Two weeks in Mandeville, LA

Our stay in Mandeville has been extended by new friends, sites to see, easy parking and hookups, better weather and just enjoying being in one spot for a while. The day after finishing up our H4H work we were invited by our fellow RVers to go plantation touring in the country west of New Orleans. There are two must see plantations that are close enough to each other to do both in one day. They are also very different from each other and each represent a different period of history important to Louisiana. Back when France was in charge of the area the acreages along the Mississippi were carved up into long narrow parcels of land and given to friends of the authorities. They all had frontage on the river for transporting the sugar cane products and other crops that they produced. Sugar cane was extremely profitable and as the French became richer they started building large homes within site of the river. All of the work on the plantations and most of the building was done by slaves.

Map of Mississippi Plantations

Laura Big House

Cheerful colors

Slave quarters
The first plantation we visited was the Laura Plantation, named for one of the last of the family who built it and lived there for 90 odd years. It was built in 1805 in the French Creole style, meaning it was not huge, but well built, off the ground and painted in the bright, vivid colors of the Caribbean. Business was conducted in the front side of the house facing the river, and, in this family, the business was run by the women. The head of the business was called the president and that person was chosen because they were the smartest in the family. Turns out the women had the brains of the family, though several of them were less than enthusiastic about being in charge. Their lives revolved around the business of growing and selling sugar. Buyers came and went, but it was not a social life, it was a lonely life, and it seems like the men would die young or not be worth the food they were fed. Life for the slaves was horrendous, watch the movie "12 Years a Slave" if you need a refresher course in slavery. Laura was the last of the line for the original family and she utterly rejected plantation life. She wanted to get an education, speak English and be American. She also hated slavery. In 1892 Laura sold the plantation for a pittance, moved to St. Louis and never looked back. The German family who bought the plantation ran it for another 95 years. In her latter years Laura wrote a memoir which was found in the 1990's by the man who wanted to restore the plantation, it was he who gave it her name.  Laura's memoir paints a vivid picture of life on a plantation and the history of her proud and determined family. What a cast of colorful characters!

New profession for Thayer?

Slave quarters, Oak Alley

 The next plantation was very different, built in the Greek Revival style, the gracious plantation home that you have seen in movies and pictures. Oak Alley gets its name from two rows of Live Oaks, 28 of them in all, that stretch from the house to the lane in front of the river. These trees are 300 years old and no one knows who planted them way back in the 1700's. The big house was built about 1850. The plantation was built as a gift from a husband to his new bride. Unfortunately, he forgot to ask her if she would enjoy living in the country and it turns out that she did not enjoy the country. She stuck it out for a few years, bouncing back and forth to New Orleans for her socializing and shopping. Finally she just didn't come back but continued spending funds freely, entertaining and running a large home in the city. Her husband, down on the farm, was not able to keep up with her spending, got sick and died. She tried to run the farm for a few years, her son took over for a few more years but the debts were too great and they were forced to sell what they could to pay them off. Eventually a couple named Stewart bought the home, refurbished and improved it, and lived in it till they died.

Antebellum belles

Oak Alley, Big House

Beautiful tour guide

Oak Alley, interior

Oak Alley, interior

Mighty Live Oaks, 28 alongside the alley

 Today the home is a major tourist draw and is used for weddings, movies and special events. They have a restaurant, cafe and lodgings. The slave quarters were partly rebuilt to educate visitors and give them a good idea of the cramped living conditions and harsh treatment doled out to the slaves. The grounds and gardens were extensive and very beautiful, the huge Live Oaks dominating the landscape with their 130 ft. spreading branches. They can live to be 600 years old! At the Civil War tent we learned about major events of the War that happened in this area of Louisiana. There was a very learned young soldier manning the general's tent that day.

RV friends

It was a great day, spent with Jim, Sandi, Betsy and Clark, some of our RV buddies here at the church. A little bit about the Mandeville Christian Church...it is a small church with only about 35-40 members. The building sits on several acres, just off the highway going into Mandeville. Lynn and Linn are the Boondocker couple that we contacted for our stay, they have been the temporary ministers here, off and on, for several years. They are full time RVers with some property in Oregon. Kevin is the church's young(27yo) paster who is currently living in the building. He is funny and can deliver a fine sermon as well as cook up a storm on Wednesday nights for the weekly church and RVer dinner. There are two other RVs here with us, two couples from the Southwest who have been traveling together for almost a year. We have had many meals together, carpooled to the grocery store, played Mexican Train dominoes into the night and just had a great time with them. One of them is having some medical problems which has been worrisome, but they are optimistic and hopeful about the outcome. Jim and Clark are both retired military, Jim was Army, Clark, Air Force, which turns out to be very important come parade day.

Thayer and I spent two days in New Orleans. The first was a cold foggy day, midweek. It was very quiet but that made it easier for us to get our bearings and do some exploring. We took a three hour guided van ride around the French Quarter, the Hurricane Katrina disaster area, and the Garden District. It gave us a great overview of the city and helped us decide what we wanted to do on our next visit. We also took in some music at the New Orleans Jazz National Park. They have two venues for live music, on this day we heard a fantastic pianist playing some wonderful jazz, boogie woogie, and more. We practiced riding the streetcar, walking safely in the French Quarter, and staying out of trouble. 

French Quarter

Interesting stores!

Many cemeteries in N.O

N.O. Jazz National Park

U.S. Army Brass Band at the Mint

 Our second day in New Orleans was planned so that we could take in a Carnival Parade in the evening. It was a much busier day in N.O., a Saturday, a parade day, and NBA All Stars game day, it was a happening place! The streetcars and streets were full of loud, friendly people. We rode to the Garden District and did a self guided walking tour of the historic and beautiful homes of the neighborhood. So many to see, so many lovely architectural details and designs, wonderful ironwork and beautiful yards and gardens. The sidewalks are terrible so you must be careful to not fall on your head while ogling the houses. I think our favorite was Sandra Bullock's home, it just looked perfect. I don't think she spends much time there. Next, we visited the Mint, which is where the National Park has another music venue and a Jazz Museum. We were able to hear the U.S. Marine Brass Band playing loud jazz! It was fantastic, and they looked and sounded as precise you would expect of fine military musicians. We then enjoyed a wonderful Italian meal at Frankie's, located across the street from the French Market. I have never heard Thayer rave about any food the way he raved about his chicken alfredo! 

Garden District, Sandra's house

Garden District

Garden District

Garden District

Garden District

 Next up was the big Carnival Parade, featuring the Krewe de Vieux. Probably most of you know all about Mardi Gras but I'm just learning so here is what I understand about this crazy event. It starts shortly after Christmas with the Carnival season, which lasts until Mardi Gras, which lasts until Lent, and is thusly based on the Easter calendar. Carnival season seems to be the warm up for the full blown craziness of Mardi Gras. During Mardi Gras you get all of your temptations and sinning out of your system because you know you gotta be good during Lent! And then, of course, all will be forgiven at Easter, so a couple months of partying and debauchery seems like a "reasonable" thing to do so you have something to be forgiven for! Anyway, it is BIG business and many, many people are totally into it. Various Krewes (organizations of like minded, creative folks) work all year long to come up with a themes, build their floats or contraptions and make costumes, gather throwing materials and start a booze collection. In the French Quarter, on their parade night, they drink their booze collection, put on their costumes, find their float and follow it through the narrow streets. There is lots of dancing, drinking, singing, horns, laughter and music. French Quarter themes are very adult but, to my surprise, there were lots of little kids there. Some of the Krewes have been around for 100 years! Apparently, since we are only in the Carnival season, this parade was fairly tame which was fine by me. The highlight of the night was catching up with Jaime Clarke and Marshall Weinstein, visiting New Orleans from Seattle, with Marshall's parents. Haven't seen them since last June and it was fun to stand on a noisy street 3000 miles from Kenmore and shout at each other for a bit. The only bling I scored was during the afternoon before the parade when some was being thrown from a balcony.

Street String Band

Always love the mules

Carnival Parade 

Carnival Parade 

Carnival Parade 

Scales at the Mint

By way of contrast, the next day we went to a small town called Slidell for the Krewe of Perseus parade. It was very family friendly and we were deluged with bling from the 20+ big floats. There were also emergency vehicles of all types, marching bands, drill teams galore, horsemen and women, rope jumpers, bagpipers, big and little girl beauty queens, clowns, and much more! It was a fantastic parade! Not much in the way of candy compared to your typical 4th of July parade though. Sitting on the sidewalk with two retired military guys wearing their hats is a sure fire way to get the most bling around here. Because Clark and Jim kept handing their bling to Sandi, the throwers didn't think they had any so they kept throwing more stuff to them. Many people came up to thank them for their service. I'm buying Thayer a Navy hat the first chance I get!

Pre-parade entertainment

Cute minis!

Slidell parade

Slidell parade

Thayer, Jim, Clark

Jim, Sandi, me, Thayer and our haul of bling

Even the horses love Mardi Gras!

Slidell parade

I spent several days exploring the Tammany Trace Bike Trail which stretches to the north and south of the trailhead closest to the church. Biking 5 miles to the south brought me to the Fountainbleu State Park on the shores of Lake Ponchatrain. Its a big park with many Live Oaks providing shady picnic areas, big fun fountains for the kids, and several miles of nature trails. Going to the north brought me near the H4H site that we had worked on so I stopped and did a couple of hours worth of painting. The highway and streets are miserable for biking because there is no shoulder and lots of traffic. I found that the drivers were very courteous and moved over for me and slowed down. The bike path was awesome, really flat and smooth, and no one else seems to use it. I didn't do the whole thing but it is 30+ miles in length.

Little coffe shop siding along the Tammany Trace

Our two weeks in Mandeville was a wonderful interlude in our trip. We met some wonderful people, contributed to the community, explored the city and countrysides, and had plenty of relaxing time. We were kind of sad to be leaving our lovely spot but the time had come, with warmer weather on the way, to find our way to Arkansas.