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.