YUM!!

Oh yesterday was a fine one. A fine one indeed.

I had company and St. Francisville was the perfect host spot. We stayed in an old b+b (the norm in this lovely little town), walked around v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y, drank a cup of coffee that lasted for an hour or so, walked a little bit more, visited with biker gals we saw, all of whom were walking at our pace or riding around, slowly.

Of of the many highlights of the day was lunch. Lunch at an Exxon station. My first experience of this sort. But we wanted to eat some crawfish and this, we were told, was the place to do so. We ordered a pound and the fellow tossed them into a paper bag which he nested in a plastic bag.

"These take sauce?" I asked.

"'s on it already," he said.

Annie went and got us a couple of Coronas and we sat at the only table on that side of the Exxon Station and opened up our bag. Annie had a swiss army knife so that took care of the beers.

"Know how to eat those?" a cowboy-looking guy drawled.

I knew but it seemed like a good conversation so I suggested he show us, and anyway, Annie had never had them and there's nothing like advice from someone who is offering it.

"Break off the tail," he demonstrated, "take off this top shell, grab the meat and eat it. And then you suck the head."

Okay.

That, in a few words, was lunch. Extraordinarily delicious. Very fun. And highly entertaining too. The heads are particularly flavorful. By the way.

Turns out the cowboy IS a cowboy, a performer from Oklahoma who was in town to perform at the Angola Prison Rodeo. He has trained longhorns that jump up on a flatbed truck. Sort of like the Royal Lippizaner Stallions. But a little bit different.

More walking. Visit to the place where Audobon painted some pictures. He was only there for 3 months but did 80 paintings. Whewf! We sat in the barnyard and watched ducks run around. Never went into the mansion. It was pretty nice outside and neither of us was interested in furniture.

Dinner, out, was good too. Gumbo, Grilled Peaches, Crawfish Etouffee.

Yum.

Today, just now, I rode 88 miles. Seemed like nothing.
A day off is good.
A visit from a gal who loves food and wandering and going very slowly as much as I do is a fine thing too.

And lunch at an Exxon station and advice from a cowboy, well, sometimes that can be the culinary highlight of a day off. This was.

I'll tell you some more things tomorrow.
For now - ciao,
Laurey