Natchez, MS - May 7, 2011

We made the 1 1/2 hour drive from Vicksburg, MS back south to Natchez, MS.  We had a great day touring 5 different antebellum estate homes (well maybe I had a great day and Matt tagged along).

We started off at Melrose Estate which is in the care of the National Park Service.  It was built in 1845 and is a beautiful Greek Revival Structure.  Now, I had no idea what a Greek Revival structure was, but turns out, its a really neat design.  Large open rooms with a central hallway but instead of a large central stairway, the stairway to upper floors was located on one side of the home.  This estate home was unique as most of the furnishings were original to the home.

 

This is the dining room of the Melrose Estate.  Notice all the Green, it was very uncommon and a sign of being extremely wealthy. 

The front parlor of the Melrose Estate - Again notice the green everywhere.

 

We next visited Longwood which was by far the most unique.  This 6 story octagonal home was begun in 1860 and as you can imagine, due to the civil war, it was never completed since the Philadelphian builders left immediately on the onset of the war.  The family lived in the finished main floor of the home and due to funding the rest of the floors were never completed.  We did get to view the construction on the unfinished floor and it was pretty amazing.  This was Matt's favorite of the day.  

 

This is the front of Longwood - The floors visible are all unfinished - The only finished floor is what we would term the basement.

 We then hit the downtown area of Natchez and found it lined with wonderful old homes on every corner.  Magnolia Hall was next on our list.  It was another Greek Revival home with large open rooms on each floor.  The unique characteristic of this house is that it appears to be built out of brownstone, however that material was not available so the stucco over the brick construction was scored to resemble brownstone.

 

The front entryway of Magnolia Hall

 Our next stop was the Rosalie mansion with its commanding view of the flooding Mississippi River.  This home was built in 1823 and was a beautiful structure that was wonderfully furnished with most of the second owner's original furnishings.  

 

Isn't the Rosalie just gorgeous?

 Our last stop of the day was Stanton Hall.  This was the most ornate of all the homes with wonderful crown moldings and medallions on all the ceilings in the lower floor.  The chandeliers were very unique and the few pieces of the original owner's furniture was very Gothic in nature.  The home occupied an entire city block and was completed in 1857.  

 

This is Stanton Hall - She is even more elaborate on the inside!!

 

Needless to say, we were exhausted and out of time for the day.  We made the drive back to Vicksburg around 6pm and had dinner at the RV.

Louisiana - Oak Alley Plantation (May 2, 2011)

Louisiana - Oak Alley Plantation - May 2, 2011


Our last plantation was Oak Alley. If you can think of a quintessential southern antebellum plantation, this should be it. The alley leading to the front door of the "big house" was lined with 28 300 year old live oak trees. Picture Twelve Oaks from Gone with the Wind and double it!!! Amazing setting and much more of what you expect of a southern mansion with beautiful marble and wide open central hallways. All three plantations offered a little different view into the life of the pre-civil war era in Louisiana's sugar cane plantations.

I include this photo just for a sheer size comparison of the beautiful 3+ story plantation home and the magnificent 300 year old live oak trees.  Did you know that live oaks are called that because they are green all year round?

Here is a panoramic image that Matt took of the plantation showing the wonderful tree lined entry.  Be sure to click on the image for a full size image as this smaller one does not do it justice.

Here is a view from the levee along the Mississippi River towards the front of the home that I took.  All 28 trees are pictured here.  What an amazing view and definitely what I think of when I think of a tree lined entry way.

For more information on this wonderful plantation, visit their website at http://www.oakalleyplantation.com/visiting/

Louisiana - Laura Plantation (May 2, 2011)

May 2, 2011 - Laura Plantation - Promised Photos

Our second plantation was a Creole plantation named "Laura". Of course, I had to check out my sister's namesake!! I don't know about you, but I had no idea of the difference between a Creole plantation and an American (southern) plantation. As it turns out, the Creole's took a very different view of the plantation. The Creole's view of the main plantation home was an an office while their residences were normally in New Orleans town. As such, the home was much smaller and more focused on business meetings than lavish entertaining. As a matter of fact, the American Southern Gentlemen were scandalized when they viewed the Elizabeth's (the owner and president) bed while meeting with her for business purposes. This particular plantation had its last family owner write her memoirs in a book that I purchased. A great plantation to challenge your thoughts of how all plantations worked.

The Creole Plantation - You can tell from the beginning that this will be a different home.

The front door to the home that no one except cats, dogs & mosquitos used.  The side doors into the plantation offices were used instead of the front doors.

The dining room - Much simpler than the typical American Plantation of the time.

The store room for kitchen supplies just off the dining room - Notice the unique brick and wooden pillar construction of this home.

 For more information on the Plantation or the book, visit their website at http://www.lauraplantation.com/book.asp

Louisiana - San Francisco Plantation (May 2, 2011)

May 2, 2011 - San Francisco Plantation - Promised photos of the plantation:


We stopped first at the San Francisco Plantation. We were quite surprised as we were driving along the river road towards it at the huge oil processing plants and tanks everywhere. We found the gorgeous home nestled on a small but beautiful lot surrounded by huge oil tanks. The home was very nicely restored and the tour guide painted a great picture of what life was like during the plantations most prominent times. We also found out that the land was purchased by Marathon OIl and that the oil company had preserved the home and its small acreage right around it. I would highly recommend a visit to this plantation.

This is the rear of the home.  What beautiful colors!

The front doors of the home invite you in.

Matt enjoying the wonderful wide verandas on the front of the plantation.

This is a remaining example of a slave cabin that I photographed.  Can you imagine two families living in this structure?

 For more information on this wonderful place, please visit their website at http://www.sanfranciscoplantation.org/history.asp.

New Orleans - French Quarter

Wow, I can't even tell you how many miles we walked today.  We started out the day a little before 7 to get the truck in to be looked at.  Good news is that the dealership could not find anything wrong with it and it's not doing the shakie thing today.  Our guesses are that the 4 wheel drive got stuck on an axle or tire but came out as the technician was looking at it.

We toured around the French Quarter today.  We walked from our RV park into the French Quarter.  Our first stop was Cafe Du Monde for its coffee and beignets.  Just a word of caution, Beignets should not be eaten when it is windy outside.  The pound of powdered sugar on top seems to find a very nice little home in your lap - travel tip, don't wear dark colored clothing.  For those who do not know what a beignet is, it is a small square fried donut that is covered in powdered sugar (at least an inch of it).  The beignet was good, but the coffee was even better, a very nice European latte.

 

St. Louis Cathedral on Chartes St in the French Quarter.  This photo was taken from the levee overlooking the Mississippi river.

Matt enjoying his Cafe Du Monde coffee on a bench overlooking the Mississippi River while the St. Louis Cathedral peaks out from behind.

We then visited the 1850 house which was a very beautiful town home furnished in the luxurious 1850's style.  It was very neat to see how homes were built in New Orleans.  Picture long and narrow rooms that open into each other with no windows on each side and very large windows and french doors opening on either end with high ceilings to help the breezes cool them.  For more information on the home, visit the website at http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/1850ex.htm. 

 

The front parlor of the home - Not too bad for middle class.

The children's room  - How about that baby bed!!!  Beautiful!!!

I think I like my kitchen in the RV better than this one...

Our next stop was a stroll through the French Market along the Mississippi River.  The French Market area was the main source of trading for all of New Orleans and began in 1791.  Early residents could find all manners of food, spices, & wares from all over the world there as ships made their way into the Mississippi River.

Hermann-Grima House was the next historic home that we would tour.  Located just a half block from Bourbon Street, it was amazing how quiet its courtyards were.  This large two story home was built in 1831 and was set on 4 city lots.  It was very unique as it was very wide (2 city lots wide) and actually had windows on the sides instead of just having windows on the front and rear.  Beautiful crown moldings around the 14 foot ceilings and a wonderful courtyard.  Perhaps the most interesting of all was the kitchen located in the outbuildings behind the main home.  It is amazing how primitive the cooking was with a large portion of the cooking done in a very large open fireplace.  The home was unique as it did have an oven which was very uncommon at the time.  For some wonderful interior shots, visit their website http://www.hgghh.org/tour_grima.htm.

We then walked from the French Quarter over into the Warehouse District.  We walked along the St Charles street car line.  

Back to the RV for some much needed rest for our feet!!!