Less is More in 2024 (Part 2)

The theme of the next few days of the road trip was: Family/Our Family Heritage.  While staying in Thibodaux with my mom, we also had the company of my brother, Freddie, and my sister, Amy, and an added bonus of my sister, Sarah, and her family less than an hour away!  I have to say, it was really nice to just chill and hang out together with only a few scheduled outings before hitting the road once again for our final destination.  Here is how we spent Days 3-5...

 Day 3 -- Thibodaux and Cousin Time

Day 3: an Overview --> courtesy of Instagram...

Day 3 was a low key, chill kind of day spent mostly just hanging with the fam. Not much else to report. Hahaha.  We’ve had surprisingly few fights and freak outs from the kids thus far, but I’m sure it’s just around the corner… 🤪 #lessismorein2024theroadtrip #familyisntitabouttime #thibodauxandprairievilleinthehouse #kidcooperationisatanalltimeroadtriphigh #waitingfortheothershoetodrop

And here's what everyone else remembered of the day...

Scott (and Isaac):  Thibodaux … always good to hang with family. Losing AC in the van so had to spend an hour or so at that auto shop/hardware store watching one tv or just randomly perusing the store offerings. Alex and Isaac played brawl stars most of the time. 

Ethan:  Granny camp at granny’s camp 

Alex:  Thibodaux was fun 

The highlight of Day 3 was heading over to Sarah's house with my mom, Amy, and Freddie.  Throw in some swimming in the backyard pool and dinner made with burgers and smoked sausage from the Bourgeois Meat Market and you've got yourself a recipe for a good time!  Hahaha.  Seriously, though.  The enjoyment of those burgers and/or smoked sausages are intertwined with almost every fond memory I have of family gatherings from when I was growing up.  I'm so glad my kids can experience the bounty of the Meat Market whenever we come to town.  :)

These little cuties are two of the four "2015 babies" on my side of the family.

(Not pictured are Kate and Everett who live in Utah.)

Part of me really wishes we had a pool in our backyard as well.  But then I think about how hard it is to stay on top every other thing pertaining to our house and yard/garden back home and I realize that pool maintenance is just one more thing that I would probably not be able to keep up with.  Lol.

But they sure had fun!

Hamburgers and smoked sausage in a hot dog bun with bbq sauce for the win!

(I think everyone was watching video productions that the various kids have made.  But I could be wrong.  Hahaha.  Whatever is happening here, though, clearly captured almost everyone's attention.)

Day 4 -- Oak Alley

Day 4: an Overview --> courtesy of Instagram...

Obviously I jinxed myself, because on Day 4 the cracks began to show. Haha. Our morning expedition was to Oak Alley plantation, and to say that Alex and Isaac were not on board is a vast understatement. It was too hot, too boring, and too stupid an outing according to those two. And in hindsight I can see that I should have been able to predict those responses. 🤣  To be fair, it WAS hot (and HUMID) even though we went first thing in the morning, and the house tour itself was of little to no interest to the two of them. You win some, you lose some, amiright?  And speaking of losing — the a/c in the car went out the night before while driving back from my sister’s house, and it made for a sweaty ride that morning to the plantation. Womp womp. Thankfully, we found a place to get it fixed before heading back to my mom’s house, and even though rain interfered with our planned afternoon jaunt to New Orleans, it was kind of nice to spend a lazy afternoon at home. 😜 #lessismorein2024theroadtrip #roadtrippingwithkidsisalwaysanadventure #liveoakshavemywholeheart #savethetrees #funwiththefam

And as for the meager input from everyone else, we have the following...

Scott (and Isaac):  Oak alley … really neat. Struggled to understand the tour guide at times, but he was super nice. Trees were amazing.   

Ethan:  The trees were gorgeous. The tour guide was funny 

So there you have it!  I think it's safe to say that we'll probably never be making another trip to Oak Alley Plantation -- both because the tour WAS kind of boring (truth be told), and and also because the whole concept of the old Southern plantation is a bit...problematic (to say the least) -- but those live oak trees have my whole heart.  It was SO very hot and humid while we were there that morning and the no A/C in the car was definitely a vibe.  Lol.  Even though according to our itinerary we were supposed to drive down to New Orleans for the afternoon, spending a rainy day back at Granny's house was definitely more my speed for the day.  Hahahaha.

Isaac-and-Alex's faces pretty much sum up their mood that morning. 

(Their attempts at smiling weren't all that big of an improvement.  Hahaha.)

Felfie attempt #1 captured the trees in the background...

...while felfie attempt #2 tried to include a bit of the house as well.  

(Isaac's face, tho.  Hahahaha.)

Womp womp.

Seriously, those trees. 😍

Gotta get that picture of someone taking a picture.  Haha.

We actually got a full family picture taken by someone else for once.  Lol.

(A list of the names of slaves were written on the walls of one of the cabins.)

The kids made themselves right at home while waiting on the A/C to be fixed before heading back to Thibodaux.  Hahaha.

Day 5 -- Our Cajun Heritage

Day 5: an overview --> courtesy of Instagram...

Saturday (Day 5) was designated Our Cajun Heritage Day. Unfortunately, thunder and lightning interfered with our afternoon plans once again, but we did manage to squeeze in a visit to the Vermilionville Historical Village before the rain set in. I’m not sure just how much history the kids picked up, but I enjoyed walking around and checking out all the different houses and displays.  As for the swamp boat tour we were supposed to go on later that day, hopefully next time we come to town the weather will be on our side. Lol. #lessismorein2024theroadtrip #southernlouisianaishotandsweaty #realfeel103 #mylittlequartercajuns #graceandjanelovetolarp #janelovestospeakfrench #familyheritage #bourgeoiscarriagehousesince1853

We have a couple different voices chiming in this time for their thoughts on the day...

Grace:  The Cajun village was the obvious highlight for me and Jane while we were roleplaying being Cajun children that weren’t allowed to speak french.

Ethan:  it was very humid. There was a cool boat/bridge thing. 

Jane:  I liked roleplaying a forbidden romance with Grace in the cajun village.  One of us was from the city and one was from the village.  

Who would have thought LARPing (Live Action Role Playing) would be a key component of our trip to Vermilionville??  LOL.  Although, I guess if I had thought about it a little bit harder it wouldn't really have come as a surprise that Grace was all in on the historical village and that Jane was right beside her.  Hahaha.  Vermilionville is set up to showcase how Cajuns have lived across southern Louisiana throughout the centuries .  Being half-Cajun myself, I loved learning about my family heritage.  And for the most part, my little quarter-Cajuns enjoyed themselves, too.  (My mom is the full-Cajun, in case anyone was wondering.)  I really thought by planning this road trip at the very end of May/beginning of June we'd be able to avoid the really oppressive heat of a Louisiana summer, but apparently the weather didn't get my memo.  Lol.  It was so incredibly hot the morning we were there and the humidity was so high, that it wasn't all that surprising when thunderstorms broke out that afternoon.  It was a bummer to have to miss out on the swamp boat tour, but it's not like we'll never be back to visit.  Hahaha.

The poses.

😂😂😂

The schoolhouse seemed to spark the most interest and inspiration amongst the kids.

From 1916-1968, children were forbidden to speak French at school.

"I will not speak French" written 100 times on the board.

Walking across the street from my mom's house to the Meat Market.  

The origin story for the family market began in 1891 when my great-grandfather, Valerie Jean-Baptiste Bourgeois, would slaughter one pig or cow at a time and then peddle the fresh cuts of meat door to door by horse and buggy, not coming home for the day until the whole animal was sold.  (With no refrigeration to speak of at that time, fresh meat would not hold up any longer than that.)

In the 1920s, once he could afford a refrigeration unit, Valerie opened a storefront next door to the family home, where he made hogshead cheese, smoked sausage, and more.  Valerie died in 1949 after running the meat market for 55 years, and passed it on to my paw paw, Lester Charles Bourgeois.  Under Lester, the store moved across the road and onto the bayou.

 The family story from the 1980s is about the beef jerky.  According to my Uncle Donald, "it was the biggest accident in the whole world."  While in college, he started making some jerky for himself and friends to snack on.  At some point, he happened to give some to a really good customer -- a salesmen who liked it so much that he wanted the Meat Market to make more to sell.  While my paw paw was not originally on board with this new venture, the "silver-tongued salesman" took advantage of his being on vacation one day and talked my Uncle Donald into doing it.  After pulling him aside once he was back, he managed to sweet-talk my paw paw into making the jerky for him regularly and ended up with a standing order for 20 lbs of beef jerky every Monday.  After several months of this, the market started giving other customers a taste of it, too, and the rest -- as they say -- is history.  Today, the wild popularity of the jerky is mostly thanks to word of mouth, and the market cuts, marinates, and smokes a half-ton of lean beef each week, shipping all over the world.  Exactly how they smoke it is a closely held secret, but what they can tell us is that it's made from extra-lean steak, marinated for 24 hours, and then hung piece by piece on nails in twin smokers out back where it will be smoked for the day.  

My cousin Brody was working at the market the day we went and let the boys into the freezer room to have a real Rocky moment with the hanging beef.  😂

I was so thrilled to find a book at my mom's house containing some local history of the area. 

This house has been in my family for over a hundred years and I loved reading all about it!

Bourgeois Carriage House -- "The carriage house built on Sargeant/Armitage plantation grounds was constructed in 1853.  The two-story structure was initially used to store plantation transport vehicles on the first floor, and to house slaves and other workmen on the second floor.  The old structure underwent alteration almost a hundred years later when a one-story addition was completed in 1932 by Valery Jean Baptiste Bourgeois. ...The family's Bourgeois lineage has been traced back 12 generations to Nicholas Grandejean Jacques Bourgeois, born 1575 in La Ferte, Haute-Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. ... His son, Dr. Jacques Jacob Bourgeois, although born in France in 1621, emigrated to Port Royal, Acadia, Nova Scotia, Canada and died there in 1699.  ... Michel Bourgeois (b. 1741 in Nova Scotia) was the first of that Bourgeois line to emigrate to Louisiana, no doubt part of the forced exodus of Acadians by the British.  He died in Lockport, Louisiana on June 27, 1811.  Valery's father Ulysse was Michel's son. ... The current two-story carriage house structure is the home of Lester Bourgeois, Sr. and his wife, Rita Ethel Trahan. ..."

I'm guessing most people will skim through the history lessons of this installment and mainly look at pictures, but I wanted to include it here for posterity nonetheless.  And who knows?  Maybe one day it will spark a love of family history in one of my kids and they'll go on to learn even more about our heritage.  Hahaha.  There's only one more post left for our Less is More in 2024 road trip recaps, so stayed tuned for Days 6-10.  :)