Avery Island - Jungle Gardens

We returned to Avery Island (Home of the Tabasco Factory)to check out the Jungle Gardens. Tabasco brand products were founded by Edmund McIlhenny on Avery Island in the late eighteen hundreds. Today Tabasco is still manufactured there, and the company is still family-owned. McIlhenny's son, later turned 170 acres of the island into today's "jungle gardens" - full of exotic plants, alligators,a 900 year old Buddha (gift to McIlhenny), and a bird observatory. Thousands of migrating snowy egrates return to Avery Island every year. We had the chance earlier this summer to check out the factory - but due to the weather we weren't able to walk through the gardens. We were very excited to return, and the gardens are definitly worth the extra trip. Get ready for picture overload:

The boys are standing in front of some bamboo - this was one of the smaller plants. The island is full of huge bamboo plants

The boys on top of the bird observatory tower

Can you see the alligator behind us? Just to the right, you'll see the reflection of the sky..Then right where the reflection of the trees come in is the alligator.

another alligator