NC Buys Family: Weekend Getaway to Louisiana and Mississippi

On August 14th, we packed up and drove to Louisiana. Greg doesn't have vacation time as an intern, so we left when he got home from work Friday. Our plan was to drive as far as we could that night and get to St. Francisville, LA Saturday, then spend part of Sunday in Natchez, MS and drive home later in the day. So, to get to St. Francisville, we actually crossed the Mississippi River from Louisiana into Natchez, Mississippi, turned south, then drove back into Louisiana. St. Francisville is home to several antebellum plantation homes, including the Myrtles, which is a famous haunted home and our first stop. It is now a bed and breakfast, and they give tours of the house. Justin was just sure he would see a ghost while we were there. I've seen it on TV so many times, it was really cool to finally be there in person. We took the tour of the house, the boys were full of questions for our guide, and in fact they were the only ones who did ask questions. Then we walked around the grounds. Justin had to be satisfied with feeling a cold spot on a very hot and humid day instead of actually seeing a ghost. We then took the St. Francisville Ferry across the Mississippi just to say we took the ferry across the Mississippi. We drove into New Roads, LA and parked by the river. We walked down a boat ramp, and the boys were messing around, and first Matthew slipped, then Justin, so we had very wet boys, but the luggage was in the car, so it wasn't to troubling. By this point Greg was daydreaming of living on the river. We took the ferry back to St. Francisville, and it had been raining here and there, off and on, so we saw a rainbow while we were waiting in line. We were supposed to go to Greenwood Plantation, but we had spent so time at the river, that it closed before we got back. Oh, well, something to go back for. We drove back up to Natchez, and found a hotel for the night. Before the Civil War, Natchez was the wealthiest city per capita in all of North America and is now know for it's numerous antebellum mansions. We started Sunday at Melrose Plantation. It is now part of the National Park system. We toured the house, and the boys took part in the Jr. Ranger Program, for which they received badges. We then got some lunch, and we were supposed to think about going home, but I wanted to see the Natchez City Cemetery, which is humongous, and has quite a few graves with unique stories. So, Greg took me. OK, I can't help it, I love cemeteries, it's probably in my blood. Justin told me this past week that I need to move to a big old house with a Civil War ghost and a cemetery in the back yard. I guess that boys has me pegged. By this point I had Greg hooked on the town, so we drove around sight seeing and we stopped into a little trading post where we bought a book about Natchez and Matthew got a real alligator head. It's small, but real. It's now in his bedroom. Well, once again, we needed to think about starting for home, but Greg was itching to get on the Natchez Trace Pkwy, I had driven on it in March when I took the boys, but Greg never had. It starts there in Natchez and ends in Nashville, TN. We got on, with the intention of taking the first exit like 15 miles up. On the way we stopped at the Emerald Mound, a ceremonial Indian mound built around 1400. So, after that we got to the exit, and Greg took it, only to make a u-turn and get right back on the Trace. He absolutely fell in love with that road. It goes through forest, and there is no traffic. He declared it one of the most beautiful drives he's ever been on, and we've been all over this country. He's dreaming of doing a motorcycle trip some day. So, we stayed on it for about 50 miles and came out south of Vicksburg. By this point it was 5 pm, and we still had a six hour drive home. But, it's a straight shot from Vicksburg, so it wasn't too bad. It was a nice trip (but too short) and we got to see new areas which is always fun for us. Matthew still won't eat much of anything, which makes things hard, but he's going to have to learn we're always going to travel.