The only thing missing as we pulled into the “Cajun Retreat” (Prairiville, Louisiana) was Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Born on the Bayou blasting from the stereo (but I did make sure to play it in my mind). This was the first HipCamp stay for us on our cross country adventure, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect. HipCamp is basically the camping world’s version of Airbnb, where hosts allow various types of campers access to their property and sometimes offer optional experiences.
Maria, half of the husband and wife team operating the “Cajun Retreat”, met us at a nearby Walmart parking lot and guided us in via the RV friendly route (which we and our RV’s roof greatly appreciated – Google was pointing us towards the “tree scraping the roof route”). After showing us the best place to park our rig (front driveway overlooking the yard and Bayou), Maria gave us the tour and helped us get situated for our two night stay.
After staying at a variety of campgrounds, some resembling RV parking lots, it was great to find ourselves in a secluded and peaceful setting – we basically had the whole place to ourselves. The house and wide open yard were situated right on Bayou Manchac; for those of you wondering (like I was) what’s the difference between a Bayou and a river or creek is, a Bayou is a slow moving body of water smaller than a river but larger than a creek. In this case, Bayou Manchac could actually flow either direction, depending on flood controls downstream.
For two days my work area was on an extremely comfortable chair swing right on the bank of the Bayou. In terms of the total package (setting, comfort, solitude, noise level), this was my favorite work area on the entire trip. Being on conference calls while watching turtles meander through the water and birds going about their business of trying to catch their supper, is something I could probably get used to.
After work/school on our one full day at the Cajun Retreat, Maria drove us to Westwego to meet her husband Timmie, the other half of the husband and wife hosting team, and her mother in law, MawMaw Lorena – for a modern day Cajun experience – how to catch Blue Crabs on the Bayou and the subsequent Crab Boil. Although first we made a detour to the Cajun Village for a quick lunch and some souvenir shopping.
After arriving to Westwego and meeting Timmie, he educated us on the finer points of Blue Crabbing. The process is as follows: tie a chicken neck onto a string about 10 feet long, tie one end of the string to something on the dock or side of the Bayou, then throw the end with the chicken neck into the water. When the string looked like something was trying to walk away with the chicken neck (which is exactly what was happening) you would very slowly pull the string up with the crab still holding on, then quickly scoop a net under the crab. Not too complicated but there was a little art in pulling up the string with the right speed and scooping up the crab without spooking it first. With some expert tutelage from Timmie, us city folk seemed to do pretty well.
We all had an absolute blast and ended up with a couple of dozen decent size crabs. Maria then picked up some other fixings for the crab boil (corn, cocktail franks, garlic, onion, potatoes, mushrooms, and of course the all important huge bag of Cajun crab/crawdad/shrimp seasoning. The crabs weren’t too easy to crack open and get the meat out of, but they tasted great. It was also a pleasure and true sight to behold to see 90 year old MawMaw Lorena work through those crabs with a knife removing every last bit of meat (not a technique to be copied by us newbies). One could easily tell those hands have done that countless times before.
Before we knew it, it was time to move on, but not before taking advantage of the expansive yard by engaging in a bit of archery practice after work and school. There’s a chance I may need the bow properly sighted in as we make our way through Texas, and the boys are starting to enjoy archery more and more, so will rarely pass up an opportunity to get a few shots off.
Maria and Timmie were amazing hosts. It was clear that they put their hearts and souls into providing truly memorable experiences and sharing the Cajun culture with their guests. Hopefully we’ll get to see them again some day. If you ever find yourself in South Louisiana and need a place to stay, make sure to check out the Cajun Retreat, right on the Bayou.
