Natchez Mississippi

Last month, we went to South Louisiana. On the way home, I wanted to explore a bit of Natchez since it has a huge amount of antebellum homes.

View of the Mississippi River from Natchez
View of the Mississippi River from Natchez

 

Natchez Visitors' Center
Natchez Visitors’ Center

Our time was limited and thankfullly, we found the Natchez Vistors’ Center to get an overview of everything. Although it was filled with informative brochures, the most valuable item was the walking (or driving) tour of the historic downtown area and plantation homes.

Rosalie Plantation
Rosalie Plantation

Owned and operated since 1938 by the Mississippi Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Rosalie Plantation was home to Peter and Eliza Little beginning in 1823. Shortly afterwards, the Littles started the Natchez Children’s Home in their house. After they both died in the mid-1850’s, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Wilson purchased the property. They too took in orphaned children and deeded it over to one of their charges, Fannie McMurtry. The home remained in Fannie’s family until the last child, Annie Rumble died. (more…)

Creole Nature Trail – Part 2

One of the most scenic drives in Louisiana is the Creole Nature Trail in the southwestern edge of the state. We did the western half of it in 2013, but decided to do the eastern portion of it a few weeks ago. It was Christmas Day so many of the stops were not open.

Abbeville, LA

As we left Lafayette, we headed south on Highway 167 to Abbeville, La – a small town in Vermillion parish. The main claim to fame is the Palmetto Island State Park, but we didn’t have time to visit. The highway led us through the town square and around the Vermillion Parish courthouse. It’s my favorite style of archictecture, much like the style of famed architect A. Hays Town. It was no suprise when I later learned that Mr. Town built the Greek-Revival building in 1953.

(more…)

Georgia Governor’s Mansion – Atlanta

“Are you sure we can do this?” my daughter asked. “I mean, doesn’t somebody live here?”

DSC_0141

 

We had just turned into the Governor’s Mansion in Atlanta. I presented my driver’s license and the guards at the gate told us where to park.Walking up to the orange brick building flanked with 30 white columns, we rang the front door bell where a white-haired, petite docent greeted us on this rainy day and gave us the history of the mansion. (more…)

Helton Creek Falls – North Georgia

I’ve heard so much about Helton Creek Falls that we made a trip of it after hiking at nearby Vogel State Park. The well-marked entrance is located on Hwy 129/19 just one mile south of Vogel.

However, we thought we were in the wrong place driving through a residential neighborhood of houses perched alonside a creek. Soon, the road turned gravel and a hand-painted sign announced the falls were just 2 miles ahead.

0152b1ab8a38dde6f3bfa58697017d4130dc99957f
The road seemed to go nowhere.

The most difficult part of the trip was the bumpy, rocky dirt road. In the distance, we saw the falls and came to a parking area. For such an out of the way place, there were 6 or 7 cars. The total loop to the falls is just 1/3 of a mile. We climbed down the path and the temperature was instantly cooler. When we reached to the falls, we took a left to descended down the wooden stairs to the base of the lower falls. (more…)