Louisiana Boudin Capital of the World Decorative Poster at Fezzo's in Scott (Lafayette)

After a night of luxury on the San Antonio Riverwalk, wrapped in five-star sheets and basking in the glow of city lights (re: Stars, Milky Way & Misty Mountains of Rustic TERLINGUA, TX to Modern Urban Glitz of SAN ANTONIO, TX Riverwalk), we woke up feeling like royalty. The contrast between last night’s plush hotel bed and the creaky cabin bunk from Terlingua was borderline comedic. But Shehzadi (our faithful Toyota Tundra) waited loyally in the underground garage, ready to rumble back onto the road.

We loaded up, grabbed coffee strong enough to stun a mule and rolled out under a clear Texas sky, eastbound again on the endless stretch of Interstate 10. Next stop: Lafayette, Louisiana. But not before cutting across a good swath of Texas, with plenty of stories tucked between the exits.

A Quick Stop in Schulenburg

Our first brief stop came in Schulenburg, a little town with a big German name that sits snug between San Antonio and Houston. You can’t miss it - there’s a giant sausage billboard and plenty of references to "wurst" and "bier".

Schulenburg, Texas

We had a quick roadside snack and stretched our legs by a quaint church that looked like it had been plucked from the Bavarian countryside. And in a way, it had. In the mid-1800s, droves of German immigrants made their way into Central and South Texas, bringing with them their language, architecture and yes, beer-brewing skills. They founded towns like Fredericksburg, New Braunfels and Schulenburg, creating an unexpected but thriving German-Texan culture.

Fun fact: many of these settlers came seeking religious freedom and farmland. The result is a string of towns where you can get bratwurst with your BBQ and hear German hymns in Catholic churches.

Into Houston's Wild Heart

We had the unfortunate timing of hitting Houston squarely in the jaws of evening rush hour.

Imagine piloting a full-size Toyota Tundra, with extra gear and East Coast plates, through a maze of merging freeways, frontage roads and cloverleaf interchanges while semis tailgate you like it's a demolition derby. That’s Houston I-10 at 5:30 PM. Shehzadi handled it like a champ, but we were sweating by the time we saw the city skyline fade in the rearview.

We did pass some local trivia markers though - including the spot near Katy where a restored WWII tank sits outside a high school. Only in Texas.

Beaumont Break

After surviving Houston, Beaumont felt like a calm sigh. We pulled into town just as twilight colored the sky and decided to rest our minds and Shehzadi's engine.

Beaumont is rich in oil history. This is where the Spindletop gusher blew in 1901, launching the Texas oil boom and effectively changing American industry forever. The city has a kind of stately, slightly faded charm, with historical homes, antebellum architecture and downtown buildings that hint at a past era of economic glory. There's a strong Cajun influence too - we could feel ourselves easing closer to Louisiana.

We didn’t stay long, but long enough to admire the Jefferson Theatre and marvel at the energy museum displays. There’s something cool about standing in a city that literally helped fuel the 20th century.

Into Louisiana: Lake Charles to Lafayette

We passed through Pinehurst and crossed into Louisiana just as the land changed character again. Pines gave way to swamplands, the air grew thicker and the radio stations started playing zydeco.

Lake Charles flew by in a blur of casino lights and marshland. And finally, as night set in, we rolled into Lafayette.

The Cajun Heartbeat of Lafayette

Lafayette doesn’t feel like any other American city. It hums with accordion music, smells like spices and smoked meat and carries the weight of centuries-old traditions brought over by the Acadians - French Canadians exiled from Nova Scotia in the 1700s who settled in the swamps and bayous of southern Louisiana.

The story of the Cajuns is one of resilience. Expelled during the Great Expulsion (Le Grand Dérangement), these French-speaking settlers adapted to their new environment and developed a culture that is wholly their own. They blended French, Spanish, African and Native American traditions into a unique language, music, cuisine and lifestyle.

In Lafayette, you hear French dialects in grocery stores, see fiddles and washboards at gas stations and smell roux cooking from blocks away. This isn’t some tourist-themed caricature. This is real life and it’s wonderful.

Dinner at Fezzo's in Scott

Fezzo's Seafood, Steakhouse & Oyster Bar, South Frontage Rd, Scott, LA

We drove out to Scott, a small town on Lafayette’s western edge, to have dinner at Fezzo’s - a place recommended to us by multiple locals.

Fezzo's Oyster Sampler

Fezzo's did not disappoint. We started with Cajun-spiced fried alligator, which sounds exotic until you bite into it and realize it’s somewhere between chicken and catfish, with a swampy swagger. Then came the gumbo: thick, dark and rich with layers of flavor that only come from a patiently stirred roux. Ours had shrimp, chicken and sausage. One spoonful and we were believers.

Fried Alligator Bites

But the boudin - oh, the boudin. For the uninitiated, it's a sausage made of pork, rice, liver and seasoning, packed into a casing and steamed until tender. It’s comfort food with a soul. Eaten with your hands, over napkins, it tastes like a hundred years of tradition in every bite.

Fried Boudin Balls

We left Fezzo's full and happy, drove back to our hotel under a moonlit bayou sky and sank into bed with the lingering scent of spices still on our hands.

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo Cup

Next Up: Baton Rouge and the Mississippi

Tomorrow, we’ll follow I-10 through more of this magical state and stop for lunch in Baton Rouge, right on the banks of the mighty Mississippi River. It’ll be a bit of a reunion - we last saw the Big Muddy all the way up in St. Louis, during the early legs of this odyssey. After that, we’ll cruise into New Orleans and check into a place right across from the tram stop at St. Charles and Euterpe. For the beginning of that story, see NOLA Calling - From the Cajun Capital to the Soul of the South: Lafayette to New Orleans via Baton Rouge.

From the wild west to the bayous, from German-Texan towns to Cajun kitchens, this road has kept surprising us. And Shehzadi - our loyal, dusty, magnificent Toyota Tundra - just keeps rolling. Her current odometer here in Lafayette? 14,041 miles which means we have now driven 7,646 miles on our roadtrip discovering America!

Shehzadi's odometer at Lafayette, LA: 14,041miles 7,646 miles driven so far around the USA starting at Hyattsville, MD

Reference route map of The Vagabond Couple's 9,000-mile USA & Mexico overland roundtrip: Map-1 and Map-2.

Until next time,

- The Vagabond Couple and Shehzadi