Palmetto Island SP....Awww Shucks, we do like seafood

We left TX finally and arrived on Thursday afternoon at Palmetto Island SP near Abbeville, LA. This is an other new state for us. We chose this state park at the recommendation of our friends Debbie and Steve and Faye and Dave and we can't thank them enough. This is a gorgeous park with plenty of room and privacy. We did encounter a problem getting here since the bridge south of Abbeville on Route 82 was closed for repair and getting around the detour was terrible due to the narrow roads and extremely rough surfaces. We finally got our bearings and made it without incident.

Our site C 60 in the N Owl Prowl loop

We are surrounded by Palmettos

 

The park was pretty quiet with few campers until Friday afternoon. It filled up quickly with numerous kids and some folks with loud music. We knew it would only be a couple of days and it got quiet at night. We forgot to buy some firewood but enjoyed the smell of smoke from other sites around the campground. The park has large loops to walk around and numerous roads to different parts of the park to ride our bikes. We rode one evening to the boat launch area with a pavilion and an interesting sign.

 

We didn't go swimming

 

We have been having a great time here and the weather has been good. Nice warm days with plenty of sunshine and cool nights. There was a nice little dam with a waterfall near the boat launch area along with views of the lake too.

 

 

 

Again at the recommendation of our friends we sampled the local seafood fare. The first place we ate at was Shuck's Oyster Bar in Abbeville. The owner, David Bertrand, greeted us at the door and showed us to our table. He came around a couple of times to make sure everything was perfect. He even gave us a little history lesson on the Cajun folks of the area since Abbeville and Vermilion  County have one of the highest concentration of true Cajuns. Then it was time for our food. We ordered the Oyster Shuck a Feller which is a Cajun version of the Oysters Rockefeller.

 

The cream sauce is to die for

 

Then the main course came. Glenda had the Crab Cakes topped with Shrimp Etouffee and I had the Seafood Pasta with grilled shrimp. oysters and crawfish over angel hair pasta. We were in heaven.

 

Bread Pudding

Lots of Shucking going on in the back behind the window

 

 

The best seafood I have had to date. Then to top it off I ordered the bread pudding. No way could I eat it all so I took some home for the next day. It was still delicious.

 

We also had a recommendation to go to Richard's Seafood Patio....Richard's is pronounced Reeshards. French you know. So the next day we waited in line to get into Richard's since they are only open from 6 - 9 pm each day except Sat when they open at 5 pm. We got there at 4:30 and there was a short line and we got right in. They are known for their crawfish boil and frog legs however we didn't go that way but wish we had. I had crab cakes and Etouffee and Glenda had the seafood platter with grilled shrimp, catfish and oysters. We both agreed we should have gone back to Shuck's if not getting the crawfish boil. The portions were good and spice was right but just not the taste we had at Shuck's.

 

So if we are able to return we will get the crawfish boil. You can get a 3 or 5 lb order. We had a woman at the next table that ordered a 5 lb plate show us how to eat them. Also the local folks mix ketchup and mayonnaise to make a sauce to dip the crawfish in. We learned something. Over all the food was very good and we had a nice young Cajun girl wait on us and she helped explain what Boudin Balls are....pronounced Boo Dan Balls. We had the sampler plate of shrimp, oysters and Boudin Balls. I know our friends liked them but for us they were ok. We probably should have gone to another place to get the Boudin Balls that Debbie and Steve told us about.

 

This area is so rich in heritage and some of the nicest folks you would ever meet. We'll be back for sure.

 

Tomorrow we head to Mississippi and Buccaneer SP near Waveland, MS. I hope the weather will continue to hold out but there is a moderate chance of rain while we are there. See you in Mississippi.