Road Trip 2018 - Day Five, Of Capitals, Plantations and Plants

We had unfinished business in Baton Rouge this morning, seeing the historic Old Capital Building. It dated back to before the Civil War. It was burnt during that conflict and then rebuilt on an even grander scale in the last part of the 19th century. It is a real work of art as you will see in the photo section.

Then we made our way toward New Orleans but we went along the Mississippi River along a way that is known for its plantations. The road on both sides of the river is called River Road. However, there is a bit of misnomer in all this.

First it is true that the road follows along the river. However, there are high levees on both sides of the river, so there are no river views to speak of. And while yes there are a number of restored plantation houses and properties on these roads, there are a heck of a lot more commercial plants on these roads...sugar processing plants, petrochemical plants, bauxite plants, oil tank farms. And between all this commercial activity one finds the occasional restored plantation.

There are many plantations one can visit but my business friend R and his wife N, who grew up in this area, recommended Laura Plantation which is one of the only remaining Creole plantations. A very, very brief history lesson. Louisiana was predominately a French colony (with some Spanish rule interspersed) until the Louisiana Purchase. The plantation economy was based on the growing and production of sugar which put it into a cultural sphere with the French colonies of the Caribbean like Haiti, Martinique and Guadalupe more so than the cotton and tobacco cultures of the Anglo/American culture of the rest of the South.

At Laura Plantation, the tour guide and the tour itself were top notch. Just a ton of information about the Creole history and culture, plantation operations, wealth transfer and inheritance, family dynamics and relations, the slave culture, etc.

Then we finished up driving on to New Orleans. We are staying in another Airbnb on the outskirts of Metairie. We've four days here with many of our favorite city visit activities (food tour, photo workshop, history tour) so we're expecting a good time.

Laissez les bons temps roulez!

Les Photos

Was so glad we stayed the extra morning in Baton Rouge and saw the Old State Capital

It was a feast for the photographic eye as well as having a ton of its own history

Studies of the dome and staircase

Studies of design features

Studies of stained glass

Old buildings of such history ALWAYS have spirits in them

The Old Capital has the Photographer Spirit who haunts its environs and presents herself to deserving folk who beseech her guidance

Crazy amount of history here

Statue of the Founder of New Orleans, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville

 And there was a whole room dedicated to the controversial story of Huey Long in the 1920's and 30's

Our lunch today is brought to you by Grapevine Cafe in Donaldsonville, LA. Thanks N & R for the recommendation

Redfish stuffed with crab

Portobello Mushroom cap with same stuffing and grilled shrimp

At Laura Plantation we were in a large tour group which makes picture taking pretty much impossible.

Did get the exterior

Our guide who talked incredibly fast but was dumping tons of information at the same time

In Creole culture women could and did end up with vast wealth and control of the plantations

 The plantations in this area all desired to have access to the river. So they tended to be long and narrow or like a wedge with the wider part away from the river.

Here is what it looks like on a map from the period

And here is what it looks like from the air

de-I commandeered a Boeing 737 to get these shots 

(Oh alright, I took them when flying to Florida for business a few weeks ago)

Not the 'Big House' but one where the lady above lived for a long period of her life. Still in need of restoration

And a couple of shots because I couldn't get anything decent in the house! LOL