Old River Road
For a long time I have been wanting to drive the Old River Road and this seemed like our best opportunity. This map indicates the route we followed from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.
We left Baton Rouge headed south on LA 1. At a couple of points along the way we took the Old River Road which follows the banks of the Mississippi River. The land is very flat and our handheld GPS indicated that we were only a few feet above sea level.
This area is the location of many old sugar plantations. We saw acres and acres of sugar cane growing in the fields beside the highway and river.
There are still numerous old plantation homes along the River Road and some still have their slave quarters (tiny little cabins) lined up in a row near the end of the fields. We stopped at McDonalds for a break.
I photographed some old building across from McDonalds.
We stopped at an old ferry crossing...
Our destination was to be a plantation that is open to the public. We were not disappointed when we saw the front entrance. It was magnificent.
The big house at Oak Alley was constructed in the 1830's. The picture above was taken from near the river. The shot below is the rear of the house.
The parking area was a good distance from the house so we got a ride with a local driver.
This is the view from the front second floor "veranda". In the early days the residents could sit here and watch the river boats float by but now the levy has been built to a height that blocks the view of the river.
Our guide, in the pink skirt told us the history of the plantation. The big jar on the floor is the type container used to ship perishable items up the river. People kept the containers to use for storage on the plantation.
The kitchen was located beyond the formal garden away from the main house. This kept the heat of cooking away from the living quarters and also the wood fired cookstove was a fire hazard. In fact the kitchen here did burn but the big house was safe.
These are referred to as the "baby" oak trees planted behind the house. They are 100 years younger than those in the front "alley".
For a long time I have been wanting to drive the Old River Road and this seemed like our best opportunity. This map indicates the route we followed from Baton Rouge to New Orleans.
We left Baton Rouge headed south on LA 1. At a couple of points along the way we took the Old River Road which follows the banks of the Mississippi River. The land is very flat and our handheld GPS indicated that we were only a few feet above sea level.This area is the location of many old sugar plantations. We saw acres and acres of sugar cane growing in the fields beside the highway and river.
There are still numerous old plantation homes along the River Road and some still have their slave quarters (tiny little cabins) lined up in a row near the end of the fields. We stopped at McDonalds for a break.
I photographed some old building across from McDonalds.
We stopped at an old ferry crossing...
...and watched old man river roll by for a while.
Our destination was to be a plantation that is open to the public. We were not disappointed when we saw the front entrance. It was magnificent.
The big house at Oak Alley was constructed in the 1830's. The picture above was taken from near the river. The shot below is the rear of the house.
The parking area was a good distance from the house so we got a ride with a local driver.
This is the view from the front second floor "veranda". In the early days the residents could sit here and watch the river boats float by but now the levy has been built to a height that blocks the view of the river.
Our guide, in the pink skirt told us the history of the plantation. The big jar on the floor is the type container used to ship perishable items up the river. People kept the containers to use for storage on the plantation.
The kitchen was located beyond the formal garden away from the main house. This kept the heat of cooking away from the living quarters and also the wood fired cookstove was a fire hazard. In fact the kitchen here did burn but the big house was safe.
The family's model A still sits in the garage.
The cat lounges in the shade of a shrub.
These are referred to as the "baby" oak trees planted behind the house. They are 100 years younger than those in the front "alley".
posted by Grandpa at 7:02 AM
2 Comments:
Hi I'm Ann's friend Angie. We met over at the Tatum home. It is so much fun to look at your pictures and read about your trip to Louisiana. I was born in Natchitoches, LA. Not sure if you went through that town or not.
We're leaving the house at 4:30 in the morning! We're bringing our camera, computer & wires. We'll see how many photos we get blogged during the week. lol...
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