Mardi Gras

We drove west along the coast through Biloxi and Gulf Port on our way to New Orleans.  We left the emerald water behind as we neared the sediment-filled water of the Mississippi delta.  Oak Alley was out first stop.  This sugar cane plantation is beautifully restored and the 300 year old namesake trees are picture perfect. We enjoyed crawfish etoufee, gumbo, and red beans and rice at their restaurant.

We quickly realized that Mardi Gras was in full swing in New Orleans.  We decided to visit the French quarter early in the day for Jackson and Asa's benefit.  We travelled to the city via the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, the longest bridge in the world at 24 miles.  We had cafe au lait and beignet at Cafe du Monde and then took a walk around Jackson Square and French Market area.  Even in the benign morning hours a couple of blocks on Bourbon Street was enough for us.  We felt the hand of God as we missed a shooting that evening and a tornado that touched down in Hattiesburg, MS where were headed the next day!


We were thrilled to connect with my Aunt Ruthann and Uncle Dan, their children Jeff and Pam and their families.  We visited for hours, catching up on 20 years of history in an afternoon.  They introduced us to the King cake, a Mardi Gras specialty with a small plastic baby baked in the cake.  The person who finds the baby gets the honor of buying next year's King Cake.  Jackson was the lucky one! Of all of our stops with friends and family, they had the most questions about our trek across the country.


On our way to Natchez, we traveled through Prentiss, Mississippi where Amy's grandparents lived for 20 years. We made sure to have catfish, something Amy remembered eating on her visits to see her grandparents. Natchez turned out to be another one of those hidden treasures on this trip.  It has a rich history, literally, as it once housed more millionaires than New York City. The antebellum mansions of cotton plantation owners dot the landscape here due to the important role that Natchez and the Mississippi River played in cotton export. We all loved touring through Longwood, the largest octagonal house in the United States at 30,000 sq. ft.  The upper floors were actually never finished as the Civil War erupted during construction, sending the Pennsylvania craftsmen north, never to return as the family's fortune dried up as a result of a long war and Union victory.

We also traveled parts of the Natchez Trace Parkway, an old Native American/trade trail turned scenic byway that stretches from Natchez to Nashville, Tennessee (400+ miles).  We took in the Natchez Indian Museum and visited the Emerald Mound, the second largest Native American mound in the United States.