March 22, 2012........New Orleans or should I say Las Vegas......

 March22......What a beautiful day that we woke up to! If I hadn't heard the rain pouring all night, I would not have known it had rained. Today we will be visiting the plantation on the grounds of the Louisiana State's University and Houmas House, an 1800's plantation . We also have reservations to ride a swamp boat at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve. Madison is hoping to see alligators......the rest of us would like that, too. I, however, feel a little nervous to be so close to them. The kids learned how to help unplug and unhook....they are all doing a great job helping us get out of the campgrounds each day.

The signage in Louisiana is not very good and we detoured a little trying to get onto the freeway. No loss for us, the neighborhood that we drove through was lovely. The plants are very lush here, especially after a fresh rain. We found the LSU Rural Museum, drove through beautiful gardens and parked. We were all excited to tour the many buildings and exhibits at this museum. The displays were amazing.







....learning about cotton......

We learned about the cotton industry, held cotton and explored the many relics from civil war times that are housed in the large building. There were some nice buggies and even an 1800's hearse, the kids found it to be creepy..... We browsed through antique machinery, dolls, guns, baskets, chairs, quilts, animal taxidermy, hunting and fishing gear. As we left the main hall, we entered the part of the property that is a recreation of a plantation, complete with an overseers house, a store, a chapel, a blacksmith shop, a mill, slave quarters, sugar refining building, and post office. The only plantation building missing here was the Big House, as the main residence was called. These were all actual buildings and you could feel history in the air as we walked along the path and looked into the individual buildings. We navigated through puddles and we had to avoid some muddy spots. We enjoyed a cool breeze and sunshine and the air felt fresh! We walked over a little bridge to see the mill area. There was one mill that was powered by horse power and one that was powered by water. From there, we ventured over to see the animals and chatted with the long horned cows.



Madison sees her first alligator down south......this one isn't biting anymore!!

........creepy or interesting????

Christian started to preach in the chapel



slave cabin



at the school.......

Time to move on......lots to see today. We drove on our way to tour the Houmas House

It is located outside Baton Rouge directly across from the Mississippi River which was convenient for shipping products to market. We could see the levee from the gardens of the Houmas House. We enjoyed walking through the lovely gardens as we strolled up to the home. Beautiful lush plants, restful fountains and bright colored flowers.....just what you imagine when you think of a plantation......




Here's some history from the Houmas House website:

.........Houmas House Plantation and Gardens has reclaimed its position as Crown Jewel of Louisiana's River Road.

Through the vision and determination of Kevin Kelly, who fulfilled a lifelong dream by acquiring the property in the Spring of 2003, the mansion today reflects the best parts of each period in its rich history alongside the big bend in the Mississippi River.

The first owners of the plantation were the indigenous Houmas Indians, who were given a land grant to occupy the fertile plain between the Mississippi and Lake Maurepas to the north.

The Houmas sold the land to Maurice Conway and Alexander Latil in the mid 1700's
The original French Provincial house that Latil erected on the property is situated directly behind the Mansion, adjoined by a carriageway to the grand home described during its antebellum heyday as "The Sugar Palace." The original home was later used as living quarters for the staff that served the great house.

By the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, the plantation was established and producing sugar.

In 1810, Revolutionary War hero Gen. Wade Hampton of Virginia purchased the property and shortly thereafter began construction on the Mansion. However, it was not until 1825 when Hampton's daughter, Caroline, and her husband, Col. John Preston, took over the property that the grand house truly began to take shape.

Construction on the Mansion was completed in 1828. At the same time, Houmas House began to build its sugar production and continued to increase its land holdings, which ultimately grew to 300,000 acres.

Irishman John Burnside bought the plantation in 1857 for $1 million. A businessman and a character, Burnside increased production of sugar until Houmas House was the largest producer in the country, actively working the crop on 98,000 acres. During the Civil War, Burnside saved the Mansion from destruction at the hands of advancing Union forces by declaring immunity as a subject of the British Crown. In addition to building a railway to carry his products to market —"The Sugar Cane Train (1862)" — Burnside, a bachelor, is also said to have offered payment to any parents in the parish who would name their sons "John."

An avid sportsman who wagered heavily in horse races, Burnside once secretly purchased a champion thoroughbred back East with the intent of defeating the steeds of fellow local businessmen in a big race. He quietly slipped the racehorse into the billiard room of the Mansion where it was "stabled" until Burnside's surprise was unveiled at the starting line and hailed in the winner's circle.

Houmas House flourished under Burnside's ownership, but it was under a successor, Col. William Porcher Miles that the plantation grew to its apex in the late 1800's when it was producing a monumental 20 million pounds of sugar each year.

In 1927, the Mississippi came out of its banks in the epic "great flood." While Houmas House was spared, the surrounding areas were inundated. The ensuing economic havoc was but a prelude to the devastation of the Great Depression just two years later.

Houmas House Plantation withered away. The Mansion closed and fell into disrepair, a condition in which it remained until 1940 when Dr. George B. Crozat purchased it.

Crozat bought Houmas House to be a summer home away from his native New Orleans. He renovated the property with the intent to give it a more "Federal" look than the stately Greek Revival style in which it was conceived. The structure was painted white inside and out. Crown moldings and ceiling medallions were removed and both interior and exterior forms and finishes were simplified.

Eventually, the Crozat heirs opened the property to tourists. In 1963, the defining Bette Davis film "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte" was shot in the property. The room in which Ms. Davis stayed while filming is preserved as part of today's Houmas House tour.

In addition to the Mansion and Gardens, history is also reflected in the many antique furnishings and works of art that grace the Houmas House tour. Distinguished by its two Garconierre, the Mansion exudes the warmth of a home (it's the owner's active residence), while proudly portraying its role as a landmark in American history.......

the girls tried on mardi gras masks in the git shop.....

We had a great tour guide, dressed in period costume. He told us the history of the house and fun tales of the people who lived here. The current owner lives at the house, but wants to keep the property open for visitors. There is also has a full service restaurant, and events are held here regularly. Also, on site is a nice gift shop that we shopped in.

Houmas House original china.....

We climbed the swirling staircase......

taking a break in the parlor.....

Most men in the 1800's were about Christian's height...

...this storm is looking like it is going to be BIG.....

We reluctantly left the Houmas House to make our way out to the Jean Laffitte National Park, as we drove the swamp boat company called to cancel due to the impending storm. I was very disappointed and so were Pam and the kids. . . . maybe tomorrow? So what now? Well you roll with the punches . . . so we just changed our plans and drove down to the New Orleans French Quarter. We followed the signs to the visitor center. God was watching out for us for sure today. Have you ever tried to drive in and find parking in New Orleans in an RV? There is absolutely no parking for large vehicles anywhere near the French Quarter. We saw a fenced in campground adjacent to the visitors center and I ran in to ask if we could park in their lot....sure for $25 per day! Wow!! I begged for a deal as it was already late in the day. The clerk agreed to let us park for the 2 days....Pam and I were so happy.

We decided to ask for recommendations of what to see at the visitor center. The woman there gave us instructions to ride a Garden District trolley. We walked over to the St. Louis Cemetery Number One to see the above grounds cemetery . In New Orleans, people are buried above ground because the water table is particularly high. Traditional burial practices include digging a six-foot-deep hole into which to put a casket ("six feet under"), but in New Orleans the dirt at that level would be quite soggy, filling the hole with water and causing the caskets to float in their holes.

According to information, early settlers attempted to combat these rising caskets by putting in a few heavy stones, and this worked well enough -- until the next storm. The rising water level beneath the ground caused the coffins to literally force their way out of the soil. Yikes! Thus, began the tradition of folks being buried above ground to avoid floating coffins coming out of the ground each time the city would flood.

St. Louis Cemetery #1 is the oldest and most famous cemetery in New Orleans . It was opened in 1789, walking distance from the French Quarter and the Downtownarea. It is located on historic Basin Street. The kids were a little creeped out to take a picture here at the cemetery.

From there we walked a few blocks down to the French Quarter passing the police department along the way. As we walked down to the Quarter towards Bourbon Street, we saw many old, ugly buildings and alleys. We passed many revelers walking to and fro on Bourbon Street. It was definitely a party atmosphere and we hurried past all of this activity. It felt a little Vegas to me........Pam and I both were on the lookout for the beautiful flowers and balconies which would allude us today.

Not to pretty.....

We shopped in a tea and spice shop (buying gifts for my sister and aunt), a chocolate shop (yes, we tasted), and a funky souvenir shop where we tried on masquerade masks and became acquaintances with a friendly alligator! Seriously, we found a great t-shirt for Tim that said, "I put ketchup on my ketchup".......perfect!!!

....size large, please!!

....we met the founder of New Orleans

We met a gator while shopping......he was pretty friendly!!!




I think I've seen this guy at Disneyland....

The woman in the visitor center had recommended us to make our way toward Canal Street to catch the streetcar to the Garden District. We walked and walked and finally found the correct stop. We waited for quite a while in the dusk. The woman had led us to believe that we would see beautiful garden district homes as we rode the trolley .






...a pretty old church on the trolley run...see the mardi gras beads...

We did see a few large homes and mardi gras beads hanging from the elertrical wires overhead. It was, however, not what we were looking for. The trolley turned out be a commuter train for people to get to areas of the city. Well, call us gullible tourists now. Considering it was beginning to get dark, we couldn’t see many of the details on the beautiful houses, our feet hurt and our tummies were growling! Beginning to hear the familiar cries of "I'm hungry" we began to look for a restaurant.


When we spied the "New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Co." sign we decided to make a stop for dinner. The kids were happy to get off the trolley to eat. I had a terrible headache and just chalked it up to being hungry. We all ordered our dinner.....of course, the kids only wanted hamburgers! We bought a bowl of Gumbo and some hush puppies for all the kids to try. Both dishes were enjoyed by all. Christian was happy to try them and ate the most of us all.





...eating Gumbo for dinner as well as burgers.....

I had a yummyrific shrimp dish. But my headache and quesy feeling stomach persisted.

Outside, the weather had turned on us. The black sky opened up and dumped down with massive sheets of rain coming down. There were huge strikes of lightning! Our waiters and waitress greatly cautioned us not to walk back to the RV in the darkening night. We had light jackets but few umbrellas so I began to call taxis to come get us. Of course, this was no easy feat when we had one more people than any taxis could transport. I was able to get one company to dispatch a driver out to our location and when the driver arrived we begged him to take us. He looked at us like we were crazy! We looked like a bunch of drowned rats in the rain, for sure. He agreed to take us and regaled our group with stories of Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. Before Hurricane Katrina, he owned 3 tourist shops in the French Quarter and has since had to become a taxi driver to support his family. He has been unable to reopen his shops or rebuild his home due to government restrictions. He was caught during the hurricane and had to climb up on the roof to be rescued. It was sad to hear his tale. He was very nice and we enjoyed hearing a first hand account of the storm. By the time that we made it back to the RV and shortly thereafter the campground, I knew that something was really wrong with me. Little did I know what the night would hold for me. Shortly after we arrived "home". we got the kids to bed and the REAL lightning and torrential downpour began. So did the issues that I would suffer from food poisoning!! I knew that I should not have eaten the deviled egg that I ate for breakfast.......no more mayo based products for the rest of the trip in the refrigerator!!!!! The rainstorm would pound on us all night, Gracie did not like the lightning!!!

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