2010 Family Heritage Tour, Part 1

[Part 1 of 3 in a series. Part 2 here and part 3 here. --Amy]

Today began the 2010 Family Heritage Tour, where we go to my mom's ancestral homeland. For many folks, that would be another continent. For my mom, it's Louisiana since the 1700's. This particular tour, however, is focusing on the French and Belgian immigrants who came to Acadia Parish in the 1880's.

After we crossed from Texas into Louisiana, I went south on route 27 to go to Cameron. However, I forgot there were two route 27s, and I was on the wrong one. That's ok because I got to see Holly Beach again. You'll be glad to know we didn't see any oil, just a lot of shells.

The because of my wrong turn, we had to go on the ferry to get from Holly Beach to Cameron. My son took this picture while we were waiting for the ferry:

When we got to the Cameron Parish courthouse, we paid a visit to the Civil War memorial that had my great-great grandfather's name on it (among many other who died that day):

All that travel made us hungry, so we stopped in Lake Charles for lunch:

I recommend a plate of pistolettes.

After lunch, we ventured off I-10 and took the more scenic route to our hotel. My mom got to see a bit of her "ancestral homeland" along the way. Once we got to the hotel, we chatted by the pool, which overlooks the bayou.

For dinner, we went to Prejean's, where we had delicious food and sat at a table in front of the web cam. We called my aunt in California and told her to look for us online. She said it looked like we ordered a lot of food, but I think she was just jealous that she wasn't with us. (Need I remind her of the fried pie incident? But I digress...) Maybe I can do these family heritage tours for hire...

Next up, a visit to the cemetery where my mom's great grandparents are buried and a first-time meeting with my mom's second cousin. Big day ahead on the 2010 Family Heritage Tour!

Click here for part 2.