Incoming Journey from San Diego #25119- April 8-14, 2025

Host Coordinators - Larry & JiJi Jonas       Ambassador Coordinator - Sharon Barker

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Welcome - Day 1

On Tuesday, April 8, the San Diego Friendship Force arrived in Baton Rouge, including Sharon Barker, Lauren Beaudy, Gary DeMonto, Nancy Iches, Dorothy Olsen, Carolyn Tatum, Kathy Velasco and Nancy Walsh. They were joined by Diane Hooker from Billings, Montana, who is a member of our Baton Rouge Club and Sharon Van Loo and Lorali Renolds from Sea Side, Oregon. Three members of the San Diego Club had spent the previous three days in New Orleans. Chris Pomfret, our member in New Orleans, had been very helpful with information on what to see and where to stay. Our Home Hosts for the Journey were Tony and Sherry Dodson, Lin Ashton, Barbara Wittkopt, Thornton Cofield, Mike Wyble, Trudy Ivy, Art and Karen Vingiello, and Shelia Melancon. The Welcome Party was held that night at Williamsburg Senior Living Community. Members of FFBR were assigned dishes to accompany the entree of chicken fingers from Piccadilly Restaurant. Our Ambassadors were treated to a wonderful and informative presentation by Jay Dardenne, former legislator, Secretary of State, Lt. Governor, and Commissioner of Administration. His topic was “Why Louisiana Ain't Mississippi-or Any Place Else. Thanks to Art Vingiello for arranging for Jay to speak.

Space where Welcome party pictures will be added

Day 2

Our first stop on Wednesday, April 9, was the LSU Burden Rural Life Museum which was named one of the “Top 10 outdoor museums in the World" by the British Museum. It offers an immense collection of artifacts from farms, plantations, and houses. The open-air museum has a 5-star rating from AAA and has more than 30 historic buildings. Donnie Shields and her fellow docent gave us an excellent and informative history of the grounds. We then drove to the BREC Soccer Park on Burbank Drive to eat lunch under a nice pavilion in bright and warm weather. Eating a po-boy is obligatory when visiting south Louisiana and participants had been given a menu ahead of time to pick their favorite from Rocco's Po-Boy Restaurant.

Rural Life Museum pictures to be added

Po-boy picnic lunches at BREC Soccer Complex

More of the lunch group

After lunch we caravanned to Carville, Louisiana, for an excellent tour led by the curator of the National Hanson's Disease Museum. It began in 1894 as the Louisiana Leper Home, and the National Leprosy Act of 1917 required all patients in the U.S. diagnosed with leprosy (Hansen disease) to be housed there. In 1921, it was taken over by the US Public Health Service and became The National Leprosarium, and up until the 1980's, people diagnosed with Hansen disease (leprosy) were assigned to Carville or Hawaii. Physical appearance, public stigma, and fear of contagion resulted in victims being quarantined usually for the rest of their lives. In early years it was more like a prison but later under operation by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul became a more pleasant community of living facilities, medical attention, recreation, and personal enterprise and interests. One of our Host Coordinators, JiJi Jonas, did her internship in Therapeutic Recreation at Carville.

Day 3

Our day started early on Thursday, April 10, beignets and cafe' au lait at Coffee Call before departing to Henderson, Louisiana, about 45 miles away where we visited the office of Mayor Sherbin Collette for a talk on the Atchafalaya River Basin and what is being down to save it. Everyone loved his Cajun accent and discussion of local politics. Next we toured the Rip Van Winkle Gardens on Jefferson Island which were named in honor of Joseph Jefferson who was famous for playing the part of Rip Van Winkle on stage over 4500 times and in 1870 built a hunting lodge on the island. Because of a freeze and rare 8 inches of snow early this year, the gardens weren't as pretty as usual in the spring but people enjoyed the setting. As we drove away toward Avery Island we were able to see several Roseate Spoonbills at the nearby rookery.

Pictures from Coffee Call, Rip Van Winkle, and Rookery to be added

Avery Island is home of the famous Tabasco hot sauce. The company was founded by Edmund Mcllhenny in 1868 and is still family owned and operated. He adopted the label “Tabasco” which is a word of Mexican Indian origin believed to mean” place where the soil is humid" or "place of the coral or oyster shell." Upon arriving we first went to the 1868 Restaurant where our Ambassadors experienced Louisiana specialties of red beans and rice, chicken sausage gumbo, and crawfish etouffee. After lunch there was time for everyone to shop in the huge Tabasco store where they got to sample many of the Tabasco products. We then took the VIP Tour consisting of 4 buildings that took us through the Tabasco museum, pepper garden, aging process of peppers where they are stored in barrels, and finally the bottling process. Our Guide was excellent. In 1862 Avery Island also became home of the first rock salt mine.

Lunch at 1868 Restaurant

Shopping in the Tabasco store

More of the group at lunch

Brief rest before starting the VIP tour

The visit concluded with a self-guided audio tour of the Jungle Gardens, a 170-acre semi tropical garden that includes a private wildfowl refuge and bird sanctuary called Bird City that McIlhenny established around 1895 and is a nesting ground for thousands of snowing egrets. A few lucky people saw nutria in the pond.

From Avery Island, we drove Abbeville to spend the night at a Best Western Inn. Because of the recent storm the elevator was broken but everyone seemed not to be too concerned. Despite great reviews for Shuck's restaurant in Abbeville, many of us were disappointed with the quality of the food and the wait time for it to arrive. We were also disappointed that our ambassadors didn't get to experience Cajun music because the band did rock and roll rather than Cajun as we had anticipated.

Stay tuned for narrative and pics from days 4, 5, 6, and 7
to be added