“A CAJUN COUNTRY SPRING TOUR”
PEOPLES BANK – PLATINUM CLUB
ESCORTED BY OLIVER & DONNA McLEAN
APRIL 24 - 27, 2012
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TOUR INCLUSIONS
4 Days/ 3 Nights of Scenic Touring in Louisiana
Three Nights First Class Hotel Accommodations
Luxury Motorcoach Transportation (DVD Player, Restroom on Board)
One Lunch and Two Dinners included, Breakfast included every day
Guided Tour of Lafayette, Including St. John Cathedral & Alexander Mouton Home
Guided Tour of St. Martinville – Martin de Tours Church & Rip Van Winkle Gardens
Admission and Tour of the TABASCO Factory and Visitors Center
Cajun Dance Lessons and Live Music in St. Martinville
Admission to the Acadian Cultural Center
A Creole Cooking Class Included at Vermilionville
A Cajun Swamp Boat Tour
A Guided Tour of Laura Plantation
All Luggage Handling, Applicable Taxes on Included Items
DAY 1 – TUESDAY, APRIL 24 – LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA – This morning we board our
motorcoach at 7:00AM from Peoples Bank parking lot in Magee. Our destination today is one of
Louisiana’s most historic towns, Lafayette. The “Heart of French Louisiana,” Lafayette is a
flavorful combination of spirited festivals, savory cuisine, breath-taking scenery and rich history.
As we arrive in Lafayette, we will stop for lunch on our own. Following lunch, we are joined by
our experienced tour guide – knowledgeable of the history of Acadiana both past and present.
Our first stop is the St. John Cathedral, one of the most beautiful Catholic Churches in the
South. On the property of St. John is the magnificent 500 Year-Old Oak Tree, believed to be
the oldest in Louisiana. For our next site, we load our motorcoach and make the short drive to
St. Martinville – home of Longfellow’s Evangeline; Breaux Bridge – the Crawfish Capital of the
World; and Henderson – the Gateway to the Atchafalaya Basin. Here, we will step back in time
as we admire the Martin de Tours Church – the Mother Church of the Acadians. We will see
Evangeline’s grave and the Evangeline Oak where she disembarked the boat when searching for
her lost love, Gabriel.
Each of us will come away with a knowledge of local Acadian history as we experience these
attractions. We will head back to Lafayette and check into our hotel for the next three nights.
After time to relax and freshen up, we will visit Pt. Breaux’s Restaurant for a delicious Cajun
dinner including as a special and enjoyable treat, Live Music and Cajun Dance Lessons! After a
memorable first day, we will return to our hotel following our dinner. (D)
DAY 2 – WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25 – NEW IBERIA– A full hot breakfast is included at our
hotel this morning. We spice things up today, as we make our way to Avery Island and a tour
of the one-and-only TABASCO Factory and Visitors Center! Here, we will learn how “doing
things slowly
“CAJUN COUNTRY SPRING TOUR” PEOPLES BANK
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ensures doing them right,” with a guided tour of TABASCO’s bottling and packaging operations,
plus a film on TABASCO History. We will also have some time to shop the TABASCO Country
Store for a wide array of products for sale. After our factory tour, we will stop for lunch on our
own at a local restaurant. Following lunch, we will visit Shadows-On-The-Teche Antebellum
Home, reportedly the most photographed antebellum home in the South, and full of beautiful
flowers on the grounds. Our next stop will be the Rip Van Winkle Gardens, formerly Live Oak
Gardens – site of the Oil Rig/Salt Dome Drilling disaster. We will view a film on the disaster and
a history of the Island. We will also visit the Joseph Jefferson Home and beautiful gardens. As
we make our way back to the hotel, we will have another delicious Cajun dinner in the New
Iberia area, included in our tour. We will return to our hotel following dinner. (B,D)
DAY 3 – THURSDAY, APRIL 26 – LAFAYETTE & VERMILIONVILLE – Following breakfast
this morning, we will pick up our guide and travel to visit the Acadian Cultural Center where we
will view a video telling the story of the expulsion of the Acadians from Acadie who settled the
prairies, bayous, and marshes of southern Louisiana. We depart the cultural center and
transfer to the Vermilionville Cajun/Creole Cooking School! Today we will enjoy “Ecole de
Cuisine” -- a cooking class with the History on the Table presentation, three recipes, and a meal
for our lunch included. This will be a tasty and authentic Creole experience for our group.
Following our lunch, we will make the short drive to tour the Alexander Mouton Home. This
charming home was the turn of the century residence of Louisiana’ first democratic governor.
The museum at the home has a “Mardi Gras” room containing elegant breath-taking costumes
of past kings and queens of Lafayette’s Mardi Gras. After our tour, we board our motorcoach
and transfer back to our hotel. We will have some time to unwind, and then transfer to dinner
at the Cracker Barrel located near our hotel. We return to our hotel for the evening following
dinner. (B)
DAY 4 – FRIDAY, APRIL 27 – HOUMA & VACHERIE – Following breakfast at our hotel this
morning, we will check out of the hotel and make our way through “Cajun country” to Houma,
Louisiana. We begin our final day on an outdoor adventure, as we will all embark on a Cajun
Swamp Tour! Our group will get an up close view of Alligators, native birds, wild game, and fish
that make Louisiana a Sportsman’s Paradise. Our local guide will take us on a unique journey
on a pontoon boat that we won’t soon forget…we may even get to meet a baby alligator!
Following our swamp tour, we will stop for a light lunch at an area restaurant in Houma on our
own, then take the short but scenic drive to Vacherie, Louisiana. Here, on the banks of the
Mississippi River, in the middle of New Orleans Plantation Country, at one historic farm,
surrounded by fields of sugarcane, we will find the difference that exemplifies Creole Louisiana.
Our guide will show us the newly restored “Big House,” as well as the 200 year old sugar
plantation, the slave’s quarters, and the three gardens. We will be amazed to see what life was
like when cotton and sugar cane were King, and how the people worked hard to keep the
plantation thriving.
After our plantation tour, we will board our motorcoach for home. As we travel home today we
will make appropriate rest stops along the way, returning to Magee by early evening, full of
memories from our “Cajun Country Spring Tour.” (B)
TOUR COST BASED ON 40 PAYING PASSENGERS
$ 685.00 Per Person Double Basis – 2 People to a Room
$ 655.00 Per Person Triple Basis – Three People to a Room
$ 625.00 Per Person Quad Basis – Four People to a Room
$ 835.00 Per Person Single Basis – One Person to a Room
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*A $100.00 Per Person Deposit Due by February 28, 2012 to Confirm Reservations*
**Final Payment Due by March 26, non-refundable after March 16th**
*TravelEx Cancellation Insurance in available, call Lance Clay at 601.951.2060 for details*
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(Cut and Return)
Reservation Form: Peoples Bank – “Cajun Country Spring Tour” April 24 – 27, 2012
Name:________________________________________________________________________
Address:______________________________________________________________________
City:______________________________ State:_______ Zip:__________________________
Phone:_____________________________ Roommate(s):_______________________________
Secure Your Reservation by returning this form with a $100 per person deposit, payable to Peoples Bank, to: Oliver
McLean, Peoples Bank, P.O. Box 777, Magee, MS 39111.