Lafayette, LA

Camped at: Vermilionville Living History Museum - a Harvest Host stop

Dates: Dec. 10, 2021

We haven’t stayed at a Harvest Host since Bristol, TN so we were looking forward to checking out this place as it is always an experience to pull into one of these places. 

LOTS of parking lot parking (nice and level), so no trouble at all finding a spot. This location is known for its Vermilionville Living History Museum. It represents several of the different communities that lived, worked and played in what is known as Acadiana today - the Acadians, the Creoles, the Native Americans and the African descendants of the area. The village has several restored houses and buildings that showcase traditional artifacts and period costume from the years 1765 - 1890. I found it interesting that this was a sugarcane plantation in the 1800s, and 120 individuals were enslaved here. 

While we didn’t do the tour itself as we arrived while it was about to close, we did discover the Acadiana mountain bike trails a few miles from us, and took the opportunity to get out on those for awhile. We also were able to check out the gift shop at the museum, which had a number of great items all made by local Artisans. I was happy to find some really great Christmas cards. 

As it is Friday - and Friday night is always pizza night - we asked for a recommendation from the Museum Host and she steer us to Deano’s, which was excellent and had a nice outdoor patio. Tom and Owen stuck with a traditional meat pizza (Pepperoni and smoked Louisiana sausage) but I went for the Exterminator - smoked sausage, cajun shrimp and jalapeños - quite good! 

We didn’t sleep real well - there were a number of bright lights in the parking lot for security reasons, and being in a different place like this never brings about a great quality of sleep. We left at 8 am, as soon as the gates opened, and headed into Texas.