Day 11: Houston > New Orleans

We planned on breaking up the drive between Houston and NOLA with a stop at Avery Island in Louisiana. Avery Island is the birthplace of Tabasco hot sauce. I'd had dinner with Jud McLester, Tabasco's corporate executive chef, last year in Vegas and he coordinated our visit. Honestly, what couldn't be exciting about visiting a hot sauce factory? The locations is nestled far into the countryside away from everything. It's 90 miles from Baton Rouge and about 140 miles from New Orleans. Not exactly the place you make a quick trip to.

I'd first read about Avery Island history when Lisa gave me the book Salt more than ten years ago. Because Avery Island is not only the place that Tabasco hot sauce is made but it is also on top of one of the world's largest salt deposits and supplied salt to the confederacy during the Civil War.

Photo worthy opportunity

Jud had graciously coordinated our family tours of both the factory and Jungle Gardens at no expense to us. But the pricing was still posted and I was slightly skeptical at the affordable prices of the tours at $5 and $8 respectfully. I mean, we'd just dropped $84 at Space Center in Houston and left disappointed. Now I  was basically in the middle of nowhere where they valued their tours at the cost of a burrito. I was so wrong! This ended up being one of the top three destinations that we've stopped at on the trip so far. Right up there with flying over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter and descending into Carlsbad Caverns.

Once we picked up our tickets we went inside the museum portion of the factory tour. There on display was the entire genealogical lineage starting with Edmund McIlhenny who founded Tabasco in 1868 and all of his descendants that helped shepherd the company to where it is today. The number of preserved artifacts was phenomenal. Learning that Tabasco hot sauce and it's family members have been intertwined with much larger American history events was fascinating. And it's all there on display to learn about for the low, low price of $5. Lisa and I were speechless. Adler on the other hand was restless because the thunderclouds that had loomed over our drive had finally begun to unleash their fury. Lighting, thunder and torrential downpours were happening outside.

Lurking in the pond

Rather than make the unprotected walk to the other parts of the factor tour in the raging storm we retreated to Tobasco's 1868 Restaurant for lunch and to buy some time hoping that the rain would subside. The meal was delicious and each table had a tray of every available Tabasco sauce made so you can experiment with finding your favorite. And for the adults there's even a Bloody Mary with about a dozen options to garnish your drink with. After lunch the rain had subsided and we completed the factory tour where we got to see the barrels aging in the warehouse and the large vats where the aged mash is mixed with vinegar prior to bottling. Lisa and Adler also got to see their first food manufacturing line where the sauce is b
ottled, labeled and packaged. The tour deserves an A+.

Bird sanctuary

Then we got into our car for a drive through Jungle Gardens. Ned McIlhenny, a conversationist and naturalist, set aside 170 acres of Avery Island in the 1920s creating a tropical garden and lush environment for wildlife. The grounds were exquisite and perfectly maintained. And sage advice like, "Don't worry about the map--just keep making right turns," made navigating the land incredibly easy. We saw lots of alligators, birds, bamboo, oak trees, Spanish moss, and more. The rain had subsided but there were still clouds overhead so the weather was cooler than if we'd been roasting in the son. It was truly one of the highlights of the trip. Thanks Jud!

Got beads without having to do anything!

Then we drove the next 2.5 hours to introduce Adler to NOLA. Our hotel was safely one block off of Bourbon Street but in our walk to dinner that night we did cross that avenue of debauchery and Adler excitedly found a strand of beads. Shortly thereafter he saw his first brass band parade through the Quarter. We found a restaurant called Curio with delicious appetizers like Grit Tots (tater tots made with soft and creamy cheddar grits) and Shrimp Boulettes (fluffy shrimp hushpuppies) and Blackened Redfish. Our little six-year-old was curious at Curio and tried everything. He liked this town though he wasn't adapting well to the heat and humidity. We'd learn more about that tomorrow...