New Orleans - Day Two

Day Two

We woke up at the beautiful Ashton's Bed and Breakfast to herbed egg crepes with asparagus and crab sauce. Then we hopped into our rental SUV, and headed west for an hour until we came to Evergreen Plantation on Great River Road. Today was plantation day and it was fascinating!

This is the alley of trees that meets you as you drive up to Evergreen Plantation. Picturesque, no?


This is the back view of Evergreen. The plantation house was just one of many buildings directly on the lot. The outdoor buildings included the outhouse, bedrooms for the young males of the house, and the kitchen (kitchens were illegal to have inside the house due to fire concerns).


Kent and I standing on the front steps of Evergreen. We would be looking straight at the Mississippi River back when the Plantation was built (the levey was then 5 feet tall, but now you can't see the river because the levey has been raised to 20 feet tall). Plantations typically owned from the swamp clear up to the banks of the Mississippi River.


A cool feature of Evergreen is the row of original slave quarters. It was an alley of trees, much like the first photo, but with 2 columns of these slave cabins that went 22 rows back. After the emancipation of slaves, these cabins were used as homes for the fieldworkers, etc.


Second, and most impressive, plantation of the day was Oak Alley Plantation which became a landmark of sorts to those traveling the Mississippi River. This plantation was built by the wealthy plantation owner for his young bride from New Orleans who loved holding parties and was somewhat of a socialite (she later left him and moved back to New Orleans, and he died alone in this home. She inherited the plantation and ran it into the ground).


This is Oak Alley's 2nd floor verandah. They built these verandahs quite wide as they did most of their living here during the hot humid southern weather. Apparently here you could feel the cool breezes blow off the Mississippi River.


Here Kent is demonstrating the MASSIVE size of these Oak trees. The roots would grow above the ground because the trees were so massive.


The view of the Mississippi River as was seen from the inhabitants of Oak Alley.


The last plantation of the day was Laura Plantation. This home was painted many bright colors originally, which was what differentiated Creole plantations from others.


This photo shows another existing example of slave quarters typical of Lousiana Plantations. The main cash crop in Lousiana was sugar cane (as seen in background).


This plantation also boasted a banana tree patch (Bananas Foster anyone?)!


Here is silly sweet Kent just tickled pink to a) be wearing a bib, b) be wearing a bib in public, and c) to have a waiter put the bib on him.


For dinner this night, we went to Mr. B's Bistro. Kent got the Barbecued Shrimp (pictured here). We all know he got it not for the shrimp, but for the bib.


I had to include a photo of the dish that has most recently changed my culinary world. Pork with sweet potatoes and candied pecans! Oh, yum. I'll have to make it for you some time.