Road Trip to South Central, Louisiana

Big fans of the History Channel series Swamp People, our first top was at Duffy's Shell Station in the town of Pierre Part. A family-owned service station run by Troy Landry when he's not out gator hunting, lucky visitors might just encounter Troy or a member of the Landry family. Make sure and sign the guest book and check out the souvenirs like the "Choot Dat!" t-shirts we purchased for the kids.

Next, continue to drive south on Louisiana 70 to Morgan City to find "Mr. Charlie," the only offshore drilling rig open in the United States that is to the general public. After 32 years as a transportable, submersible drilling rig located in the Gulf of Mexico, "Mr. Charlie" was moved up river and is the main attraction of The Rig Museum, AKA the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition. Tours run at 10 .am. and 2p.m., Monday through Saturday. Full disclosure: Tours are not for anyone with a fear of heights.

Beyond touring the various areas of the rig — from the staterooms to the galley, drill floor, pipe rack deck, and the mud sack room — we all left with a greater appreciation for what it takes to extract natural fuels from deep underneath the ocean floor. If you're like us, you will be hungry after climbing all over the Rig Museum. We headed to Rita Mae's Kitchen on Federal Avenue for a bowl of fresh seafood gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and a slice of pecan pie.

For lodging, we stayed at the Pierre Part Cajun Retreat, a sweet two-bedroom cabin complete with rocking chairs on a front porch that overlooks the Bayou Natchez.The boys ate bowls of popcorn while we watched Alabama beat Mississippi State (Roll Tide!).

With the next day came an unexpected surprise: Cajun Retreat owner (and second-term member of the Louisiana House of Representative) Eddie Lambert invited us to take a boat ride on the nearby Belle River.

Beyond spotting eagles, cranes and other migratory birds, Lambert pointed out logging trails leading into the Bayou where cypress trees were harvested from deep within in the swamp before sustainable logging practices were established in more recent history. To the boys' delight, the slices of hot dogs that they cast out on hooks floated to the bottom of the channel and tempted the appetite of five small catfish.

While Lambert took his catfish home to be breaded and fried, he recommended we try the white chocolate bread pudding, the signature dessert at the Grapevine Cafe in downtown Donaldsonville. For the main course, I enjoyed all three of my favorite food groups in the blending of Cajun surf and turf on pasta. Nestled up to a bend in the Mississippi River, Iberville Street is lined with cafes, galleries, and gift shops and is worth an earlier arrival than our seven o'clock.

Saddened to depart the next morning, we sought comfort in the form of calories and caffeine — authentic cafe au lait and beignet at the Coffee House, one of the specialty boutique shops in the Cajun Village on the outskirts of Sorrento. Located just off Interstate 10, Sorrento is approximately halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Depending on the route, Sorrento is a good stop to refuel both times you pass through town.

While my sister and I frequented the shops housed in fully restored Acadian dwellings common in the Plantation Era, the boys found the path down to the gator pond to look for Big Boy and Nubby ("large and lazy" gators that were both already hibernating for the season).

With warm hospitality, great adventure, good food, and a few new fish tales, South Central Louisiana was the perfect venue for blowing the "mother/son bonding time" totally out of the swamp. Full disclosure: The trip would be good for dads, too.