May 2, 2008

May 2, 2008

Yesterday evening while enjoying my cocktail beside the RV, a red liquid rained down on me. Looking up I discover we are parked under what I learn is a Mulberry Tree and a flock of sweet-toothed Cedar Waxwings gorging (messily) on the ripe fruit. Not one to be left out of the party, I give them a taste too.

In the morning we drive across the street to the Audubon State Historic Site to tour Oakley House. As we approach this state-owned plantation house we are greeted by a tom turkey strutting his beautiful stuff. I sneak up close to get a good picture but before I can he comes and poses in front of me. It turns out “Gus” is an adopted pet of the site and apparently very vain. The visitor center has some nice exhibits on the history of the area. We learn that John James Audubon spent time as a tutor here, sketching wildlife, before he became a famous artist. Unlike the plantations near New Orleans, the ones north of Baton Rouge were all cotton farms started by English settlers. The plantations along the lower Mississippi were so lucrative before the Civil War they produced the majority of US millionaires at the time.

Also in St. Francisville is Rosedown, another cotton plantation. This is the most elaborate yet. It is by far the biggest and most opulent house we have seen, but the grounds are awesome. The entrance road is lined with oak trees and there are extensive gardens surrounding the house. After the house tour we would have liked to spend some time wandering the gardens but we got hit with a huge rainstorm. Not in a hurry I sat out the biggest downpour with Miss Aimee, on rocking chairs, enjoying the view from Rosedown’s veranda, pretending we owned the place. All we needed were a couple mint juleps.

From St. Francisville, we drove north to Natchez, MS where we spent the night at Natchez State Park.