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Cajun families are like families everywhere in that they sometimes have to get away for a while to kick back, relax, hang out with friends, aunts, uncles and cousins and family, and maybe throw back a beer or two or twenty. There was no better place for this than Holly Beach, known throughout Acadiana as the “Cajun Riviera.”
Holly Beach was a loose community of around 500 camps on a narrow strip of shoreline in Cameron Parish. We're not talking about million dollar beach houses here. Most of the camps were trailers, with a few nicer ones jacked up on stilts to protect against storms. Holly Beach was an Everyman's beach, where anyone, rich or poor, could go for a good time. It wasn't one of those stuck up beaches with the blue water and white sand. No, the sand was brown here and you wore shoes in the water to avoid cutting your feet on broken glass. If you were too lazy to walk, you could even drive your truck or ATV right up to the shallow brown water of the Gulf of Mexico.
My family would drive down to Holly Beach just about every summer in the early 1980s. We'd load up our blue Suburban with fishing gear and cooking supplies and head out from our home in Cecilia.
It was a long drive for a seven year old boy, especially when dad imposed his strict radio silence policy. I'm not sure how long it took us in hours, but usually by the fourth time my dad threatened to pull over if my kid sister and I didn't stop fighting, we knew we weren't far away from the Cameron ferry. Crossing the Calcasieu Ship Channel, we would hold our noses past the pogie processing plant – pee-euuw! – and pull up to our rented cabin in Holly Beach at last.
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 PARADISE LOST: The author and his sister on vacation at Holly Beach in the 1980's.
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Our beach vacations usually lasted two or three days, and the routines never varied. My sister and I would play around in the sand and water (shoes on of course) during the day until we were as red as boiled crawfish. My parents tied turkey necks to a string and dangled them in the water to catch crabs. Or they would use large drag nets. Sometimes we'd drive out to the nearby marshes and catch crabs near the roadside, keeping an eye out for alligators. Each night, we'd boil our catch, throwing in some shrimp too. Afterwards, the adults would wind down by kicking back a few beers and play cards. Those were good days.
Readers from the more easterly precincts of Acadiana will no doubt argue that Grand |
Isle is the real Cajun Riviera. You could say that Holly Beach is more Cajun simply because it attracted more Cajuns, while Grand Isle always had a large number of New Orleanians who drift down there in season. The whole thing is ridiculous, of course, much like comparing Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill with Boone's Farm Country Kwencher vintages. Sure, there's a difference, but it's really a matter of flavoring. The brand positioning is the same.
In the spirit of full disclosure, this Cajun boy has taken a few trips to Grand Isle, but I don't remember much about it. Holly Beach, on the other hand, left a lasting impression on me as it has on a number of songwriters. Among the tunes Holly Beach has inspired are Hurricane Woman by Abe Manuel, the Waltz of Holly Beach by Nathan Abshire, and Holly Beach Under the Boardwalk, a Kenny Tabs parody of the classic by the Drifters.
One line goes: "Ain't got no boardwalk, just got seeweed, but we always pass a real good time at Holly Beach."
Sadly, I've been writing about Holly Beach in the past tense, because it was almost completely wiped out by the Hurricane Rita, the “forgotten hurricane,” in September, 2005. The only structure left standing after the Rita passed through was a water tower. Today, a roundtrip to the closest supermarket is about 100 miles trip, and the water still isn't safe to swim in.
Holly Beach in its new, more natural state may actually be a boon to eco- tourism. It's about midway on the Creole Nature Trail, a 180 mile National Scenic Byway which winds its way through Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes. The website provides interactive maps and an MP3 audio guide book you can listen to while driving along the trail.
Meanwhile, the built environment at Holly Beach is starting to show signs of life. Camps are going up again, though some owners are still fighting their insurance companies or FEMA for reimbursement. Holly Beachers are a resilient people. After all, they rebuilt after Hurricane Audrey in 1957. So I have no doubt that before we know it, Holly Beach will be restored to its former glory, and that residents and visitors alike will once again enjoy that of hallmark of civilization, a drive-through daiquiri stand.
Read Carl Huval’s blog on all things Cajun at: www.stuffcajunpeoplelike.com
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