Day 7: Louisiana and Oak Alley

I might be off on my days, because I think this is more like day 8, but whatever.

We crossed the border into Louisiana on Route 61, which was smaller than the interstate so our photo at the border wasn't as perilous.

We are staying on the Oak Alley plantation, on the west bank of the Mississippi in St. James Parish between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.  We picked this one to see because it has a little glamor but also seemed to do a good job with researching and portraying conditions on the plantation, at least on-line.  This has been true on the ground too.

The plantation was started in 1837 or so for sugar by Jacques Roman and his wife, Celina.  The greater Roman family owned a bunch of plantations along this strip.  Jacques died nine years later, and the plantation limped along under Celina and her son Andre until war broke out in 1861.  Louisiana was taken by the Union pretty quickly (with lots of revolts after) and they basically lost the plantation until sometime after the war, but things fell apart.  It was completely abandoned for a while and for 12 years cows lived freely in the house (longer than Jacques did!)  It was restored in 1925 and is now in some sort of non-profit status.

We had a great tour of the house, followed by checking out the well done depiction of the slave quarters and slave life.  It was topped off by a presentation about the sugar industry then-and-now with a hilarious but disturbing video by the sugar growers.  I filmed a clip of it below.  If you can play it, check it out!  Apparently sugar does not cause diabetes or obesity and you should eat as much as you'd like!  I'm going to be showing this to the med students next year when I teach these things.  It's pretty similar to the old tobacco advertising.  

We learned that the oaks (Virginia Live Oaks) were planted sometime around 1670, 150 years before the plantation was established!  They don't really know by whom (they're pretty clearly human-planted) but probably by French settlers.  They cause a sort of wind tunnel effect, pulling cooler air from the Mississippi to the house.  You can feel it standing on the porch of the house.  These are really cool trees, with some of the branches coming down to the ground and apparently rooting there.

The house/plantation had 113 slaves at its peak in 1848.  About 1200 acres, most of it growing sugar cane.

OK, I'm out of gas.  Have to plan our major drive to Birmingham tomorrow before dinner.

Louisiana border.  Sort of missed low on the selfie.

Missed high on this one.

Maddy getting dwarfed on Oak Alley

It is definitely one hell of an alley!

Harry's toes in the Mississippi this morning.

Other parts of Harry on the Mississippi this morning.

River boat docked at Oak Alley.

40 foot levee at Oak Alley, from the river side.  They used to be 5 feet when it was a plantation.

Day 6 in Dixie: Warren Co Courthouse and Natchez Mississippi

Well, we have now logged about 1100 miles on the road in total, and we're still smilin'.  Long but good day today.  We spent most of it on route 61 in Mississippi and Louisiana, going along the Mississippi river (sort of, more on that below).  I've been extremely impressed with roads around here (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana).  Nobody's on them but they're well maintained and many are 4-lane, which means you can really roll.  We've gotten around very easily (perhaps jinxing us now!!!!!)

We started in Vicksburg, checking out of the Duff Green Manor and going to the Warren County Courthouse on our way out of town.  This is the old courthouse in Vicksburg, that was a central point in the siege - the confederate flag flying a-top giving hope to the besieged.  The building escaped bombing because they kept Union prisoners on the top floor.  It's now a museum, run by two "quintessential" old southern gentlemen (think of Shelby Foote from Ken Burns' "Civil War") who were loaded with information and willing to impart it.  One of them told me about all the flags of the Confederacy, and why they kept changing them:
-The First National looked too much like the Union Flag
-The Second National looked too much like a surrender flag
-they stuck with the Third National, but also used what we think of as the "Confederate" flag as their battle flag.
-they also had another, called the Bonnie Blue, with a white star on a blue background.  I actually forget the whole story about it.  I was thinking that any state that wanted to celebrate their old southern heritage should use the Bonnie Blue instead of the battle flag to avoid controversy.  To me, that confederate flag has about the same connotation as a swastika.  Maybe it shouldn't, but it does.  One problem, Bonnie Blue looks like the flag of Somalia.

Lots of interesting exhibits, including a whole room on Jefferson Davis, who lived much of his life not far from Vicksburg.  He's everywhere in the South.  Interesting guy.  Other stuff in the museum included:  teddy bears and tea cups.

I also found out that "Dixie" came from the "Dix" printed on the back of a Louisiana ten dollar bill before the war.

We then headed due south along the river.  Rather, we tried to stay along the river but it's impossible along the Mississippi.  You rarely see it.  Why?  Because it loops and loops and loops and loops, and the land between the loops is often soggy and uncertain.  There aren't that many bridges across it, Vicksburg being one and the next one to the south being Natchez, 70 miles away.  Those are spots that are raised significantly above the river.  Anyway, Natchez was our destination for lunch.  We spent some time in between hunting for things - like the river, as well as the Windsor Ruins, an old manor of which only the pillars remain.

When we finally got to Natchez, man were we hungry.  Zeus be praised for an un-planned BBQ stop, at the Pig Out Inn.  We definitely were not impressed with the quality of the ribs (a little dry and stringy) but they hit the spot.  I liked the mixed bean salad - somewhat spicy.  Also, it's good to have a clear "last place" in our search.  At the moment, my personal ranking is:
-Letha's (Hattiesburg MS)
-Jim n' Nick's (just North of Montgomery AL)
-Big Fatty's (WRJ Vermont, just have to put that on the list)
-Pig Out Inn (Natchez MS)

I feel I'm missing a place.  It'll come to me.

We took off from Natchez and drove to Vacherie LA.  More on that later!

Warren County Courthouse.

Flags of the confederacy.  From front to back:  Bonnie Blue, Third National, Second National, First National, Battle flag.

First National Confederate flag (front) and Battle flag (back)

Second National Confederate flag (front)

Third National Confederate flag

Exhibit in the Warren Co Courthouse of blacks who served for Confederacy.

Teddy Roosevelt had his encounter with a bear about 20 miles north of Vburg, leading to the Teddy Bear.

Original Teddy Bear.

There must have been 1000 tea cups in that court house.  This is just a fraction.

More tea cups!  I like the square one.

Explanation of the Sultana disaster.  This was a river boat that was supposed to take former Union prisoners at "Castle Morgan" (Cahawba, AL) up the Mississippi and home.  It was over-loaded and poorly maintained and blew up en route, killing many who had survived the horrors of the prisoner camp.  One of them was one of Maddy's ancestral uncles!  Sorry I don't have a photo of an awesome mural painted about this on the levee in Vicksburg.  I thought I took a photo but it's not there.  Maddy has a photo.

Mississippi river south of Vicksburg, with one of several casinos

In Natchez before lunch.  We are hungry and in a goofy mood.

the Pig Out Inn, Natchez MS.  Not the best BBQ, but even bad BBQ's still pretty good BBQ.  We liked the sign too.

Natchez post-lunch.  Much more sedate!

Day 5 in Dixie: Vicksburg

We arrived in Vicksburg by dead of night - with a little less fanfare than Grant, 153 years ago.

The Duff Green Manor Inn is, well, it's difficult to transmit our first impression.  Amazing, unreal, gob-smacking, all of the above?  It's a true antebellum manor (JUST antebellum, built 1856) that was spared the Union bombardment because, after about 4 cannon balls crashed into it, the owner declared it a hospital (which it was the remainder of the conflict).  16 foot high ceilings, beds that require step stools to get in, beautiful wooden floors.  It's quite spectacular.  You should come - SOON.  The owners (Harley and Rick, husband and wife) have been here about a year and the price is sure to go up.  At present, I am lounging in the shade by the pool.  Very nice.

After breakfast, we got a tour from David, an employee here.  The house remained a hospital until 1867, when the last of the injured were good enough to move.  Vicksburg fell July 4, 1863, and the war ended in 1865.  This was a strategic place on the Mississippi and the last Confederate strong point.  Taking it basically cut the Confederacy in half (separating it West from East) and spelled the beginning of the end.

David was a very soft-spoken but equally un-apologetic Southerner.  He pointed out that slavery was not a clear-cut issue (a couple of times, he slipped in stories about free black slave owners in Vicksburg) and that the war wasn't really about slavery.  He told us that after the Union victory, black Union troops were left in control of some of the town, and looted/pillaged.  He said that reconstruction was a fiasco, punitive to the South, and was responsible for lots of bad stuff later.  He did say that the Lincoln assassination was terrible for the South, as Lincoln would have been much better at reconciliation than Johnson.

After the tour, we went to the official National Park Service Civil War site.  We watched the video that seemed quite skewed to the Union.  Complete with stories of reconstruction set to inspiring music, saying the reconstruction of Vicksburg, aided by those black soldiers, was a model for the reconstruction of the South in general.

So, we saw history from both sides!  I was feeling the same type of anger at David that I did toward a Dresden resident who was lambasting the US for the carpet-bombing of the city when I visited there.  "Did you ever stop to think there were REASONS for it?
1)  the economic structure in the South was perpetuating something really bad
2) the South started the war
3) the South stopping!"

Yes, the North was not angelic, was plenty racist, etc.  None of that excused the South's treatment of slaves.

Oh yeah, and the Confederate soldiers were pretty good at looting TOO!

Oh yeah, and if you had been a slave and persecuted, what do you think YOU would do to your oppressors?

Anyway, I thought the National Park rendition could have done a better job in showing the clear bravery and suffering of the people of Vicksburg, as well as not portraying Reconstruction as a success!

We saw something else at the Vicksburg battlefield.  There was a troop of black Union re-enactors, depicting the 3rd Colored Cavalry that was one of the black units fighting here.  They spoke very proudly of what that meant to the soldiers.  It was one of the first times they had been trusted in battle, and they apparently succeeded in some situations where white troops had failed several times.  People thought they would turn and run, but it was the Confederate troops that retreated when they saw they were up against a very determined unit.  One of the re-enactors spoke at great length (and I mean, of GREAT length - he wouldn't stop) about how we all should look to the future, not the past.  He pointed out the Negro Monument on the battlefield, that depicts three blacks:  a slave looking backwards (the past), an injured soldier looking down (the present) and another soldier looking forward (the future).  He liked the third guy.  We went and saw that monument after that, and were very moved.

So, history...  There are lots of histories.  Of the same incident.  All valid as far as they go, and then with some very distorted ideas based on what they wish were true.  I can certainly see that in my reactions.  I am a little scared, however, by the vigor of the feelings I felt here.  There was a certain amount of "of course we're better off as a Union now" from David, but you weren't completely sure he meant it.  I feel a geographical divide sometimes in this country, and this trip doesn't necessarily make me feel better about it.  There's a lot of military around here, too.

On the subject of monuments, there are LOTS of them at Vicksburg!  The states of Illinois and Ohio must have 100 each.  We couldn't make it around to the most impressive (Mississippi and Missouri, the latter having two - one for the Union and one for the Confederacy) - we just ran out of steam.  Also, we were hoping to be looking down on the river from the heights of the battlefield, but there are lots of trees!  We looked for some of the monuments of Maddy's ancestors (an Indiana cavalry regiment, and an Ohio infantry regiment) but could not track them down.  We found the New Hampshire one (they only had one, more sensible) and moved on.

Vicksburg is well worth visiting.  And, if you do visit, stay at the Duff Green Mansion!

Duff Green Mansion - Front

Maddy on the step!

The porch outside our room.  Yoga will be done here tomorrow morning.

Maddy's bed.  Note step stool to right.  I have an adjoining room with less impressive beds but lots of windows!

3rd Colored Cavalry re-enactors.

Negro Memorial.

Day 5 in Dixie: Hattiesburg, and the Mississippi Braves

We drove north out of Biloxi on Route 49, heading to Hattiesburg.  This is the home of Southern Mississippi University, and we were slated to have lunch with a friend of a friend, Kate Cochran.  Kate is a literature professor at the University, specializing in southern literature.  She took us to Letha's BBQ, a famous joint outside of town, where we had some really killer BBQ and great conversation.  Thank you Kate!  And Mandy, for introducing us.

One thing Kate told us was about the debate over Mississippi's flag, right after the South Carolina controversy and shootings.  Many wanted the confederate flag part of the Mississippi flag removed, but it failed in a referendum (partly because the alternative flag proposed looked terrible).  Some people, though, have voluntarily taken it down, including the president of Southern Mississippi U., who now just hangs three American flags in the place where the Mississippi flag used to go.

Kate also gave me a pep talk on Faulkner.  I'm going to get back to that.  Tomorrow.

After much debate, we decided to go to Jackson after that to catch our fourth baseball game in as many days!  This time it was the Mississippi Braves (farm club of Atlanta) playing the Jacksonville Suns in Trustmark Park (Pearl MS, just east of Jackson).

Great game!  The park was nice, the atmosphere good, and the Braves took care of business 6 - 2.  Their starting pitcher, Rob Whalen (Obi Wan), was solid when he threw strikes, striking out 8 through 6 innings.  Their closer, Madison Younginer (Older Obi Wan), was nasty too.  A lone but very bright ray of light for the Suns was Moises Sierra (Watto) who hit a homer and made a fantastic diving catch in center field.

Why do I have Star Wars characters listed above?  Because it was Science Fiction Night at the ballpark, and they gave all the players Star Wars characters.  There were real live Star Wars characters walking around, too.  Seriously, they were the real thing.  I even have pictures.

We headed to Vicksburg in the dark after the game, down more-or-less the same road that Grant used to take the town.  This is an amazing place.  More on that tomorrow!!!!

Harry and Maddy outside Letha's.  Unfortunately we didn't get a photo of Kate in here!

Southern Mississippi flag display, no longer flying the Mississippi flag (you can't see it, really.  Sorry, I couldn't get the wind to blow).

Fun and games before the game.

Walking into the game.  We had to keep movie because it was T-shirt giveaway too, and we wanted to get one!

See, I told you they were real!!!

Braves shortstop, Dansby Swanson (Han Solo) jacking a homer in the first inning.  Seriously, he hit a homer on this pitch when I happened to be taking a photo (see how close our seats were?)  He struck out two other times (should have taken more pictures).

Memorial Day fireworks.  Yay!

Day 4 in Dixie: entering Ole Miss, Biloxi and the Shuckers!!!!!

We crossed the border from Alabama into Mississippi on Route 10, right along the Gulf pretty much.

Our destination was Biloxi, which is on a long sort of peninsula that runs parallel to the mainland.  Two things brought us here:
-this was where Erica (Maddy's mom) was born, when her dad was serving at Keesler Air Force Base.
-this is home of the baseball team with perhaps the single best name ever:  the Biloxi Shuckers!

Much of Biloxi got pretty much completely wiped out by hurricane Katrina in 2005, and a lot has been built back but there are plenty of empty lots along the beach.  Some things are now on stilts (see a photo below).

We took an extended feet-up in the hotel, because we were hot, then headed out for the game (walking the mile along the beach to it, just to earn it).  The Shuckers were playing the Mobile Bay Bears again (we had just seen them in Mobile the night before!)

The Shuckers play in MGM Park, which is the second nicest stadium we've seen so far (to Montgomery).  The mascots did lots of goofy things, which kept us entertained.

We needed it, because it was a serious pitcher's duel.  0 - 0 going into the 9th.  Both Matt Koch for the Bay Bears (from Cherokee Indiana) and Jorge Ortega (Venezuela) threw gems, and not a whole lot of hitting was going on.  My favorite guy, Evan Marzilli of the Bay Bears (remember that name, he'll be good, from Fall River MA) didn't have a great game, but we DID catch a foul ball from him.

With 2 outs in the top of the 9th, the Bay Bear catcher Michael Perez (Puerto Rico) went deep over the left field wall, then the Bay Bear closer Jimmy Sherfy (Camarillo CA - nice guy but the name...) struck out the side in the bottom of the 9th and the game was over.  1 - 0 loss for the Shuckers.  We're 1 - 2 on our trip so far (that is, the home teams are).

I have to say that, besides not hitting a hell of a lot, the Shuckers were lax on the base paths.  Ortega laid down a sacrifice bunt, then basically didn't run at all and was doubled up.  The Shucker catcher, Jacob Nottingham (Redlands CA) dogged it getting back to second on a fly out by Victor Roache (Tampa FL) and was doubled up too.  A guy in front of us grumbled a lot (as well as grumbling because we caught the foul ball he wanted).  All-in-all, both of us are pretty solidly Montgomery Biscuits fans at this point.  Those guys had some pizzaz.

We couldn't get into Keesler, so satisfied ourselves with a photo at the gate, then headed out of town while listening to Delta blues.  Heading north to Hattiesburg, Jackson and Vicksburg.  You'll hear about that tomorrow!
 

H & M again facing death on the highway on the Mississippi border.  We had to turn around to come back to get this sign, so please appreciate it!

A motel right on the beach.  Note that it's on stilts!

Maddy in the jaws of the shark in that motel on the beach (not our motel).

Maddy and Harry and the Gulf of Mexico.

Keg urinals in a Biloxi restaurant.  Those guys sure can party!

M and H outside MGM Park before the game.  Note Shucker mascot behind them.

Maddy at MGM Park before the game.

The Bear mascot.  We were sitting right between home plate and the 3rd base dugout.  You always can get great seats at these parks!

Our baseball hat collection thus far.  Two Shucker hats (blue, pink) and a Montgomery Biscuits hat.

Maddy outside the AFB.

Day 3 and 4 in Dixie: the city of Mobile

Though we didn't have much time to explore Mobile, we were somewhat blown away by it.  There's definitely a funky/hip vibe to the town.  We stayed in the Malaga Inn, which felt very southern and sort of like one would expect from New Orleans.  The owner explained that this was a "Gulf Coast" feel - laid back.  It certainly was that.  Beautiful tree-shaded building with a nice central court yard and cool balconies.  I'm sorry, I can't give you a decent architectural description.  Look at the photos.  I have to say that things were a little loose in the room (like the shower was an experience), but whatever - the price for the charm.

The town had a bunch of music and theater going on.  Walking down Dauphin Street one encounters a large number of joints of this type.  A very nice funky bookstore (Bienville Books).  There was a Comic Con going on at the time, which added more spice, with some people dressed up like super-heroes.

Anyway, it was nice.  We were really worn out, though, and hit the road for Biloxi to take a nap!

Courtyard of the Malaga Inn.

Outside the Malaga Inn

Maddy with a turtle in an oyster shell, in one of Mobile's many small parks.

Two Sphinx with boobs.  Apparently it is some sort of Orthodox Church?  Who knows, but was not out of place in Mobile.

Lafayette in Mobile!  He was up in Montgomery too.  All over, in a tour he did late in his life (1825).