New Orleans to Nottoway Plantation (March 28 & 29)

SATURDAY (March 28):

We headed south out of New Orleans, gradually extending our penetration into the Mississippi River Delta all the way to Port Fourchon.  It was an interesting, but general non-photogenic trip.

To get there we drove next to Bayou Lafourche, seeing surprisingly large  boats given its narrow width.  At one point we stopped at a small nature park and walked a short distance into the swamp.  

The last part of the drive to Port Fourchon was on a bridge about 8 miles long that was high enough to provide a great overview of the area.   

Other than an impressive array of anything and everything related to offshore oil drilling and production, there was not much in Fort Fourchon except Marlin’s Restaurant and Motel.  The restaurant is open 24-hours a day and the motel rooms likely rent by the hour.  We had a good meal at the lunch counter, then headed back over what we now knew was the beginning of the Gateway to the Gulf Expressway: Billy Tauzin Energy Corridor.  

After driving a long way back crisscrossing over Bayou Fourche, when we had the chance we opted to get onto a faster route.  It was more efficient in terms of speed, but less interesting.  When our route rejoined the bayou it had shrunk in size and was no longer navigable.  It was too stagnant to be safe for any activity involving direct contact with the water. 

We eventually arrived in White Castle, LA and the Nottoway Plantation where we would be spending the next two nights.  We relaxed on our porch, had a pleasant dinner and went to bed, quickly getting used to the periodic locomotive horns repeatedly blowing for a series of road crossings not too far away. 

SUNDAY (March 29):

After a good breakfast that included biscuits and grits, we toured the plantation house.  It was one of the biggest ever build in the south.  It was completed in 1859 and survived the Civil War.  Ceiling were 17 feet high, doors, 11 feet high and the house with outbuildings measuring over 50,000 square feet.  Floor-to-ceiling windows could be raised to serve as doors onto porches.  It was impressive.  

In the afternoon we decided to go for a drive along the levy looking for vantage points and perhaps a crossover.  Eighty (yes 80) boring miles later, we returned to where we had started without retracing our steps.  Other than being surprised at the number and size of the refineries we came across and some brief glimpses of river traffic while crossing bridges, it yielded nothing that increased our knowledge of the area.  Did I mention it was boring; really boring.

After the tours were done for the day, guests staying at the plantation could wander around it unescorted.  Pam & I went going through one of the windoors (window doors) to sit one the second floor balcony from which we could see over the levy and so watch the marine traffic on the Mississippi River.  

We then adjourned to the dining room for another good dinner.

On to Natchez and Vicksburg (March 30)

Our two-day impression of the plantation was that it was in generally good repair and quite habitable, but the owners were probably struggling to keep it up.  It was promising that this morning we saw painters and other contractors moving around the grounds.  We speculated that with the beginning of their busy season beginning Easter weekend, betterments were underway, the bills to be paid with money gained from greater occupancy.

By 10:00, we were headed to Natchez, Mississippi via (mostly) scenic Route 61.  Pam’s reading had suggested that we would have a busy day in historic Natchez.  Reality suggested Natchez had hired a great public relations firm. 

We drove into town missing the Visitors Center because we were looking right when we should have been looking left.  We found our way back to there to get some marginally helpful information.  Now we were ready to see all that Natchez had to offer. 

What better way to do so than in a horse-drawn carriage ride driven by an informative, affable and colorful character.  We parked – we waited – we were told “Oops, should have put up a sign”.  The carriages were all on a private tour for another hour.  We decided the best course of action was to have some lunch, then return. 

Pam had read that the waterfront had undergone a renaissance so we headed to the Under the Hill section of the city to find a charming café or some such venue where we could munch on our food while watching the mighty Mississippi majestically roll along majestically before us.  What we found were a couple of seedy-looking bars and a casino disguised as a steamboat.

We drove back up the hill to ferret out something more inviting.  Finding such a place to eat proved to be a bit of a challenge, but the reward was some truly great fried chicken served with southern hospitality at the Eola Hotel. 

Nourished, we were ready to have a mighty steed and eloquent guide transport us back in time 150 years to Natchez in its prime.  The steed’s name was Ben and our guide’s name Chris.  Along with six other time travelers, we embarked on the adventure, after a wheel change. 

Forty-five minutes later we were back at the starting point.  We had been so moved by what we had seen that we got in our car and left town, stopping on the way out to take one picture and walk inside a church that made it clear we were not really welcome, but please put some money in the donation box so the church could continue its work of discouraging visitors.

Too many people go to Natchez for it not to have something to offer that Pam & I missed, but we missed it.  Perhaps if we had gone on a garden tour...?

We drove to Vicksburg where we had booked the Centennial Suite at the Cedar Grove Mansion since the price had been quite reasonable.  The road we took to reach the mansion was a bit sketchy, but passing through the gate onto the grounds we found a proud albeit tired house of large proportions.  The inside of the main house was reasonably well maintained.  The long, narrow staircase suggested a problem with getting our bags to our room.  The good news was that we would not need to navigate that staircase.  We were in another building.  The bad news was that getting to our room in that other building required ascending two flights of narrow stairs.  The good news was that we were told someone would help us with our bags.  The bad news was that said person never materialized.   

We decided our best course of action was to reconnoiter the path to the room and the room itself, then decide how to deal with the luggage.  The stairs were structurally sound but in poor repair and desperately needed paint.  The deck in front of our door needed paint even more.  Contemplating the need to find alternate accommodations, we opened the door and were most pleasantly surprised.  The place was huge, with a full living room, a separate bedroom and a spacious bathroom.  We went back to the car, moved what we needed for the night into a small spare suitcase and settled into our digs, looking out over the trees and rooftops to the Mississippi River. 

Dinner was mediocre and the trip back to our room in the dark faintly disturbing, but once there we had a quiet night. 

Vicksburg to Shreveport (March 31)

We had breakfast, then wandered around the inn and its grounds.

 

We had a brief and uninteresting visit to the Vicksburg waterfront.  We did see Queen of the Mississippi, but there was no opportunity to go aboard.

We drove over to the battleground - Vicksburg National Military Park.

After a delay because we had not made arrangements in advance for a private guided tour, we were on our way. 

After leaving the park, we headed for Shreveport and The Remington Suite Hotel. It turned out to be atypical in furnishings, but with a pleasant staff.  Our suite was an interior room - no windows - that certainly damped out street noise.  Almost all the furniture was white.  The rooms in general were 'unusual' in keeping with the overall style of the hotel. 

We had dinner about two blocks from the hotel at Blind Tiger. Our choice of dinner time was good.  While enjoying our food, we watched fire trucks roar by, stopping at the hotel in response to a reported gas leak.  False alarm. By the time we finished dinner and returned to the hotel, the trucks were gone and guests had been allowed to return to their rooms.  Given our interior room with limited egress options, it was nice to sleep in a hotel that has just been carefully checked by the fire department.