ABOUT THE EPISODE

Guests Jerry “Sarge” Antoine and Ebony Broussard, the co-owners of Bayou Glamping, join hosts Brady and Jillian on Louisiana’s Playground to discuss how Bayou Glamping helps bridge the gap for those wanting to connect with nature without leaving behind household comforts. 

 

ABOUT THE GUEST 

Jerry “Sarge” Antoine is the co-owner of Bayou Glamping alongside Ebony Broussard. 

After serving in the Marines, Sarge came home to Lake Charles and turned his love of the outdoors into a way for others to experience Southwest Louisiana on the water and under the stars. He has more than a decade of experience in the kayak rental and touring business.  

Ebony is a marketing guru and an outdoors enthusiast. 

 

ENVIE EATS 

King’s Burgers & More in Sulphur pairs a retro burger stand feel with a bright teal exterior that makes it easy to spot. The menu centers on burgers, po boys, chicken strips, and hot dogs, with shakes, malts, banana splits, and dipped cones adding to the old school appeal. With walk up, drive thru, and call ahead service, it is a convenient stop for a casual meal or dessert while exploring the Sulphur area. 

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED 

 

EPISODE 92 TRANSCRIPT

[00:00] Cold Open

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Just allowing Mother Nature to wrap her arms around you in every aspect. Getting out there, getting closer to nature, getting rid of the cell phones and all of the technology, and just kind of getting out to the property and, like I said, letting Mother Nature wrap her arms around you.

[00:22] Intro

Brady Renard: Thanks for joining us on Louisiana's Playground Podcast, your roadmap to all things Lake Charles, Louisiana. I'm Brady Renard.

Jillian Corder: And I'm Jillian Corder, and we're excited to bring you another episode here of the podcast. We of course have the authentic stories and experiences of Southwest Louisiana. We've got all the tools you need to build your own personal Lake Charles itinerary.

Brady Renard: This is episode 92. Woo woo. We're inching closer and closer every episode, obviously, to that big 100. We've got a fun episode today. We talk Bayou Glamping with a good friend of ours, Sarge, who I bought my first Jeep from, funny enough.

Jillian Corder: That's right. Has nothing to do with the clan.

Brady Renard: Because he also dabbles in the car industry. He's a dabbler. But his real passion lies kayaking and camping and being in the outdoors.

Jillian Corder: Everything outdoors, he lives and breathes it. Yeah.

Brady Renard: And so he is the perfect guide for all of those things. He'll guide us through this conversation. He and his co-owner, Miss Broussard. And so, fun, fun conversation. We'll get to that in just a minute. But before we do, you should know by now what time it is.

[01:27] Envie Eats: King's Burgers & More

Jillian Corder: It's time for Envie Eats.

Brady Renard: And this week we head north on the way to DeQuincy. From Sulphur, we stop at a place called King's Burgers & More. Opened in 2024. They just celebrated their two-year anniversary. And let me tell you, if you're driving down the road and you happen to be headed this way, this is a building that you cannot miss.

Jillian Corder: That that that mid-century '60s architecture, that classic drive-in, drive-thru, you know, made to look that way, but again built very recently.

Brady Renard: Yeah. And in fact, I love the kind of the story of what Deb, the owner, decided to do. So King is her maiden name, so that's where the name comes from. And she wanted to honor her dad, who's from the area, and really give back to the locals, because it's kind of a no man's land between Sulphur and DeQuincy where she kind of built. If you're from that area, you're gonna have to drive either way to go get something to eat or, you know, go to the store type thing. And so she wanted to be that community glue, if you will. And so it had kind of been a dream of hers. She took some road trips to figure out how she wanted to do it, and she finally started living her dream in her 60s. She says, "I'm so excited to finally be doing this." You know, they serve burgers and po'boys and hot dogs and ice cream, soft serve. And they have car shows often. Like, it's kind of a...

Jillian Corder: What a perfect backdrop for a car show, right?

Brady Renard: Yes.

Jillian Corder: This, the style of it all, the old school drive-thru. I mean, this is like the perfect spot for that.

Brady Renard: The little nostalgia overload, right? For for for those of us, even as young as we are...

Jillian Corder: Air quotes around "young."

Brady Renard: ...can still remember eating at places like this growing up. At that time it was still some remnants of those restaurants. And so it's nice to kind of get that taste of nostalgia both, you know, literally and figuratively.

Jillian Corder: Yes. And literally the taste was awesome. Let's dive right into what we ordered. I got the Cajun burger. So this was described as, like, a what is it, a third-pound patty, spicy mayo, and Swiss cheese, which you don't always see served on a burger. And I really liked it. So simple, meaty patty, really great flavor. It didn't have, like, too many ingredients on it. Sometimes people kind of throw everything in the kitchen sink at a burger. This doesn't need it. The meat really shines through. I thought it was a big, thick burger. It had jalapeño mayo, and let me tell you, it doesn't play around. It was more jalapeño than it was mayo. Some places you go, you get the mayo and you're like, "Where's..." Oh, look, a tiny jalapeño or something. You're like, searching for it.

Brady Renard: They're scared to test you.

Jillian Corder: This was jalapeño.

Brady Renard: Mayo? Don't whisper.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, like, it was there. But no, this had, like, a real kick to it. I thought I could handle it. I was kind of wrong a little bit, but very, very good, great flavor, great kick to it, really good with the cheese. And I got shoestring onion rings, which I think that's my favorite way to eat an onion. Shoestring it, batter it, fry it. Like, what can you add to that? You don't have to. That's amazing. That's great.

Brady Renard: And that shows you how much she really enjoyed it, because she's not... you're not typically an orderer of onion rings. You don't get onion rings very often.

Jillian Corder: No. And you know what? I didn't realize these were shoestring onion rings when I ordered them. I was just, like, branching out because I thought, now that sounds really good. And then they came and I was so excited that it was shoestring onion rings, so much so that I, you know, grabbed a handful of them and put them on the burger as well. I needed something to not be so hot on the burger.

Brady Renard: You would have absolutely killed for this burger. It was so good. Step two, we'll talk about what else you did for the heat.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, something did help me out a lot.

Brady Renard: And I went with the King burger, which is their double burger. I added bacon and I added cheese, which I do like how they kind of have a build-your-own-burger style. They'll have, like, two or three ingredients on your burger standard, and then you can add whatever accoutrement you're looking for, tomatoes, lettuce, that type of thing. But it doesn't just come on the burger. You've got to let them know which ones you want on there. And so it was double third pound, which at that point was two-thirds of a pound of ground beef.

Jillian Corder: That is how math and fraction work.

Brady Renard: That's math. Just in case you don't know, that's math.

Jillian Corder: That's impressive.

Brady Renard: Yeah, thanks. It's big and juicy. Like, it was just an awesome burger. You had to use two hands to hold it. We were photographizing it, you know, right after.

Jillian Corder: Photographizing?

Brady Renard: Yeah, you know, that's when you take a picture of something.

Jillian Corder: Okay, got it. It's a big burger.

Brady Renard: And so I had to use both hands to hold it. It was awesome. Classic-style homemade burger. Like, no other way to say it. The bun is soft, perfect bun. It's exactly what you look for. You know, it's so wonderful, right? Like, the bacon is wonderful, salty and meaty, and it balances with the acidity of the ketchup and the pickles. There's a little crunch, there's some chew. Like, it is a classic burger. It's awesome. One of my favorites in town. It just makes you so happy when you're eating it.

Jillian Corder: Yeah. As if the, like, ambiance and, like, where you're at and all that isn't enough. Like, the food's really good too.

Brady Renard: It is.

Jillian Corder: It's not just about the atmosphere being cool and different than other places in town, but, like, the food's great.

Brady Renard: And I got the standard fries. They were kind of thick cut, dipped well in ketchup, lots of potato in each bite, you know, just that kind of classic fry. Great as well. Now, what did you use to kind of help put out some of that heat from that jalapeño?

Jillian Corder: Okay, so the "and more," you know, of King's Burgers & More...

Brady Renard: Tell me about the "and more."

Jillian Corder: Let me tell you about the "and more." It's like when you're going to Bed Bath & Beyond. This is the "Beyond" section.

Brady Renard: Oh, there's the coffee mugs.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, there's the "Beyond" section. It's a dessert. And I got a strawberry shake. Classic strawberry shake. Sweet, creamy, cold, necessary for my jalapeño burger. It helped cool me down just a little bit. It was that perfect dessert to end such a classic meal that I had, is that classic strawberry shake dessert.

Brady Renard: Yeah. Well, their soft serve is like... it's custard, right? Elite. Elite soft serve. This is the same level that you're gonna get at just about any of the, like, big-name soft serve places. Like, I guarantee you, they go bar for bar with them. Like, elite soft serve. We went with the banana split. I said "we" because the table shared it, because a banana split's huge, right? The whole banana's covered with strawberry, pineapple, pecans, whipped topping. That excellent soft serve is all over. Everything paired so nicely, and it just felt so fitting to get a banana split there too, right? The nostalgia of a banana split. Awesome. Love it. As I was doing it, I was like, I love this, but man, I want a cone too. So I've got to go back soon to get a soft serve cone. I love vanilla soft serve cones.

Jillian Corder: Well, pick me up another shake while you're there.

Brady Renard: And so it was all so fantastic. I've been multiple times. Every time I leave so happy. And it's just that warm feeling in your belly and your heart too, you know. Have kind of a place like this, right? That kind of brings back some memories, and just is a lot of American classics. It is.

Jillian Corder: And it's a cool spot. It's one of those spots that you're not gonna leave there without taking a picture too. It's a good spot. And of course, it's north of Sulphur. It's right there between Sulphur and DeQuincy on North Beglis. So if you're stopping that way, or even take a little drive, it's definitely worth it.

[09:37] Guest Introduction

Brady Renard: From a great meal to a great couple of guests, we welcome on Jerry Antoine, but everyone in Lake Charles knows him simply as Sarge. He is the co-owner of Bayou Glamping, and after serving in the Marines, Sarge came home to Lake Charles to turn his love of the outdoors into a way for others to experience Southwest Louisiana on the water and under the stars. He's joined by the other co-owner of Bayou Glamping, Miss Ebony Broussard. She's a marketing guru and outdoor enthusiast. So you can see how their passions align to create Bayou Glamping. And today we talk, of course, glamping, guided kayak tours, and why Lake Charles is a great place to unplug outside. Welcome to the show, Sarge and Ebony.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Hey, what's going on, man? It is such a pleasure. You know, of course we have history, man. And it was, when I got the phone call, I was very excited to come and chop it up with my people.

Jillian Corder: Well, we're excited to have both of you on to talk about your new adventure that you got here in Lake Charles.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: I am excited to talk to you about it.

[10:40] Rapid Fire

Jillian Corder: Okay. So first up, if you've ever listened to the podcast, we start with letting our listeners know how you guys play in Louisiana's Playground. So we got some rapid fire questions for you. Are you ready?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: I'm ready.

Jillian Corder: Okay, here we go. Crawfish or gumbo?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Gumbo. Both.

Jillian Corder: No, you've got to pick.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Okay, gumbo.

Jillian Corder: Gumbo.

Brady Renard: Why gumbo?

Ebony Broussard: Year round. Crawfish is seasonal. We like to eat all year.

Jillian Corder: She knew that was the follow-up question too. The follow-up question is, is there a gumbo season? Because a lot of people believe there is.

Ebony Broussard: No.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: I believe that there is. Yeah, I believe that there is. You know, I'm not eating gumbo when it's 95 degrees outside.

Jillian Corder: Brady, on the other hand, he says the wrong answer.

Brady Renard: It almost gets better as it gets hotter. Then it's like a, you know, it's like a spa for your body.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Absolutely.

Jillian Corder: Okay, next one. Poolside or beachside? I think I know the answer to this one.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Beachside. Beachside. And beach for me is because I just love the outdoors. I love the unpredictable, sometimes unpredictable way that being out in Mother Nature can be. So absolutely.

Jillian Corder: Get away from the concrete. Okay, so concert or comedy show?

Ebony Broussard: I'd say comedy show. Comedy show.

Jillian Corder: Okay, Sarge.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: If it's an outdoor concert, I'm in. I just don't do a lot of indoor.

Jillian Corder: You just have to be one with nature, no matter what you're doing.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Thousands of people all in one small area, you know, not my crowded, mosh pits, just not...

Jillian Corder: Not your style.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Not your style.

[12:32] Coming Home to the Outdoors

Jillian Corder: Well, look, let's talk about the outdoors, right? What about Southwest Louisiana and the outdoors here specifically called you back home?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: First of all, after retiring from the military, it's family, first and foremost, for me. My grandmother was a big motivator of us being together as a family, and she was literally the beginning of me enjoying everything that I did outdoors. I was a very hyper child. So she used to... I have a shirt that I designed for her. She's passed away a few years ago. And it says "get outside," because she used to tell me all the time, "Boy, get your butt outside." But it was family, and then second, just being able to, in less than 15 minutes, man, be on the water, either fishing or kayaking or touring, exercising. So that was the big draw. I lived in Houston before I retired. And I just knew that I had to get away from that concrete city, that brick city, and get back to that primitive side and get back to the country, as I call it.

Brady Renard: I love that you said that, because you realize, as someone that I kind of agree with, man, I'm a little bit of an outdoor enthusiast, but I certainly don't have the passion, the same passion that you do. And I think it's really easy to build that concrete jungle wherever you are. Even living in Lake Charles, it's easy to get stuck, and you forget, we are literally five minutes away from, like you said, putting a paddle in the water, even from anywhere.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Absolutely, absolutely. And it's amazing still, that how many people don't take advantage of that. I just sent this to a friend of mine, Mike. I say, it's kind of like one of the things that I say, I mean, your lack of entertainment is because there's a lack of imagination. I say that all the time.

Jillian Corder: I get that a lot. Yeah. So how did you two come into this adventure together?

Ebony Broussard: We have a mutual connection, which happens to be my mother-in-law. And basically that's how we met. Yeah, so just having conversation, he mentioned that he was wanting to start a business, wanting to get back into camping. And the conversation just started rolling, because I'm not your traditional camping person. I like an elevated hotel stay with room service and things like that. But as he began to sell his story of this vision and his background, I kind of came up with the idea of, what can we offer people like me in Southwest Louisiana that necessarily don't want to get outside into the elements, but they are a little bit curious to dip their toe in. And we came up with the idea of Bayou Glamping Co.

[15:46] What Bayou Glamping Offers

Jillian Corder: So what do you guys offer?

Ebony Broussard: So we offer glamping stays on the riverside on our waterfront peninsula. We have some of the biggest canvas bell tents that are on the market. Inside of these tents are air conditioning for one, real beds, real mattresses, real linens, and we make sure that we deliver an experience that our guests can't even imagine anywhere else. We meet our guests on site and we just deliver.

Brady Renard: It does look like a mini hotel under the tarp.

Ebony Broussard: Absolutely. And it is, it is. It kind of feels like on the outside, traditional camping. And when you step inside, it's a whole nother world. We have soft lighting. We have aromatherapy scents on the inside. It's sensual, it's sexy.

Ebony Broussard: It's sexy. It can be, it can be, but it's also family friendly.

Jillian Corder: It can, you know, again, your imagination, I guess.

Ebony Broussard: It's what you make it. It is what you make it.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: I might be babysitting your kids.

Jillian Corder: Yeah, I think, no, I think as soon as they see a tent, our kiddos are gonna be like, nope, that's, we gotta live here now. And I've seen people go with their kids, right? The first time I ever heard that this was even happening was actually not through Sarge. It was through a friend of mine, Jocelyn, who took her daughter, she and her mom took her daughter out there to stay, and had such an amazing time. And she was like, if you haven't done this yet, you've got to do it right now. She had a great time out there.

Brady Renard: What surprises people the most?

Ebony Broussard: I think really once they step outside of their vehicles, you have pretty much almost 360 water views. And it's surprising because it feels like you're outside of Southwest Louisiana. If you've never been on the water, it's a completely new experience because most people, like we said, the concrete jungle, they go to work, they go home. They go to work, they go home. Maybe go to the casino or a hotel here and there, but they don't experience this side of Southwest Louisiana. So as soon as they step outside their cars, they're like, wow. And it's so quiet. And then we guide them to the tent. We give a little tour before. And as soon as they step foot in the tent, there's an 11-foot ceiling pole. So it's huge. It's huge. They're 200 square feet tents. So once you walk inside and you see all this space, all this height, it just feels like an escape outside of Southwest Louisiana.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: And if I can add, you know, she said that so eloquently. If I can add, what I love about it is my family over at Lake Charles Toyota, the Tarvers, they blessed me with this property, allowing me to create and use it. And so I love them for that. Driving to the site is about a quarter of a mile trek through a little narrow strip. And the moment you start driving down that little rocky road, you start seeing some of our amazing attractions to our area. And that's birds, egrets. She just shot a video and posted it on our page of a bald eagle. You know, this nest really high, high in the trees. Sometimes we have our little, what do we call them?

Ebony Broussard: The Sunset Socials.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Yeah, Sunset Socials. I'm talking about the alligator that's out there. Oh, Chicken Nugget. Yeah, Chicken Nugget. Chicken Nugget. Her son named him Chicken Nugget.

Jillian Corder: Chicken Nugget.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Yeah, the alligator. So it's the nature. And then when you're driving down this little, like I said, it's about a quarter of a mile to get to the property. And then it just opens up. And when it opens up and you see the tents and the grass is manicured, it's just a beautiful view. Like I said, it's almost a 360, like she said, almost 360.

Brady Renard: As a native son to Louisiana, it's a kind of a warm, fuzzy feeling. Absolutely. It's strange how you just feel connected to a place you call home.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Yeah.

Brady Renard: Like I think we all have, with the boot.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Yeah. You immediately want to take your shoes off and just, you know, just relax out there. Absolutely.

[19:56] What to Bring, What's Provided

Jillian Corder: So when people are planning their trip out there, what did they need to bring or what's all provided for them?

Ebony Broussard: So provided on site, we provide bedding and linen, something that you don't get with traditional camping. You don't have to pitch a tent. Our canvas tents are pretty much permanent unless we take down. Really, you just bring yourself, bring your clothes, bring your family, and get ready to have a good time. We have kitchen on site. We have full bathroom on site. We have fishing equipment on site, unless you want live bait. We do also have, one now, our worm... a worm bed. Yes, we cultivated our own worm bed on site. So by chance, if you forgot to stop by Academy, you can just dig up your own worms. Yeah. But pretty much everything is provided.

Brady Renard: Philip would love that.

Jillian Corder: He would just hang out in the worm bed.

Brady Renard: Yeah, he just would live in the worm bed. That's where he's...

Jillian Corder: I love it. Our four-year-old is obsessed with finding bugs right now. I just put some rubber mulch down in a bed and he got so upset. He was like, where am I supposed to get my bugs now?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: I would love to be his bluncle.

Jillian Corder: You would be a great bluncle.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: That's right up my alley, man. That's right up my alley. I would love to be his bluncle.

Jillian Corder: I don't think I've ever heard that term.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: You know what bluncle stands for, right?

Jillian Corder: Sure. Black uncle. I mean, I was just guessing. Maybe I shouldn't assume. But that's pretty good. Okay, well, we'll tell him bluncle.

Brady Renard: Bluncle and wefew, so.

Jillian Corder: He's your wefew.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: I like it.

Jillian Corder: We're going to take him out there for sure.

[21:26] Add-Ons and Packages

Brady Renard: So what add-ons, because I mean, you've already talked about that there's kitchen, there's bathrooms, you're not roughing it at all. The only rough, I guess, would be once it's time to go. What other add-ons are there to the experience?

Ebony Broussard: So we start off with traditional. You can have a s'mores package. You can upgrade with firewood if you need. We can also come on site and help you to light the fire pit if it's something that you're not used to.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Movies, yeah.

Ebony Broussard: We have movie experience where we can put a huge screen outdoors so you can have a full movie night. We have a birthday package where you can invite up to 20 guests and we entertain you. Old school, outside style.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Kickball. Yeah, we bring it, we bring the fun. Kickball and volleyball and whatever you can think of. You know, we won't say no, we can't do that, unless we just can't do that. But 95 percent of the time we'll say, yeah, we can create it.

Ebony Broussard: Yeah. And then for those special moments like intimate birthdays or anniversaries, we do offer birthday packages for him and her. We offer our romance package and we can add a little champagne, we can add rose petals, we can add soft candle lighting. It's whatever you like. The romance package. The romance package.

Jillian Corder: Brady, our anniversary.

Brady Renard: We can set up the big screen for Super Bowl.

Ebony Broussard: Yeah, there you go.

[22:57] Kayaking and the Water

Brady Renard: Now I know beyond just the glamping experience is where kind of Sarge's passion comes in. The kayaks. I mean, as we kind of mentioned, you've been in the kayak and water sports rental business for over 10 years now. What sparked the idea to combine those two for you?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Man, just allowing, how can I say this? I thought about this question. Just allowing Mother Nature to wrap her arms around you in every aspect. Getting out there, getting closer to nature, getting rid of the cell phones and all of the technology, and just kind of getting out to the property. And like I said, let Mother Nature wrap her arms around you. Yeah, you can rent a pontoon boat or a bass boat and get out there and do 30, 40 miles around each bend on the river. Or you can jump in a kayak and paddle slowly and just take in the sights and relax and detox from Brick City. So just by putting those two together and sitting around a fire pit, I mean, I can keep going. So absolutely. But just to, in every aspect, bring it all together and let Mother Nature love on you for a little while, if that makes sense.

Jillian Corder: I think a lot of people in Louisiana, well, while we might take for granted our Sportsman's Paradise that we have, I think a lot of us have grown up doing a little something like this as we get older. But for somebody who maybe hasn't gone camping in a long time, or maybe it is their first time, this might be a little scary for them, right? What do you say to those people that might have some nerves about, oh, I don't know, there's going to be bugs, or, oh, gosh, I'm going to have to deal with an alligator. What do you say?

Brady Renard: Or I'll have to jump in the kayak, you know, when you're getting in.

Jillian Corder: The kayak even, it's like, it's like nervous, you know?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: I don't want to hear that crybaby crap. That's what, no, that's what my Marine side is.

Jillian Corder: He says, toughen up.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Yeah, I believe that training and instruction is vital, it's important. I personally don't let anyone touch a kayak or get in a kayak before we have a conversation and talk about the things that you need to do to stay safe. And when I give them that instruction and I give them that training, you can see that, okay, it's starting to make sense. And then once they get in the water and I'm standing in the water, if it's knee deep or whatever, to make sure that they don't flip or tip. But the kayaks that I use are very... what's the word? Stable. Extremely, extremely stable kayaks. I get all my kayaks from Ship to Shore Co, plug. But that training and instruction, and then we provide, we provide like bug spray and stuff like that. And a lot of, when you look at the name of the company, Bayou Glamping, I'm sure people will assume that, hey, look, we might want to bring some bug spray or bring something to keep us from getting mosquitoes from carrying us off. So yeah.

Jillian Corder: And they can here in Louisiana.

Brady Renard: And so for locals that have only seen some of these bodies of water, maybe from the park or driving past it on the bridge or the road, what is the experience like getting out there on the water and exploring it in a completely new way?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: I say this all the time. You know, we drive around our city all the, you know, 50, 60 miles an hour, 40, whatever. Just slowing down, you know, and appreciating our blessings that God has given us, that helps, when you can go to a park, one of our, like Prien Lake Park or Sam Houston Jones State Park, and just appreciate God's blessings. I mean, it just slows everything down, and I do it all the time. And I advise anyone to just, give it a try. Just slow down and appreciate it. Yes.

Jillian Corder: It's therapy.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Yeah. Oh, I agree. I applaud that. Yeah. It's definitely therapy. You know, I'll tell you a quick story if I have time. I had a young man who visited from Wisconsin and he just wanted to do a kayak trip and dang on. We had some small talk before the trip. I did my instructional, you know, period and then we jumped on the yaks and went for about 3 hours. But 15 minutes into it, I turn around and I look at this guy and he's freaking bawling, he's crying. And I'm like, perfect. Because he said, man, this is the first time in a long time that I felt this at peace. Come to find out this young man was Army, had deployed a few times to Iraq and Afghanistan. And he needed something to help him kind of like just clear his head. So that kind of helped me with my mission. My mission is get people kayaking, get people glamping, but also get people to get back in touch with them and God. And, you know what I'm saying? Does that make sense?

Brady Renard: No, it does. And not just to get on a soapbox or sound preachy, but like, we have, as people, gotten so far away from the roots of what civilizations and previous generations of us have lived and breathed and connected to the earth in some form or fashion. And so, yeah, I mean, why wouldn't it be the best therapy of all is finding a way to doing what we've always done.

Jillian Corder: It's transformative. It transcends something that I feel like not a lot else can. So getting back to the logistics of it for a second. So for that example, that was kind of a guided tour, if you will, but you can also do like a self-guided kayak tour too, right?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Yes.

Jillian Corder: Okay. So maybe if somebody has a little bit more expertise.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Once again, when I give you the instruction and I check to make sure that you have some ability before I just turn you loose. And then I'll kind of hang around the launch site for a little while if you decide to turn around and say I can't do this. But yeah, there's a, I can provide a map. You know, you can use Google Maps as well to kind of figure out your direction. But doing tours or guided tours or just, I just, you want to just rent a kayak for the day, you could do that as well and you can launch from the property. And then I can also deliver. I actually delivered six kayaks a couple of weekends ago to some people that wanted to launch from a different location. Very cool. Yes, ma'am.

[30:01] What's Rewarding About It

Brady Renard: Well, we've talked so much about why the outdoors is special and so rewarding. And in terms of you, Ebony, why is this, what has been so rewarding about this opportunity that you've been able to afford people?

Ebony Broussard: I think one of the best things is being a part of people's firsts. Like we mentioned that there are so many people that we live in Louisiana that haven't actually experienced the outdoors in a way that we provide. So being a part of people's firsts is very rewarding, and offering an experience that you can't get anywhere else around here. So really being a part of the first and allowing people to reconnect and slow down and providing an exceptional guest experience is just so rewarding. It is.

Brady Renard: And then for you, Sarge, with 10 years plus experience getting people out on the water, introducing the outdoors, what have you learned in that time?

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: That's a very broad question because there's so much, man. I've learned the love, the love that I have for everyone. I've learned that 90 percent of the people that say they can swim can't swim. I've only had one person in over 10 years fall in the kayak. It's only because he failed to listen to my instruction and he just decided to go off on his own and fall in the water. Yeah, karma for not listening. I've learned that people, sometimes they just don't know what they don't know, until they come out and experience it. I also learned that once you take away all of the technology and all of the blinders and things that keep us so focused on superficial things, that they'll talk about this experience continuously, because it's just getting back in touch, like you said, Brady, excuse me, like you said, getting back in touch with that primitive side in a sense, you know.

Brady Renard: Yeah, please. This is professional. That's an off-camera nickname.

Jerry "Sarge" Antoine: Yeah, okay. B and J.

Jillian Corder: And I don't know, there's something to that. You're making core memories for people out there. And I just, I love that. I love that. So for people that are interested in booking a guided tour or maybe a glamping weekend with you guys, how should they get in touch, check availability, stuff like that?

Ebony Broussard: So our website is www.bayouglamping.com. And we're also most active on Facebook. If you reach out, it'll be myself or Sarge reaching back out to you and we'll make it happen for you.

Jillian Corder: Yeah. Do y'all book up pretty quickly right now for weekends? I'm guessing you're pretty far out or what's the deal?

Brady Renard: Absolutely.

Jillian Corder: Okay.

Ebony Broussard: We're booked for the month of March. We have bookings for April. We have Fourth of July booked. We're booked out for New Year's already next year. We book really quickly.

Jillian Corder: We got to get on it.

Ebony Broussard: Got to get on it.

[33:21] Sign-Off

Brady Renard: So thanks again to Sarge and Ebony for joining us here on the show. But the biggest thank you of all, you should know it by now, it goes out to you, the listener, for sticking around and enjoying the podcast. If you did enjoy the show, please leave us a rating or review wherever you listen to podcasts, YouTube, Apple, Spotify, wherever.

Jillian Corder: All those places, of course, that helps us grow our audience and further share the unique experiences that Lake Charles and all of Southwest Louisiana have to offer. Go to visitlakecharles.org/podcast for more episodes, advice on where to eat, and events that are happening this weekend. I'm Jillian Corder.

Brady Renard: And I'm Brady Renard. Thanks again for coming to play at Louisiana's Playground. C'est tout.