feet long. Once he/she went down under water, we hit the road again. 

That there's a light house.

We reached the end of the line only a few minutes from the museum. We walked out to what I'll call the sea wall and there it was. The lighthouse in the distance. Damaged in the Civil War, it was rebuilt with many of the original bricks. It wasn't close, but it was definitely close enough to get some good photos. There were a couple of nearby homes/camps that need to be on Airbnb for a quiet getaway. 

Airbnb anyone?

Rain was on the way and it really seemed to add to the experience. The spray hitting the wall. The gathering wind. Graying skies. I'm pretty sure that I almost became one with the sea that day my friends. Or I could be over dramatizing. I'm not saying Eric was suddenly in a wool turtleneck and smoking a pipe, but I'm not saying he wasn't. 

We headed out, not sure where we were going. One thing was for sure though, the rains had come. It was nearly blowing sideways as we drove into Abita Springs. Perhaps it was the wind, probably the wet roads, but I've never seen so many cars in ditches. We managed to stay upright and on the road while Eric found that we were too late for a tour of the Abita Brewery. You need to get there early in the day for tours. I don't drink, and I'm pretty sure Eric just didn't want to get out in the rain, so we passed on stopping by their tap room. If you find Abita beer in your area then please give it a try. Eric's go-to is the Amber.

Stop in for some pub grub and suds.

The brewery has grown quite a bit and had moved to a larger site after about eight years. They now brew one hundred times the amount of beer than they did their first year! That's what happens would you make good beer. Eric's testimony. We also stopped by the original site. It is now the Abita Brew Pub. We were kinda losers here, because we didn't go in. It wasn't dinner time and we were needing to head back to Baton Rouge. We'll treat you right next time Abita Springs.

Windy day with a tiny light house back there.

Sometimes the unplanned trips turn out to be so good that you run out of time do to more. A perfect excuse to go back!

jungle gardens and scorpion sauce

Alligators and hot sauce. Welcome to Louisiana. If you need to get it all in at once, like us, then you head down to Avery Island, Louisiana. Cross over the small bridge and there's world famous Tabasco on your left and Louisiana gators straight ahead. 

Keep an eye on the kids.

We expected a $1 toll fee when crossing over into Avery Island, but Sundays must be free. Perhaps is a perk from the attendant recognized us from our blog (ie. we like to revel in delusion). It may also be that Tabasco factory is not running on Sundays, so it's an incentive to visit. Though, you can still tour the factory. More on that later. You receive a map of the area at the toll station to help get you around. It's most helpful when touring the Jungle Gardens. This is where you'll find your botanical treasures, Bird City and (most importantly) gators.

Just fishin'. Nothing to see here.

The visitor center is where you pay for entry to Jungle Gardens and the Tabasco factory. We were hitting both, so if you're doing the same then take the package deal to save a few bucks. The visitor center is also stocked with south Louisiana trinket flair. Spend wisely, because Tabasco also has their own country store. But I'm jumping ahead. The largest alligator ever captured on the island was a modest eighteen feet three inches long. If you want to know what it is like to be up close to something of that size then you're in luck. That bad boy has a room inside the visitor center all to himself.

Cheese!

We hit the Jungle Gardens first. Now, be warned of the walking option. It sounds like a good idea. We decided to drive from location to location. We quickly realized that this was the smart choice. We spend a couple of hours in the gardens. Keep in mind that you will be taking pictures of your explorations. There are multiple designated stop/attractions. I feel like walking, and exploring, would have had us exhausted and ready to just find the end (ie. the visitor center). However, there was a family that biked and that is a viable option. If you have a bike then this could be a fun alternative to driving.

Jungle Garden's Southern Live Oaks

The first stop in the gardens will get you some good photos of huge moss-covered oak trees. A southern signature. There is also a trail flanked on both sides by bayou waters. This is where our real fun began. Be on the look out in the lilly pad covered waters. We lucked out when we came upon a family up ahead. They stopped, peering through the small trees and into the water. We didn't have to ask, as they immediately let us know of the alligator they spotted in the water. It is one of those things that everyone takes to when walking the trail. Everyone makes sure that they share gator location information. After all, we're all there for similar reasons, so it's a pay-it-forward mentality.

Tabasco Rocks

We snagged our photos of the small gator. It was the only one we saw along this trail. Still, a fun way to start the day. We hopped back in the 4Runner and soon rolled up on a couple of small ponds and another gator warning sign. Time to stop! We spotted a couple of more gators. Not the eighteen foot variety, but five feet-ish is still good. Honestly, I don't know how brave we would have been if we spotted an alligator that was hitting double digit length.

Baby Alligator Yawns are Cute!

Another pond just up the road had one of our favorite discoveries. A a baby gator! Well, a young one anyway. Two feet long at the most. This little guy was actually swimming for us. The previous were all just chilling. We stayed here a bit longer to enjoy the tiny guy or gal. Can an alligator be cute? I think this one qualified as cute.

Jungle Garden's Selfie

We left our little friend, and a nearby fishing egret, to visit the Buddha shrine. It sits upon a hill and overlook a small pond. The only issues we faced here were trying to get pics of everything sans the other visitors. "Eric, please get a picture of me on the bridge with the shrine in the background."  Sounds simple enough. Capturing the serene nature of the setting is a little more difficult when people insist on being in the background. Kidding. But seriously, we had to wait for just the right time and angle. So if you see our pics, but don't see anyone, then just know that we have been truthful about others were there enjoying the grounds. Sometimes though...we may not want these people...in our pics. We can't be alone here, right? Please agree, because we don't want to be those uppity people.

Timing things just right...No photobombs!

The next big fun was Bird City. Egrets everywhere, however, the main attraction here turned out to not be the birds (though it was still a sight to see). The fun stuff was the sunbathing five foot alligator. Eric crept around to get some pics of it from a distance as to not scare it into the nearby water. It paid off for him, because he got some really good pics of it. I came upon the scene with a different tactic. I just moseyed on up, closer than everyone else mind you, and just started snapping shots. To each their own. Some of us are just braver than others, I guess.

Smiling Alligator everyone is friendly at Jungle Gardens!

Bird City

Having become one with nature, we headed over to the Tabasco factory. The factory wasn't running, but a number of the buildings are open for self-guided tours. We toured the buildings and would get light hits of that Tabasco smell to remind us where we were (in case we forgot). For actual hits of Tabasco, we hit the Tabasco Country Store.

Tabasco General Store head to the back for the samples!

There happened to be a school tour, we think from maybe France possibly perhaps, so the store was hopping busy. We hit the back of the store. Turns out, that's where the action's at. Samples of everything Tabasco. Jellies, sauces, Bloody Mary mixes and ice cream. Yes, even ice cream. The ice cream would come in handy for one of us (ie. Eric). Remember the sauces from the available samples? Well, Eric found them. From mild on the right to hottest on the left. Complimentary pretzel sticks in hand, Eric started right: at the mildest option, Raspberry Chipotle. Smart move. Then hit the sweet and spicy. Another smart move. He liked it so much that he even bought a bottle! Then, for some reason, he decided to go far left. Not so smart move. Eric is more of a just left of middle kinda guy. What was he doing going far left? The name should have told him to stay away. Scorpion Sauce. Dude! What were you thinking?! So he goes in. He's caught up in Tabasco euphoria. But I let him be. Sometimes lessons are best learned the hard way. That lesson, apparently, starts at the tip of the tongue and then quickly spreads. It stings. Then burns. Then burns and stings. Remember the ice cream samples? Those came in handy. He hit one to soothe the burn. Immediate relief. Somewhat. The heat lingered for a while. Lesson learned. Hopefully.

Be sure to sample Eric's favorite the Scorpion Sauce

So that was our Avery Island experience. It is a must see for anyone visiting south Louisiana. Plan to spend about half your day here (depending on your drive in). This is the deep south. We move at a slower pace. Take your time at Avery Island. It is peaceful. It is exciting. It is beautiful. It is spicy. It is Louisiana.