As a Louisiana-born writer, I enjoyed exploring the Cajun Coast from its Native American roots at Chitimacha Museum to the only authentic offshore drilling rig. The cultural mix offers unique dining experiences ranging from the elite Mr. Lester’s to the best restaurant on the “Shrimply Delicious Food Trail,” the Atchafalaya Café.
This trip was hosted by Cajun Coast.
Chitimacha Museum
Chitimacha Museum is a small museum that tells a big story about the traditions of the Chitimacha Nation. My walk through this timeline of their history provides an understanding of their culture. Our guide showed the art they are famous for, weaving river cane baskets. She told us, “I can take any of these baskets right now, scoop water and it will hold it.”
SheBuysTravel Tip: They only allow limited photos, so ask before you photograph.
Franklin Walking Tour
Tiger Verdin led us in an exploration of Franklin’s Historic Main Street, where we discovered a historic treasure. You can stroll through the picturesque Historic District and view the historic architecture, meet friendly residents and enjoy shopping in its unique shops. Most of the buildings date from the 1800s to the early 1900s. The lamp posts are re-creations of gas lamp poles.
- Starting at Lamplighter Coffee House & Bistro, where you meet Diane Wiltz. She and her husband, Gary, renovated run-down historic buildings on Franklin’s Main Street and turned them into thriving businesses. The bistro is one of those buildings. Their Chicken salad sandwich is tasty and filling.
- The Lamp Station Ice Cream Shoppe right next door is a 1950s-style ice cream parlor serving ice cream and some short-order food.
- MD’Z Plaze sells fresh seafood and serves it cooked in its restaurant on Main St.
- Franklin’s Masonic Lodge, built in 1895, was listed as one of Louisiana’s most endangered spaces. Today, it is still in use by the Masons. There’s a wooden altar and many murals upstairs.
- For some fun shopping, there are Bargain Barn Too (flea market/antique store), Chic & Shabby Collections (clothing to home decor) and Gather on Main Vintage Market & Studio, with everything from food to antiques.
- The oldest building in Franklin, dating to 1807, was once a tavern and now serves as Shadowlawn’s gift shop. Shadowlawn is a beautiful Antebellum mansion dating to 1850, built by one of the steamboat captains who cruised along Bayou Teche.
- Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, across from Shadowlawn, dates to 1913. Its stained glass windows came from Germany.
- You’ll see a lot of art here. Peter Soprano commissioned artist Joshua “ZuZu” Broussard to paint a large-scale mural depicting the Atchafalaya Basin on the side of his Main Street building, Son Rise, where he creates wood art from cypress harvested from the Atchafalaya Basin.
- The Historic Franklin Pocket Park that leads out to the Bayou Teche has a mural painted by Robert Dalford that depicts the history of the Cajun Coast. There’s also a statue of Macy Borough, a dancer from Franklin who was killed in a theater shooting. The statue shows her receiving a golden feather from heaven.
- Bayou Teche parallels Main Street. I love the Chitimacha legend about the beginning of that bayou. It tells of a giant, venomous snake that the tribe killed. As it died, its body carved out the winding path of the bayou. The twisting shape of Bayou Teche is said to be the imprint of the snake’s body.
Are you ready to explore off the beaten path? Let us inspire you!
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Captain Caviar Swamp Tour
This tour explores the Atchafalaya River and bayous with Captain Caviar from his 20-foot custom-made flat-bottomed aluminum boat. Back on land, he served us some of his garfish caviar, we met his cat and heard the ghost stories of his historic home. Garfish is considered a bottom-feeding trash fish in Louisiana, but my mother-in-law used to make great garfish balls.
Mr. Charlie’s Rig Museum
“Mr. Charlie” is the only place in the world where visitors can walk aboard an authentic offshore drilling rig. Our guide, Bryce, told us, “It was the first one in the world that was ever designed and built to be movable and reusable.” A tour through “Mr. Charlie” is a deep look into the life of an oil worker living on an oil rig in the Gulf. Oil rigs are like a little city.
Dining
We dined at places ranging from simple cafes to upscale at Bayou Cypress Hotel’s Mr. Lester. I already mentioned some in Franklin and here are two others I enjoy.
- Atchafalaya Café serves some of the best locally sourced seafood in the Cajun Coast. It was voted #1 shrimp dish on the “Shrimply Delicious Food Trail” out of over 30 locations in the trail. My choice, the Roast Beef Po’ Boy is no slouch either. The side of Fried Okra filled the plate to overflowing.
- Mr. Lester’s elegance is a hint of the fantastic food you enjoy there. Their Lemon Garlic Broiled Shrimp are huge and perfectly seasoned. Desserts range from white chocolate praline tower with a raspberry moat, decadent bread pudding, salted caramel crème brûlée and a French silk chocolate mousse pie.
Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel
Cypress Bayou Casino Hotel is a beautiful and luxurious hotel. Rooms are large and well furnished. It’s on Chitimacha land, so there is a casino. There are three other dining spots on site besides Mr. Lesters. There is also an RV park with 30 concrete full-hookup spots.
SheBuysTravel Tip: You must be 21 or older to enter the hotel, casino or dining places.
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