2002 December Southern Plantations

 Southern Plantations

X-mas for us was an office dinner party in Charleston, SC. All our staff did come and we had a really good time. There was an acoustic guitar player with songs from the 70 - 90's that everyone could relate to and his playing was quite good. Following the dinner, Nita and Tom departed for Texas with stops along the way that included X-mas day in New Orleans, LA.

First stop is Colleton State Park, SC for the holiday campout with Summerville Sam's (Good Sam Club). It has been awhile since meeting with this club and it was good to get reacquainted. Bob and Kay also shared pictures and information about their trip to Alaska that summer. Someday we may make the same trip, although it does seem arduous for the lack of paved roads. Not making an awful lot of mileage (Tom is under the weather), next stop is at a Passport America campground in Jessup, GA. It is actually kind of nice to start out without rushing toward the next destination, making only enough miles that we feel comfortable with each day and stopping early to enjoy the area or just rest. 

Following Hwy 84 in GA is a pleasant route. The majority of the route follows along a railroad track, and it is very flat and straight as well as a 4-lane road without very much traffic. This all made it enjoyable to cruise along looking at farms and fields. Dropping down along the Florida Panhandle Coastline is Hwy 98 - also known as the "Emerald Coast" that follows the coast, seemingly forever. There are numerous military bases along the way, many with campgrounds. We had heard about an exceptional military campground on the panhandle but could not remember which one it was. After stopping over in the nearest (Tyrone AFB), Nita tried calling some of the other military campgrounds without results. Following along Hwy 98 a person does go by nearby all the campgrounds anyway, so along we go - not deciding to stay in any one place until we stumble across what must be the right campground at Pensacola Naval Air Station. This is arranged in a circle with an enclosed meeting room in the center, fortunately it had an ironwood stove inside, for it is a bit chilly right now. The standard here is to meet there about 4 PM & bring your own drink for social time. Although the evening we stopped here there was no other entertainment, we are told several people do come over with guitars for "pickin & grinnin."

Touring Pensacola is a collection of historic homes all in one location. The tour itself is reasonably priced and provides entrance into otherwise-inaccessible homes. In addition to learning the local lifestyle in 1550, the exhibits had machinery and depiction of the local major industries and how they worked: lumber sawmill, complete machinery collection, brick forming and kiln depiction, and fishing boats. There is much more right on base to see - such as an airplane museum and a very large restored Spanish fort. We vowed to return someday.

The next segment had considerable foul weather so staying on the interstate was in order. Strong winds at times and very heavy rain at intermittent areas made it a little nervous going. Other locations had tornados we learned later. Tom did think that by pushing right through we would minimize the total time we would be inside the weather front. Still - rough going for a little while.

We headed to St. Francisville, an 18the century settlement that grew up around the graveyard of an order of Capuchin monks in what was then Spanish West Florida and arrived at a campground located 8 miles from town. Louisiana is divided into parishes rather than counties, a subtle reminder of the French Catholic settlement of the state. This parish has 6 plantations still in original condition. Two are currently State-owned and offer excellent tours. we were particularly impressed with Rosedown Plantation, which was extremely well kept physically and the records allowed the historians to describe in great detail the owners' lives. The formal gardens at Rosedown were begun at about the same time as the house. As early as 1836, there are records showing the purchase of camellias, azaleas, and other plants from William Prince & Sons in New York. 

The gardens were the province for Mrs. Martha Turnball throughout her life. The French style gardens grew out from the house over 28 acres. The contribution of slave labor to the construction and upkeep of the plantation, as well as agricultural prosperity and wealth accrued by Daniel Turnball was immense. During peak years of cotton production, as many as 450 slaves worked at Rosedown. After Daniel's death in 1861, the family saw a steady decline in a way of life that could no longer be supported. 

Rosedown and two older Turnball plantations were ravaged during the war both by the invasion ofNorthern troops and by the loss of the slave labor workforce. The Turnball/Bowman family, which included the Turnball's only daughter, Sarah, and husband James Bowman, stayed at Rosedown through the war, protecting and farming the property as best they could. This was truly exceptional - most often we have very little was left of these plantations - just the buildings and guesses as to what happened to the inhabitants.

The other state-owned plantation is Oakley Plantation. Nearly 200 years old, this plantation home houses the museum at Audubon State Historical Site. John James Audubon's journal records his arrival in 1821 at Oakley Plantation. The lush, natural setting, with a variety of birds singing throughout the 100-acre forest, still inspires visitors. In these peaceful environs, it is easy to imagine the artist filling his sketchpad with notes and drawings for his famous series of bird illustrations. The tall, airy house where John Audubon stayed is a splendid example of colonial architecture adapted to its climate. Built circa 1806, Oakley predates the period when Southern plantations favored the heavy details of Classic Revivalism. It is distinct for its beautiful simplicity. A West Indies influence can be seen in the jealousies galleries which allow cool breezes to drift through the rooms while keeping out the rain and the glare of the sun. Simple and dignified by its unusual height, the building seems a suitable part of its beautiful forest setting. Although not as imposing as Rosedown in size or grandeur it was very functional.

We ended our evening with a drive through St. Francisville's local history, and as we looked at the homes decorated in white lights and trimmed in local evergreen, we remarked on the age and architecture. Most structures had bicentennial markers and private homes often added to the celebrations.

By Saturday morning (the 21st) we were heading to New Orleans. The roads were in poor condition and hard to travel on. We noticed that the landscape was lined with oil refiners bellowing out smoke and the homes were in disarray and needed new paint. At one point we took a corner and our pantry items in the motor home fell out onto the floor, breaking a number of items, and just making a big mess. We were thankful the cats stay under our seats when we are going down the road because they could have been terribly hurt in the ordeal.

Our next plantation was the Nottoway, located in White Castle, Louisiana. They claim to be the largest plantation in the south. In 1849, John Hampden Randolph, an extremely prosperous sugar planter, contracted an architect to design the largest and finest home in the South and to distinguish it from any other. The Nottoway is an American castle - a gem of Italianate and Greek Revival style boasting 64 rooms and 53,000 square feet of total area supported by 22 massive cypress columns.

It took 10 years to complete and in 1859 it accommodated the Randolph's eleven children and afforded all the wants and needs of a 7,000 acre sugar plantation. Saved from total destruction during the War Between the States by a Northern gunboat officer, a former guest of the Randolph's, Nottaway stands in a remarkable state of restored beauty.

The Randolph's had 7 girls - 5 of whom were married in the Grand White Ballroom (that we noticed had hand-painted Dresden porcelain doorknobs and

 hand-

carved marble mantels). Today, weddings are still performed in this magnificent ballroom. We reflected on the ultimate Southern grandeur and the finest hospitality when we viewed the family dining room. The table was set with hand-painted plates that depicted romantic scenes and were trimmed in gold. We enjoyed hearing the story of the long visits of their invited guests. As the story goes, when dinner was served to you it was on warm plates taken from the warmer. This meant you were welcome and your visit was being enjoyed. But, when you were served your meal on a cold dish, this meant you have over-stayed your welcome and should be on your way.

I had found myself thinking of the time before when we had travelled through here. It was about 4 years previously. We had Jessica, our granddaughter, with us and loved seeing the old plantations with here and sharing this country's history. Things were different now. i realized that I was taking in every moment, listening better and seeing more than I had done some years before. I wasn't in such a hurry to rush to the next attraction or plan so far a head that I lost sight of the here and now. I suppose, that is why we are doing better on stopping and slowing down and planning more time in our travels.

We planned to spend about one week in New Orleans during the Christmas and New Year's holidays. We camped at the Navy campground on base - small but nice, with laundry facilities, and we could walk to the commissary and NEX. We always find that people enjoyable and upbeat at base campgrounds. They are also a wealth of information on local happenings in the area. Tom always gathers literature from the Internet on what to do, where to go and special events that may interest us. Sunday was our day off - spent catching up on cleaning, cooking and resting.

Christmas in New Orleans

The traffic was light, and the city was busy with out-of-towners and it seemed everywhere we looked people were doing the same thing we were. We stopped at Johnny's Po Boy, a local establishment for some local cuisine. The restaurant was packed, you ordered at the counter and ate when your number was called. It was a hard choice, but decided on the Shrimp Po Boy sandwich and wasn't disappointed - it was wonderful.

After eating we decided to take a walking tour - self-guided of course. The area is in disrepair and needed a great deal of fixing and general clean up. The buildings are distinctive with Louisiana-style and history of jazz and Mardi Gras. We enjoyed looking at the designs of the buildings and found them to be decorated in the Christmas separates. We walked in the French Quarter: this is a huge tourist attraction, but is also the heart of old New Orleans. Centering on Bourbon Street (now lined with tacky souvenir stalls and strip clubs catering to conventioneers), this square mile is full of wrought-iron balconies on picturesque brick buildings. Despite the name, only one surviving structure dates from the time when New Orleans was under French colonial control.

New Orleans has some of the best and most enjoyable restaurants to eat in the world, so we planned to take our time and enjoy ourselves. In the French Quarter are some of the oldest restaurants, serving classic French-Creole cuisine and popularized Cajun-style "blackened" food all over the country.

No visit to New Orleans is complete without a stop for coffee and beignets at busy Cafe du Monde. So, dragging Tom in for some French coffee and pastries and serious people-watching I indulged. It was also was a good reason to stop and rest for a minute.


We made some friends here at the campground. Their names are Bill and Julie and are from the state of Washington. Their daughter, Sheila, is here in the Navy so they were visiting her over the Holidays - and escaping from the cold weather up north. We got together a few times for bites to eat and a little wine. We have enjoyed the conversations and the local information they have been so nice to share with us. Bill and Julie invited us to have Christmas dinner at Sheila's home on the river.

The next day, December 26, 2002, we decided to go to the Garden District and have lunch at the Commander's Palace. This is a huge historical house that

 has been turned into one of America's finest restaurants - kind of a who's who in New Orleans. Anyway we decided to see what it was all about. we both had Gumbo du Jour that was out of this world. Tom had Louisiana Crawfish stew with rice and Nita had the pork tenderloin with red cabbage and mashed potatoes. They were also offering martini's for 25 cents - so we each tried one. Desserts were a must: Tom had pecan pie a la mode and Nita had bread pudding parfait with rum sauce. The meal was one you only read about -- easy to believe the awards and write-ups in numerous restaurant magazines! The best-kept secret is the lunch prices: we were able to have the 5-star meals for around $30. And by the way, this was the first time we ever had martini's. We are not sure we will again, unless they are 25 cents again.

After our magnificent lunch we needed to walk - or at least try to - so we strolled the Garden District. This is a very old and very lovely section of town bordered by Jackson and Louisiana Avenues, between St. Charles Avenue and Magazine Street. Grand, elegant homes inhabit lush, flowering gardens and feature an unusual mixture of Spanish, English, French and Greek Revival architectural styles.

1134 First Street: Judge Jacob U. Payne owned this home, built by slaves, a friend of the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis. Davis died in one of the rooms in 1889. It is a popular belief that Payne designed this house. Gentlemen of this era thought architecture was a necessary skill to possess.

Lafayette Cemetery is directly across from the restaurant at the corner of Prytania and Washington Avenues. It was laid out in 1833 by the original residents of the Garden District. Within its first 20 years the cemetery was almost filled with people who succumbed to yellow fever. A well-kept cemetery, it is open to the public. This

cemetery also has been filmed in many movies. Aboveground house-like tombs served the same family for generations. They say they buried aboveground because of the watertable being so high. they have walking tour that is a wealth of information, but it is suggested not to walk alone - a number of muggings have taken place and it is not safe to be alone.

We left New Orleans on our way to see Tom's son, Doug, in Texas. He returned from Korea 4 months back and now is stationed out of Fort Hood, TX. We arrived 

Saturday December 29, 2002 late in the afternoon. We enjoyed spending time with Doug, Kendra and the kids. They came over to the campground on base where we stayed for the first two days. Then we moved over and parked our motor home in front of their home the night before we all left for San Antonio on the 31st. San Antonio is Texas' second largest city. We planned to leave at 6 AM for a motor home trip all could enjoy. It was a two hour drive and we wanted to spend the whole day sight-seeing with the family. A must-do was a visit to the Alamo, including touring the church building and the grounds where artifacts including Davy Crockett's vest and rifle are on display. We walked the runes, took in the museums and listened to a story of the old days. We travelled on to the Alamo Plaza that runs under the street at river level and includes a Farmers' Market, children's museum and stopped in at Ripley's Believe It or Not museum.

The city was clean and neat - the buildings were old and had a lot of

history, but were well kept. Everyone we met seemed friendly and upbeat. We enjoyed the city immensely and both agreed we would like to come back here sometime in the future to see more.

We spent New Year's day celebrating Alex's birthday. It wasn't until the next week, but we wanted to spend it together. We all had fun. We had cake and ice cream outside on the picnic table, opened presents, ate and had a good time. The weather was great - not a cloud in the sky and the temperature was around 67 degrees. Picture perfect as you can see.

We knew the holidays had come to an end as we reflected on family and friends we were blessed to be with and share time with and make new memories. We needed to say goodbye to Doug and his family so we could move along to Dallas to do some research about opening an office there. We spent the week gathering information on manufacturing companies, economics and urban development, and interviewing a number of people. We were able to take a break and take in some sights in Dallas.

One of our interests was in seeing Daily Plaza and the Texas Schoolbook Depository. What an eerie feeling - nothing has changed from the dark day the news

cameras swarmed down on Dallas and filmed the location after the assassination of JFK. The town has grown, but the Plaza has not been altered: it was like going back 1963. Wandering around the location, looking at the viewpoints of the shooter's position and crowds gives one a different perspective of what happened. Although we are not detectives, it makes one wonder what really happened.

Another weekend with Doug's family resulted in a very good time for all for us - simply doing things together allowed us all to chat and reacquaint ourselves.

Events moved rapidly at the end of January. We interviewed again in Houston while enroute back to SC. Necessity forces us to be home by Monday and push away we did. 10-12 hours a day driving placed us in Summerville on Sunday at 1pm. And back to work we went.