Having finished our stay in New Orleans we get on the freeway with the plan to cross the last bridge on the Mississippi River and then follow the river north to Natchez, MS hoping to see some plantation mansions along the way. Up on the freeway the police are investigating yet another accident by our motel. 3 serious accidents in 16 hours within 2 miles of each other? What does this say about the local drivers? We cross the last bridge and start following the Mississippi on small back roads. This is really the way to see the country and the various lifestyles. We definitely have seen a lot of poverty appearing areas both here and in South Carolina. Sugar cane seems to be the big crop here as we go through miles of fields. People are working today in the fields which is surprising as it appears that Baptist churches are the second biggest crop. They are everywhere we look. As are plantations. In the west every plot of ground is labeled as a ranch, here we see many signs of this or that plantation. But every so often the signs are accurate and we see a reminder of what the old south was like. Gigantic houses set back from the road and surrounded by gigantic oak trees. Or we see old slave cabins, all run down but still standing as a monument to one of our inglorious practices of the past. One of the plantations was Oak Alley which has been used in several movies. We thought about taking a tour but did not want to take the time. Clint had selected several back roads and they were really scenic as well as passing by some of the local residences and small towns. At one point we took a ferry across the river. While waiting in the line Clint got into a conversation with one of the local boys. They both learned a lot about dialects and accents. I don't know who had the harder time. Once again we had a brief but strong thunder shower with no place to stop. But then again the warm weather quickly dried us off. 250 miles
Last bridge across the Mississippi
Oak Alley plantation
Old slave cabin
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