The Myrtles Plantation & Vicksburg

First, a quick update on our tree damaged house. With the explicit help of neighbor Paul, our insurance agent, and a very efficient contractor, the offending tree has been fully removed and the roof temporarily secured. The contractor assures us that it's now totally stable and water-protected until we get home to oversee the repair. We are SO VERY thankful.  We wondered if this tree incident might call a halt to our once in a lifetime RV trip, but it looks like we'll be able to continue. :-)  If, perchance you didn't know about our unfortunate tree experience, please check the previous post.  The photos say it all.

This post will be a long one with lots of photos. I'm combining two sightseeing stops in one post this time.  Number One: The Myrtles Plantation. We were in Baton Rouge, Louisiana a few days ago, and made a 30 mile trip north to a "haunted" plantation called The Myrtles.  They say they are one of the "most haunted" homes in America.  Well, this was something that needed checking out!  Haunted or not, I just love these plantation homes!  

First view of the plantation home as we drove into the driveway.

Here's Suz going over the little bridge towards the gazebo.  The pond (which looks green and brownish here) was full of water - with some sort of living substance floating on the top.  Not at all sure what it is.

We then took the tour inside.  Unfortunately, they didn't allow any photos at all --- EXCEPT --- photos of the "haunted mirror".  Well, yes, of course we had to see what we could capture on "film".  The only thing of any interest is a small orb-like flash of light (not associated with the camera flash) in the upper left quadrant of the mirror. 

If you read The Help, then this will make sense to you. I love it. This was inside the restaurant at The Myrtles. 

This statue was out in the front garden. What a setting!

Another view of our garden statue as we bid The Myrtles farewell.  It was an interesting place to visit.  I just wish the tour included the upstairs.  It was the downstairs only.  The guide who took us around was great, though. 

After returning to our campground, Jinx was ready for a bit of fresh air, so his daddy took him on a walk :)   People always stare when we take Jinx out for a walk in his pink, bone-embroidered, dog jacket.  Why I don't know, but they just do!  One guy hollered at me in a strong southern accent, "you are an amazing person, to get that cat to go for a walk!" I don't know about amazing, but we were persistent, and he now runs for the door, as soon as his jacket is on. :-)  

A few days later, we made the drive from Baton Rouge due north to Vicksburg, Mississippi.  There was some discussion about skipping this leg of the trip and continuing in a westerly manner, however since the weather has taken a considerable turn for the better, we went ahead with it.  Vicksburg is about 140 miles from B.R.  I knew little to nothing about it, except that there was a national military park there, and that there had been a major battle there during the US Civil War. We found a place to camp near the Mississippi River, called the Ameristar Casino RV Park.  This time we didn't enter the casino, not once. On a cloudy but warm day, we went to the battlefield. Sightseeing stop Number Two: Vicksburg National Military Park.

We arrived here knowing really very little about this particular battle.... but it didn't take long for us to learn all about it.  First we watched an informative movie in the visitors center and then we took off on the "Road Tour", which is approximately 16 miles.  Such a shame, the whole Civil War thing.

One of the battlefields.  One may ask, "who won this battle?" Technically, the Union won.... but so many lives were lost.  The Confederates held off the Union from May until July 1863, but the Union Army & Navy surrounded Vicksburg and finally the Confederates surrendered due to the inability of supplies to get through.

A close up of the Ohio monument which is shown from a distance above. Most, if not all of the states on both sides of the war have monuments and statues placed in the park to honor their war dead.

A row of cannon, overlooking a battlefield.

A large statue of Ulysses S. Grant - one of the generals involved in the battle of Vicksburg.  The other general was John C. Pemberton. 

Part of the Vicksburg National Cemetery. The small square grave markers below denote unknown soldiers.

The larger markers actually have names engraved.

Scattered here and there were plaques with rather solemn poems on them. I'll only post one here.  Rather sad, but apropos. (pardon the bird poo)

This photo shows the number of soldiers interred here. The vast majority were unknown. 

A pleasing view of the "mighty Mississip" from the high bluffs of the park.

The cat-mommy beside another one of the state's monuments.

One more plaque, reminding us that during that horrible war, brothers fought against brothers.... cousins against cousins.  We can only hope that our differences never cause us to take up arms against one another again. We are all Americans and should remember President Lincoln's words, "A house divided against itself cannot stand". 

History lesson done for today.  Next up..... well, think of Paul Simon's song....

"We're going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis Tennessee......"

Oak Alley Plantation

So.... I've gotta say Louisiana has sure been good to me. I got to scratch off another item from my "bucket list" today.  That makes 3 biggies here in the state of Louisiana.  Number one - coffee and beignets at Cafe Du Monde. Number two - my team WINS THE SUPER BOWL, while we were here in Louisiana.  Number three - I finally get to visit the gorgeous Oak Alley Plantation!  

What a stunning place... because I was unwilling to step into ankle deep mud to bypass the gate, this was my view of the front of the building...

I know, pathetic. We left our campsite this morning in complete cloud cover and gray skies, but look at the brilliant sunshine that came out upon arrival at the Plantation!

We took a tour inside the home, and here's a view from the upper verandah.

The Live Oak trees that line the path are approximately 300 years old. They were planted about 100 years prior to the construction of the plantation home. Several movies were filmed on the grounds, the most famous may be "Interview With a Vampire" starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.  I just can't get enough of this view!! 

This is the dining room of the "Big House". The red item above the table was a bit of a mystery, but then the guide explained that it is a fan! It's attached to the visible rope which, when pulled, "waves" the fan across the table. 

The master bedroom.  This only shows half of the room, it was huge.

I don't know what you call this white thing on the ceiling, but I like it. I really like it. Really jazzes up the room!

Beside the front entrance. John took this shot (obviously) and at first I thought I'd delete it.... but then it grew on me.  All the sunbeams or orbs or whatever the heck they are, sort of make it a bit mystical.

There are several other plantation homes along this stretch of the River Road in southern Louisiana.  Some are available to tour, some are private homes, and some are totally uninhabited. I don't remember the name of this one... a quick snap as we were driving past. 

I for one hope that we'll get to see some other plantations/historic homes while we are here in the deep south.  They speak of a long-gone era I've only ever read about. 

On to another subject - RV living.  As luck would have it, we've had a couple of disasters in the past week or so. One minor and one kind of major.  The minor: The toilet seat cracked and came apart, beyond fixing. A trip to Lowe's solved that.  The major: The microwave/convection oven is fried. We won't go into just how this unfortunate event occurred, but suffice it to say that it could be a LONG time before we can microwave or bake anything... no fan or light over the stove, either.  We are now challenged to dream up meals that can be either barbecued or done on the stove top. Oh wait, I've still got the crock pot too.  See, things aren't quite as bad as they first sound.

Soon we'll be heading east again.  Ever been to Mississippi?  We'll soon be able to say "yep"... or maybe the more southern sounding, "Yes Sir"; "Yes Ma'am"!

Galveston to Bayou country

Hello faithful readers, and greetings from cold and icy Louisiana.  Yes, I did say "cold and icy". The weather here has been horrid and we have virtually been stuck in one spot for three days. There have also been internet connectivity issues, hence the delay in the latest blog post.  Today we have internet, so here we go! 

As previously mentioned, we have been struggling with nasty weather.  On the day we arrived in Galveston, it was awful.  The sea was churning and the wind was a-blowin'. 

I had strangely always wanted to go to Galveston... ever since that old Glen Campbell song --  "Galveston oh Galveston... I still hear your sea winds blowing...."  Anyway, because of the weather, it was a disappointment.  It was cold and windy and at times pouring rain.  For two days we pretty much stayed indoors and tried to stay warm.  At one point, Jinx demanded we go outside.  In his memory were the lovely days we'd just had at the Texas state park, but oh what shock those four paws got when he stepped out in Galveston.  Kind of a weird photo, but here we are, out for the briefest time ever, before JTC decided life was MUCH better inside.  

The wind was blowing so hard at times, especially during the night, that the motorhome literally shook. I felt like we were in a mini-hurricane, although I'm sure it wasn't even close. At one point the rain stopped and it was actually snowing. Quite the shock not only to us, but to the natives as well. 

This won't come as a surprise, but the houses here are built WAAAAY up high on stilts.

After two frigid nights, we decided to say bye-bye to "Galveston-oh-Galveston"... and of course we woke to bright sunshine.  Here's a snap taken of the "Pleasure Pier".  Kinda takes on a different look and feel in the sun, doesn't it?  The Ferris wheel and the other whirligig thing were working and even though the weather was brisk, people were enjoying the Pleasure Pier.  

Next stop: the  Bolivar Ferry to get off Galveston Island.  It's a free ferry run by the Texas DOT and cuts the driving time to places east of Galveston and Houston.  Funny thing - our GPS - whom we fondly refer to as "Maggie Magellan" kept insisting that we were NOT take the ferry, and after we did, she kept telling us to turn around, go back over the ferry, and take a different route to Louisiana. We chose to ignore her. Over the ferry we went...

It was a very short ride (5 min or so) and quit uneventful. Dear readers, if you really want to go on fun, lovely, and scenic ferry rides, we recommend the Washington State Ferries or the equally fine British Columbia Ferries. Since those are the types of ferry rides we are accustomed to, this was pretty ho-hum. At any rate, we headed along the gulf coast for a few more miles before turning northward to meet up with I-10 again.  Here's a photo of the nice shoreline. I think the cement wall is to discourage leaving the highway and driving onto the beach.

Just a few miles down the road, after reconnecting to the I-10, we crossed the state line into Louisiana - another previously uncharted area for all three of us (of course Jinx is included in that tally). 

We spent two nights near Lake Charles at the A+ Motel and RV park, which was really very nice. One of the days there was finally sunny, so we went out sight seeing in the Bayou!  We drove along part of the "Creole Nature Trail".

                  

We took a walk partway down the path, looking for wildlife of course.  The White Knight wanted a view of the bayou too.

Here's the hubs, on the bayou pathway.....

Here's a photo of the Louisiana state bird, the brown Pelican. There were oodles of them around and about. 

After seeing all we thought we could see, we continued on down the country highway. Some of the bridges in Louisiana are of an unusual design (IMHO).  I realize they are built high so that boats can get under without the use of a drawbridge... 

Here is a view from the the top of the previously shown bridge.  It's the intercoastal waterway.

Next stop was the "Pintail Wildlife Drive". We sure enjoyed this three-mile drive essentially into a bayou.  This is a Great Egret (we think).

Interesting sign... not that there was really any chance we would either feed or DISTURB an alligator!!!!

Another bird of interest... we think it's a Great Blue Heron.

The last photo of this blog post... the "crowning glory"!  After we were sure we wouldn't see an alligator that we could feed and/or disturb, John spotted this fellow lounging in the shallow water. This dispels any doubt that there are alligators in the Louisiana bayou!

We also saw lots of other different types of birds and even a turtle! We thoroughly enjoyed the Creole Nature Trail and would recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in creatures in their own habitats. 

Our next stop is Lafayette Louisiana, the heart of Cajun Country.  More on that next time!