After the our epic Route 66 journey, we are now setting off again. This time starting in LA and ending our adventure in DC
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Last day 29th June 2018
Just got back from a walk around the grounds of Oak Alley Plantaion and Tony and I were very naughty indeed and climbed over the locked gate, ran across the road, as if we were escaping from Alcatraz, ran up the levee and gazed upon the Mississippi River and all the barges that have now moored up for the night.
We had a lie in, a late breakfast, shooed housekeeping away and had a relaxing morning doing nothing.
Our destination to day was Houmas, the base for Annie Millers Son Swamp Tours.
Annie Miller was a lady of the bayou and made her living catching gators and snakes. At the grand old age of 65 she began giving swamp tours and continued to do so till her death.
Her son Jimmy has taken over and we met him at Bayou Black, next to a sign saying “ DO NOT FEED THE ALLIGATORS “
There were seven of us including Tony and I at 1pm on a scorching day, the humidity must have been at least 95%, into the boat we clambered but we couldn’t sit because the seats were far too hot, it was like sitting on a cooker top. We gently lowered ourselves down, however it was super uncomfortable until our derrières got used to it.
Off we went spotting birds and plants and bald eagle nests, the swamp was humming with insects and all types of wildlife except gators.
We puttered right into the depths of the bayou, Jimmy (Captain). Shouting out names and endearments
“ Come on Jean, come on Robert, come on babies” he shouted
We were all up on our feet scanning the banks waiting and watching.
“ I can see you Jean, come on baby, I can see you, I got ya”
Suddenly a alligator slipped into the water and came up to the boat, it’s nose poking out.
Jimmy then pulled away...
“ Come on baby, come on” Jimmy shouted
And blow me down the gator followed the boat
( Well I can honestly say that the same cannot be said when I call my my two dogs, they ignore me and only appear if I produce a biscuit)
Jean swam behind the boat and then slid onto a bank and the boat pulled along side.
Jimmy gave the Jean a bit of chicken and we took some photos and after a while it slid back into the bayou.
I have never seen anything like it in my life and this alligator is wild.
I was lucky enough to be at the front of the boat and enjoyed an exhilarating, high speed ride back to the dock, certainly cleared my humidity filled head,
Well it’s been a brilliant holiday and we’ve met some brilliant people that we will keep in touch with as well.
Maybe another Plantation tomorrow, a museum or a Nature Reserve, who knows, however Louisiana must be one of the nicest places we have ever visited.
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Hi all so interesting and very sad. Houses and furniture look lovely. Enjoy last few days Take care Maz xx
Thanks Maz.. home tomorrow... xx
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Haunted mirror? Look under the chandelier, a woman’s head in profile ?
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Day 13 - 28th June 2018 - Vacherie
We are staying at the Oak Alley Plantation for our last two nights, the grand old lady of the River Road.
This morning had a leisurely breakfast with a couple from Texas, Kay and Sheldon, we chatted about so many things, conspiracies, politics, films, books and in fact we are going to keep in touch.
Packed up and headed out to the Myrtles Planatation, now this Plantation is the most haunted Plantation in the history of the universe.
There was a beautiful slave girl called Chloe, much desired by the Master, he brought her to work in the big house from the fields because he wanted to keep her close if you know what I mean.
Anyway Chloe was a bit of a nosy girl and used to eavesdrop on her Master until she was caught. Now big bad Master was not very happy and dragged Chloe out into the front porch, summoned all the other slaves and then cut of her left ear, he then bandaged it up and stuck a blue turban on her head and told her to work in the kitchen, the worst job on the Plantation.
All seems ok, until Chloe decides to get back into favour by baking a birthday cake for the Mistress and her young twins, but she also sticks poison into it, hoping to make them ill.
Her thinking is that if the family fell ill, she could nurse them back to health and then the Master would love her again.
Well it went horribly wrong and the poison killed all three of them, Chloe was was tried and hanged for murder.
Fast forward to 2004 and a local old girl buys the place and she takes a few pics of the plantaion for insurance puposes and who should appear in the photos but Chloe, hiding behind a pillar.
Of course the Master is murdered at some point and various people die and the house creaks and moans and is creepy, so who knows.
Our guide did tell us some interesting things such as a travelling painter would come round with canvases already painted with just the bodies of young ladies on them and then to save time he would paint the heads of children of the families on to the blank part of the canvas.
These paintings looked so weird, a five year old male head on the body of a seventeen year old girl, it looked totally out of proportion and ridiculous.
We also saw the haunted mirror, now when the lady of the house died, every mirror had to be covered because it was thought the spirit could become trapped in it, well this particular mirror wasn’t covered and so to this day you can see the spirit of the deceased ole bird inside it, I’ve taken a few photos so we shall see.
Myrtles didn’t think the enslaved were important enough to talk about so we journeyed on to Whitney Plantation
Out of the 3500 museums in the whole of the USA, only this one talks about slavery after the Americans took over Louisiana.
We were each assigned an enslaved person and we wore his/her picture around our necks on a lanyard and then we started our journey out in the mid afternoon heat of 100 degrees.
The stories she told were haunting, she told us about rape and beatings, starvation and arduous work in the sugar cane fields.
We heard first hand accounts from the slaves themselves and the guide kept asking us if we had questions, what possible questions are there to ask ?
Robin told us yesterday that the American slaves were treated brutally and she was not wrong.
We heard about the baby breeding, many slave women had baby after baby from different men including the Master and each one taken away and sold.
I could go on and on, however my second to last word is the meaning of this phrase ...
“ Being sold down the river “
Comes from the when if slaves were a hassle , they were sold, put on boat and taken down the Mississippi to New Orleans, hence sold down the river.
This evening we are at Oak Alley Plantation a beautiful house right on the banks of the Old Miss, we are staying in a beautiful cottage that, perhaps , once belonged to a sharecropper, however it looks a bit too ornate.
We’ve walked around the grounds, got eaten alive by bugs but got some great photos.
As nice as this place is I cannot forget that this house was built on the backs of slaves, I cannot ignore the sugar cane fields just a few hundred yards away, I can’t not see the slave cabins further down the road and inside these cabins we found the shackles and the chains that kept these people in servitude.
I can hardly walk half a mile in this heat without struggling, imagine doing a 16 hour day in this heat, I don’t think I will ever complain about anything ever again.
My final word
Each day I wake up the wife of a President, in a house built by slaves
Michelle Obama
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Still Still Day 12
Robin acknowledged that slavery was evil, however she also pointed out that her great grandmother was a slave and when Robin once asked her
“Why didn’t you just leave Grandma ? ”
The answer was
“ The big house was good to me and I was good to them “
We moved on to Destrehan Plantation.
This guide also made to it clear that that the whole Plantation was built on the backs of the enslaved.
This tour wasn’t as good as Evergreen, however we did see the original document signed by Jefferson agreeing to to the purchase of Louisiana
We listened to a talk about the 1811 Slave rebellion, an expected 5000 became 500, of course it came to nothing, the poor souls had nothing but farming. equipment to fight with and once they were trapped they had no hope.
Turning back to Evergreen, Robin showed us how sugar cane was cut and she encouraged us to have a go, so we did in two lines, we were swishing into thin air and that was hard in the heat, suddenly she burst into song and we all joined in ...Amen Amen Amen...
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Still Day 12
Back from a very hot day exploring the River Road, a road that runs alongside the Mississippi River.
You cannot actually see much of Old Muddy as there is a levee between the river and the road with trees and bushes.
However back in the day you could sit on the porch of the fancy Plantation houses and watch the barges going by.
Our first stop today was Evergreen Plantation at Edgard and I had no idea what to expect.
We were led by Robin, a very likeable lady through the history of Evergreen named after the evergreen live oak trees that grow on the property.
We went through the house which is built in the Greek revival style and was perfectly symmetrical.
We were glad to be indoors because the thermometer was hitting 95 degrees with almost 90% humidity. Robin was very careful that we stayed in the shade as much as possible.
Basically the house was built as a Creole Cottage and embellished by the grandson of the first owner, due to the vast amount of wealth that they accumulated through sugar.
It’s very hard to describe the tour as there was so much information to take in, the 90 minutes we were out there went far too quickly.
The owners of theses huge Plantation inter married, first cousins and all that and eventually it started to affect their immune systems so they started to die younger, hence the Plantations were always changing hands but always within within the same family.
Then we came to the Slave population.
Robin was at pains to point out the difference between the Louisiana slaves ( who lived and worked pre Louisiana purchase when the area was either in French Or Spanish hands ) and the American slaves ( Who lived and worked in the period after Napoleon sold the whole area to Thomas “ I am a hypocrite “ Jefferson, a mate of George Washington and third President of the newly formed US.
The Louisiana slaves did not know the whip or chains, they didn’t have an overseer, but a Commander, a type of foreman who oversaw the workings of the property and ensured a good crop.
These Louisiana slaves were brought over from Africa because they could speak French, were used to the heat and bugs, snakes etc and were highly skilled. They were not kidnapped but warring tribes used to take POW’s and then were given a choice, die or become a slave. Many chose to become slaves
Once over they were very expensive “ property “ , not a nice word I know, so it was in the best interests of the owner to look after them. Robin showed us the inventory of Evergreen and these artisans were worth 1500$ each.
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Day12 - 27th June 2018 - Baton Rouge
Went across to Sammys Grill for dinner last night, I don’t think either Tony or I fancied driving anywhere.
We walked in and everything went into slow motion, the conversation grew fainter, and everyone turned to look at us just for a split of a second. and then the chatter began again.
We found a table and and a bouncy young waitress materialised out of nowhere and took our orders.
I did notice people blatantly staring at us, turning their heads right around for a better view, of what I’m not sure !
Soon the novelty wore off and we settled down to a few drinks and dinner, pretty basic stuff but well cooked and plentiful.
It was a relief to just walk back across the road to The Stockade and into our room, which I have to say is spotless.
This house is built on the site of a Union stockade from the Civil War, it’s very peaceful here although it’s right next to a main road, our room opens out onto a patio which I am loath to use because of the midges who enjoy feasting on me.
Had breakfast with another couple from Texas who are here to cheer their granddaughter on in a tennis tournament at the Louisiana Staye University, we had an enjoyable chat.
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