Drove over to Baton Rouge to visit the Rural Life Museum, which is a part of LSU. Museum was very interesting with lots of typical outbuilding for a working plantation and several styles of homes located on site.Interesting however I like the approach used at Williamsburg better. At Williamsburg they have a 'working' farm (& community) where actors portray a number of roles on the farm. For instance the blacksmith dresses in period and stays in character no matter what. The best part is you can ask questions about their life, their work, etc.
Lots of fun, especially watching some folks trying to 'trip them up'. For instance someone might ask how they light the fire and then ask why not use a lighter. The blacksmith then states they have no knowledge of a lighter, or any other item/substance/person not from that period or before.
After that we drove north into Plantation Country where we toured the Rosedown plantation. Simply incredible. Almost everything there is not only correct from a period standpoint, 90% of the items are original to the plantation. One person on the tour was amazed the large mansion was built in six months for about $13,000 until it was pointed out there were 450 slaves on the plantation. After the war, about 290 slaves stayed at the farm and became share croppers. Go to the library and get a book on Louisiana plantations. The variety is amazing and the pictures are stunning.
All in all, my recommendation is if you get a chance to visit Louisiana, do it. Go explore. And plan to spend more that a couple of days exploring; there is a ton of places to see and things to do. Not to mention good food just about anywhere you go. Must be that French influence. It's all over this place.
See ya!
BTW: Our niece had a procedure done yesterday that left her sick from anesthesia and in a lot of pain from the procedure itself. She will need an operation on her knee in the next week or two. Here's a big shout out to Mary Claire. Sweetheart, you are in our thoughts and prayers. I included a picture of our family including Racheal, Christopher's girlfriend and Tony, one of Christopher's best friends and a great friend of the family.We Love You Mary Claire -- Get Well Soon!
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1 comments:
I've been thinking of you two, but the last time I tried looking at your blog, only the first entry was there. Now I was delighted to find lots to read and see. Dale, you are the writer, yes? You are a fabulous writer! Funny. Informative. And you give proper credit to Mary Lynn for her important supervisory position and for her insights such as the Dobbie Doggie Window. You two are a great team!
In the summer of '06, Ben studied bears in Georgia, so we went to see him and to vacation in the area while we were there. Who would chose to visit Georgia in the tremendous heat of summer? But we had a fantastic time. Every area has wonderful things to offer... just like Louisiana! I look forward to your sharing your further discoveries and adventures!
Best wishes to Mary Claire and her family.
Love,
Jeannine A.
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