What a treasure!  St. Francisville is a beautiful little town with an historic district lined with 146 restored buildings on the National Historic Register. Loved the resting monk.  Not sure if it was St Francis cause it's missing birds. On my walking tour, I met a photographer in the Catholic Church who was helping with the Pilgrimage brochure to be held in a couple of months.  Quite a jack-of-all-trades.  He also plays in a band that entertains in local spots. Gave me some great advice on what to see in the area and I made it a point to see his photos which were exhibited in a local restaurant.

Visited plantations – the first was Oakley House, where James Audubon spent 3 ½ months drawing his birds.  He was hired to tutor the owner’s daughter, which he did in the morning and then spent his afternoons working on his drawings.  One piece of information that’s often omitted is he shot the birds, posed them and drew quickly (seems the colors begin to fade after a few hours).  My young tour guide had just graduated with a psychology degree and was having trouble finding a full time job.  This was only part-time but he’d done his homework and was a very knowledgeable and personable guide. For example, this interesting piece of information.  Lots of entertaining took place at that time but there were discreet signals to let visitors know it was time to go home. First their food was served on cold plates.  If that didn’t work, the pineapple do-dads (my term for the hospitality symbol) were removed from their bed posts and finally, salt and sugar were removed from the table. By that time, the message should have sunk in. 

Next was Rosedown.  Gardens were the main attraction for this house.  Acres of them- Italian-designed with flowers, fountains and statuary.  The owner’s wife insisted the gardens be planned and the tree-lined entrance be put in place before the house was built.  Then on to Greenwood.

Greenwood has a very interesting history. I was the only visitor so the guide & I sat on a sofa and she related the story. The home, like all these plantations, was built with Spanish Land Grants.  The conditions were:  you had to live in the home for 4 years, plant a crop (which was taxed by the Spanish government) and join the Catholic Church.  Many of the owners were transplanted Tories fleeing the Revolutionary War so Catholic (in name only) was pretty common.  Greenwood was a huge Greek revival home built with incredibly sturdy brick columns.  After the Civil War, it fell into disrepair and was eventually bought and restored only to be burned to the ground by a lightning strike in 1960.  The columns were the only things that remained.  Again, the property was bought and the exterior was rebuilt, using its original plans.  The owners were then approached by a Canadian film company who were doing a documentary on French settlers in Louisiana and offered to refurbish the house, if they could use it (right down to the wallpaper). Then another stroke of luck – the filmmakers of “The North and the South” offered to add the reproduction furnishings.  The current owners (the son of those who rebuilt it) live in the third story addition (that tiny box on top) to the house and have opened it for tours.

Headed for Baton Rouge and noticed there was some excitement going on.  Had no idea I’d dropped in on a day of one of the Mardi Gras parades.  Parked Patience in a spot along the parade route and then set out to see some of the downtown, especially the old capitol building.  Looks like an old French castle with a beautiful multi-colored glass ceiling.  Took a walk along the Mississippi and returned to my parade-watching neighbors

One couple was from St. Francisville and the other family, from Baton Rouge. They’d brought a King cake so we feasted and begged for beads. The floats were huge and lovely and the bands smartly stepped. Found a flaw in the GPS system while trying to find my motel.  When the police have closed most of the streets, there’s lots of frustrating “recalculating”.

Stopped in Lafayette and happened on the Acadian “Courir de Mardi Gras”. Lots of singing and dancing Cajun-style in a recreated Acadian village.  Missed out on the “chasing of the chickens” for the gumbo but spent the afternoon listening to the music and touring the village. For the festivities, each of the homes had someone in period clothing describing the life of the Acadians in LA.  Quite an adjustment from the weather in Nova Scotia.

The following day, I signed up for an eco-swamp tour with a zoology/botany grad who also volunteers with the Nature Conservancy.  Pulled up next to a number of alligators (happy to hear they don’t eat during the winter months), sad to hear the #1 predator of baby alligators are the big gators.  We skimmed thru the bayou in a Cajun crawfish skiff and luckily, got to see the egret and heron nesting site which closes to boat traffic on Feb. 15 to keep the nursery quiet. Two young adventurers from Brazil were also on the tour and working their way toward New Orleans for the Super Bowl & Mardi Gras festivities.

I took another scenic route to Houma. Stopped in St. Martinville to tour the Evangeline exhibit.  The story is, a judge from here was a friend of Longfellow’s at Harvard and told him the sad story of the Acadian’s forced exile from Nova Scotia by the British.  A large oak along the Atchafalaya River has been designated as the meeting place for the legendary Evangeline and Gabriel.  There’s also a Creole plantation with an adjoining Acadian farm set aside by Louisiana to show how they lived side by side. Farming and raising cattle was the niche these northern exiles carved out for themselves.  Huge disparity in living conditions but nonetheless, peaceful.

After wandering the segmented streets of Houma (name changes, number changes, tunnels and bridges) I landed at the Ramada Inn.  I’ve stayed in some very friendly places but this one wins the hospitality award.  The staff hosted a cookout for guests that evening & I met some lovely people.  A couple of salesmen gave me some tips on places to see and a previous Krewe Captain of one of the 8 or 9 parades held in Houma told me about how a parade is organized.  His group (Hercules) is comprised of all men and they begin planning the next parade immediately following the current one.  They are also very committed to service projects in the community during the year.  Gave me some beautiful mementos of his Krewe.

My salesmen friends and my instincts said stay away from New Orleans during the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras festivities so I headed north  above Lake Pontchartrain.  Some beautiful homes along the lake.  Stopped in Ponchatoula and bought yummy strawberries from a roadside stand.  Seemed strange to have strawberry season the end of January.