Per Ed and Mary's suggestion, we drove down to Rayne, LA, which is about 20 minutes west of Breaux Bridge on I-10. Rayne is also known as the "Frog Capital of the World".

Rayne's history dates back to the 1800's when the railroad came. The town was originally named Pouppeville, but changed to Rayne in honor of the engineer who laid the railway tracks.
     Due to three Parisian brothers (Weill brothers), who began an export business of shipping the frogs to restaurants all over the U.S. and internationally.

    As you wander around, frog statues are in front of many establishments as well as murals on many buildings.

There is also a frog festival held after Labor Day. Their Candyland Cottage Shop is a hit with Skip.

If they don't sell it, it hasn't been thought of. Since the Chamber of Commerce was closed, Miss Julie (owner of candy shop) became our guide for places to visit.
    Per her suggestion we went to their local 5 and 10 - Worthmore's. Like going back in time. Cash only or personal check - no credit cards.

Next door was Bullets and Bows - local gun shop but they also sell dog food, which we were in need of.
   Had lunch at Chef Roy's Frog City Cafe - also per Miss Julie's suggestion. We both had the gumbo which was excellent. I also had seafood salad and Skip had the gator. Both very good. You will learn that there is no bad food in Cajun country.

    

Finally arrived at Poche's RV Park. We have been staying here on and off for the past 8-10 years. One of our favorite places. THIS AREA IS ABOUT CAJUN CULTURE, FOOD AND ZYDECO MUSIC!!!!! Arrived late afternoon; tired but glad to be here. After a day or two of much needed rest, especially for Skip who does all the driving, we headed into town. Stopped at Buck and Johnny's for lunch. This restaurant has bands playing just about every evening and also on Saturday morning's for their Zydeco breakfast.  Will be back on Saturday.
    Heard from Mary and Ed.  They are in Mississippi, but were dying for crawfish!  Met them at Crawfish Town for lunch. A three hour drive for them, but worth it.

Skip had the catfish but the rest of us dived into the crawfish. Mary and I had the 2-lb of crawfish platters and Ed went for the 4 lbs. of crawfish! 

Delicious!!!!!!  and great company. Had a great time. The last time we saw them was at

Poche's two years ago but have kept up like everyone else on Facebook.                                                                                                                                                                          

Left Connecticut, March 1st  before the snowstorms came!! We usually leave earlier, but had to have retina surgery - surgeon gave me a "get out of jail card" for 6 weeks so we packed up and left heading for Breaux Bridge, LA. One of my favorite places. Got on the highway early (traffic already backed up on I-95-S) into New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania (connected to I-81S) and into Virginia. Winds were picking up so we pulled into the Walnut Hills Campground in Staunton, VA for the night. Given Site 68 (up on the hill) - could not get satellite, but for one night, and we were tired it was okay.  The wind was blowing all night long.
     In the morning - cold and windy, we decided to stay another night. Too difficult to drive, and there was no need for us to have to be on the highway. We did move to Site114- out in the open and were able to get satellite.

We went into Staunton for lunch. The ladies at the Visitor's Center recommended the Depot Grille - so we headed there.  As you can guess, the restaurant is located in the old train depot. Also on a cobblestone road.

Afterwards, we stopped at The Wine Cellar - picked up a few bottles of Virginia wine to help get through the windy night. On the way back to campground, saw this big watering can sculpture
     Winds died down so Saturday morning, we were on the road. In Tennessee, we turned on to I-75 S through Chattanooga and into Georgia. Thumper in her favorite spot on dash watching the world go by

    We pulled into Fort Payne, AL at Wills Creek RV Park.Skip called the owner who said they were out, find a site, and we would see her later in the evening. We pulled into Site 8 (our neighbors are from California - visiting her mother in a nursing home recovering from surgery). Perfect place for the night. Exhausted and tired. An early night.
  Up early Sunday morning. Had breakfast and on the road - through Alabama, Mississippi and into Louisiana. At 5:30 p.m. we pulled into Poche's Fish and RV Resort - our home for the next month.  Before pulling into campground, we stopped at Poche's Market and Restaurant and picked up crawfish etoufee for supper.

Had dinner and watched the sunset! Glad to be here!!