Tabasco Factory and Jungle Gardens, Avery Island

On Saturday as part of our anniversary weekend we drove out to Avery Island to tour the Tabasco Factory and explore Jungle Gardens! 

Avery Island is one of five salt dome islands rising above the flat Louisiana Gulf Coast. These islands formed over the eons when alluvial sediment covered a vast plain of salt left behind by an ancient saltwater ocean. Surrounded by low-lying swamps and marshes, Avery Island stands at 163 feet above mean sea level.

Tabasco Factory 

The Tabasco Factory was super cute! The tour itself was self-guided through the factory where you learn about the history of the family-run company and about the process for making Tabasco. Each "station" has educational movies in addition to seeing the actual factory itself. I learned so much about the Tabasco-making process that honestly I never thought about before! 

Check out our pictures from the day! 

 

 

 

 

There was also a restaurant on site that had so many spicy/hot meals! Ryan got the below sampler with a whole bunch of kick! 

Jungle Gardens

So right across the street from the factory is Jungle Gardens! Jungle Gardens are a 170-acre semitropical garden that stretches along Bayou Petite Anse. It is a drive-through area that has periodic pull-off locations so you can get out and take pictures.

Here are our pictures from the gardens! It started to rain during our exploring so they pictures are pretty dark. 

 

 

One cool thing about the gardens is that there is a 900 year old Buddha on display! It is housed in a gorgeous shrine overlooking the water. 

(View from the Buddha) 

The trip was super fun! The only downside is that it is in the middle of nowhere and is a little bit of a drive if you are coming from any major city (~2hr from Baton Rouge, LA).