The minute you step out of your car you are hit with the aroma of Tabasco. The factory tour is short, consisting mostly of an interesting little video and the Tabasco museum. The shop has everything Tabasco you could ever want, even samples of Tabasco flavored ice cream. The gardens and bird sanctuary are beautiful. We saw many birds, a few alligators and an armadillo while driving through.

Hubby heard about this place and we love doing factory tours, so we decided to go a little out of our way to stop at Avery Island (in April 2007) near New Iberia, Louisiana. I'm so glad we did! I never even realized that TABASCO is a brand name and not just a general description of "hot sauce"! Before we went, I did a little Internet research and was surprised to learn that Avery Island isn't an island at all, but an area that's raised up by a salt dome that goes deep into the earth.

To get onto the "island," we paid $1 which was collected by a man in a tollbooth who used a stick with a clothespin attached to reach for the money. We were mostly looking forward to the [FREE] factory tour but were disappointed to learn that it usually runs Monday through Thursday or Friday only. We were there on Sunday. There was still enough to see and a guide handed us three different free samples in teeny tiny bottles as we entered a small theater where we watched a video about the history and creation of Tabasco sauce.

The tour is full of absolutely amazing facts... like what they go through to make this Tabasco sauce! And the history of how it all started was very interesting, as was the history of the life of the man who founded the business. And then the most amazing fact that this salt dome in the earth is three miles long and two and a half miles wide and at least 6 miles deep. They told us that Mt. Everest would fit into the dome of salt with room left over for a few other mountains!

We were able to walk through the factory and peer through the windows, but nothing was happnening since they were not in operation that day. At the end of the tour there is a room with some displays, including a model of Avery Island and a few other things to see and do.

After exiting the factory, we headed for the Tabasco Country Store right there by the factory where you can find just about ANYTHING having to do with Tabasco, flavored with Tabasco, or that has the Tabasco logo on it. At the rear of the store there is a tasting counter where they had every sauce they make set up with pretzels for dipping. There was also a pot of chili. Unfortunately the ice cream machine wasn't working. Note: this shop also has public rest rooms.

As I said, seeing the factory was our goal, and I didn't even think we'd be going to "Jungle Gardens" or "Bird City." I'm SO glad we did! Hubby bought the tickets so all I know is that the total for the two of us was $12.50. Once we drove in, I started feeling mighty restricted being in a vehicle. I was constantly asking Hubby to stop so I could get out and take pictures and I would love to ride a bike or just walk through there. It was so pretty! And almost right away we saw some alligators - and they were roaming free!

We soaked up the sights and were aware that we probably just missed the spring flowering season, but there were a few flowers blooming here and there. They have a wisteria arch that I would LOVE to see when it's in bloom. Anyway, around every turn, there was a new beautiful view. We saw the Buddha shrine and lots of water and plants and trees and Spanish moss and then we came to Bird City.

We parked and could hear the birds long before we could see them. Then as we walked toward them, we could see a bit of white through the trees. We continued and it all opened up to the nesting area where there were hundred of white egrets, most sitting on the nesting platforms that are built for them and some occasionally flying through the air and/or roosting in trees. Some other visitors offered to let us look through their binoculars and then we could see the fluffy baby egrets, too!

My biggest regret is that I didn't read the handout right away that we got somewhere... maybe when we paid the admission into Jungle Gardens. I read it in the car after we left and wish that I was aware of all the effort put into the plants and trees selected for the gardens. For example, there are more than a hundred varieties of azaleas, more than 64 different varieties of bamboo, and 750-1000 different varieties of camellias! There are also exotic fruit trees and other plants from all over the world.

And I didn't know the facts behind the bird sanctuary, either. Forty years ago, snowy egrets were hunted nearly to extinction by hunters who were after their lovely plumes. Edward McIlhenny captured a few of the birds and kept them in a cage to raise their first family. When migration season came, he released them and they flew to South America. The next spring, the same birds returned to Avery Island and now there are about 20,000 nests built each spring! Nesting materials are put out for the birds -- more than 30 truckloads of twigs -- and rows of nesting structures are built and re-built each year.

We live in the deep south, and I can imagine that it might not be so pleasant to be in this area in the hot, humid summer but the weather was perfect the day we were there in mid-April. I still wouldn't hesitate to stop by there in the summer. I'd just be sure to have some good mosquito repellent with me!

There isn't much to see, but it was fun! I wish we had been there on weekday. On Saturday the production line is shut down but we still got to see the facility. Don't miss the store. Great gifts.

I'd always wanted to see this place and was not disappointed. It is a relatively short and attractive drive south from New Iberia. There is a $1 toll to drive on to the island (no toll is charged to leave), which apparently helps pay for conservation efforts. The tours run regularly--they were running every 20 minutes when we were there--and are free. The tour goes through a small museum (including some very interesting old Tabasco advertising). A short film discussing Tabasco is shown in a small theater as part of the tour as well. The final part of the tour allows the visitor to look in (behind glass) on the bottling of Tabasco sauces. (They were bottling Tabasco Habanero when we were there). We got a tiny bottle of Tabasco as a souvenir at the close of the tour. After seeing the plant, there is a room with interactive exhibits, including a Tabasco puzzle type game on a computer for kids and an opportunity to examine the features of the company's creative and excellent web site.

A short walk away is the attractive Tabasco Country Store, which sells every Tabasco product imaginable. The boudin they sell there was tasty, too. Toward the back of the store, you can try samples of their sauces, which is fun. Don't think "factory outlet" in the sense of being cheap--the products on sale aren't bargains in my eyes--but a lot of them certainly would be fun to have. You can buy bottles of their sauces in addition to clothes and other Tabasco things.