New Orleans to New Roads...

I surely hope that you all enjoyed my last two posts about New Orleans and our fabulous girl's weekend we spent there. Thank you for all of the wonderful (& funny) comments! It's nice to know that there are a LOT of Cajuns (& wanna be Cajuns) out there :)))

It seemed like only yesterday that us girls were having fun on Bourbon Street. But...it wasn't just yesterday. It's been almost three weeks now and I'm finding it so hard to sit at the computer and find the time to post these days.

I think I'm still recuperating from the fun. Or maybe it's the heat. Or maybe it's dealing with the dilemma of pulling my Fall decorations out of the attic or not. Or...the fact that I'm dying from heat exhaustion after washing 2000 miles of road bugs off my Suburban! Yuck! She's c.l.e.a.n. again and ready for the next road trip!  ;)

And so our story goes, after spending a wonderful weekend in New Orleans, we (Pam, Sandy and I) headed on down to New Roads and St. Francisville, Louisiana.

New Roads is full of fascinating finds, including plantation homes, antique shopping and just enjoying time on the water.

Okay...we couldn't help ourselves, we did all three!  :)

Upon entering New Roads early one morning, we drove right in, to the open gates of Parlange Plantation.

  Today, it is a working plantation of cattle and sugarcane and owned by the ORIGINAL descendants of the Parlange family.

Mrs. Lucy Parlange cordially greeted us as she walked down from the second floor gallery. We begged her for a tour and she graciously obliged with her Southern style.

This was the perfect start to the perfect day :)

Since photos were not allowed from within the home (as this is her private residence), I'll show you some of the exterior beauty that greets those who come to visit and I'll give you a little history about this plantation that was so loved by the generations of the Parlange family.

Built in the mid 1700's, Parlange is the prime example of French Colonial style. It once stood grandly alongside of the mighty Mississippi River for decades...that is until the river changed it's course. Now, thanks to the Army Corp of Engineers,  it boldly stands facing what is now called False River, which is not a river at all but of a present day lake.

(below is the view from standing on the upper gallery, looking towards False River)

The exterior walls are made of Bousillage which is a mixture of mud, Spanish moss, and animal hair placed between large (tongue and groove) vertical logs, usually of cypress. Cypress has a sturdy resistance to rot and termites, the leading causes for destruction in humid Louisiana. The Bousillage was then painted in a heavy lead base paint that could withstand years of weather and elements. Today, paints do not include lead and therefore, the longevity of these beautiful plantations are now growing shorter each day. The columns and lower level are made of brick which were handmade one by one with clay and wooden molds, all made on the grounds of the plantation.

Parlange originated as 10,000 acre plantation growing only indigo but with indigo being a very unprofitable crop, at least not enough to substantiate a plantation of this size, the cash crop was changed from indigo to sugarcane and cotton.

In all of it's glory, the plantation was surrounded by a large formal garden which was mostly destroyed during the Civil War. As a headquarter for not only the Confederates but also of the Union, (not at the same time!) the head mistress catered to both in fear of losing her home and crops to the threat of the soldiers burning everything in site. Instead, she was rewarded reprieve of destruction for her hospitality and in turn, she was left with the home and only 2,000 acres which is now what it is today.

  Mrs. Lucy loves her gardens and tends to them by hand with the help of two assistants. With century year old plants, she does not allow any insecticides, weed killer or any power tools of any kind. Like I said, everything is done by hand. And...at 80 something years old, it is a sight to see her pull each weed with her own fragile hands, with such love and devotion.

After an interesting morning at Parlange Plantation, we stopped at Satterfield's Restaurant and had a wonderful lunch overlooking False River...

This wonderful sandwich and FRENCH FRIES belonged to Pam (Miss Ohio)!!! She doesn't normally eat ff's and that much bacon. However, she sure was beginning to eat like a Louisianian after being here for only 3 days!)

~ i was so proud of her ~

Now as for Sandy (Miss Pennsylvania), I just couldn't take the salad out of her...however, she was a little on the wild fried side too!

this does look delicious though! Fried shrimp! yummy!

And as for me? Ta-da! I think being with these two girls and huffing and puffing with every step I took, I thought I'd eat a little healthier than what I'm used to...yep...that's fruit! Imagine me eating fruit! (tee hee)

We laughed, talked about our fabulous morning with Mrs. Lucy and made plans for the rest of the day.

Satterfield's was wonderful!

After I finished eating though, I did feel a little stuffed...

We went for a little antique shopping, but there is only so much one can bring home on a plane, right? ;)

Then we jumped on the ferry to St. Francisville...low and behold...we were facing a vehicle with NO insurance! See that huge green sticker on the back glass?

Um...Excuse me.

Hello, 911? Like there is a vehicle on the ferry with NO insurance. And they let him on? If he can get away with it, then why am I insurance broke? dial tone. hmpf!

ONLY in Louisiana.

I could have rammed him off the edge.

Yes. I DO have road rage!

;)

Okay Jodie...don't sweat the small stuff...we're almost off of the ferry.

St. Francisville, here we come!

Let's look at the pretties in this little shop called "Grandmother's Buttons".

It was once an old bank built in 1915 and now it's the cutest little gift shop in St. Francisville!

It used to look like this in it's "Hey Day"

and it still houses the old teller line, the old tiled floor...

and the original safe!

Inside this old safe were some button masterpieces...

I love this one...

and this one too...

*please excuse the photos above...the lighting in the old safe was horrible!

Plus...I have claustrophobia so if they are a little "shaky"...that's why! haha

This was indeed a cute gift store!

After the shopping, we headed for The Myrtles Plantation.

It's one of America's most haunted plantations and I posted about it previously here.

The girls wanted to see the inside but we were too late for the house tour. So we walked the grounds and they snapped photos hoping to later find a "ghost" in their photo. I haven't heard them scream about it yet...so I guess they didn't capture one :*(

Then, I took them to one of my most favorite cemeteries in the world. It was right there in St. Francisville on top of a hill, buried beneath huge oaks dripping with Spanish moss...

I posted about it too before here.

As the shadows grew longer and the evening mist started to roll in, it was time to say good bye to the jewels of New Roads and St. Francisville, Louisiana.

We were tired, overwhelmed with beauty and we knew we had to rest up because we were still on the road and had another heavy day of sightseeing ahead of us.

Next destination...the 5&10

(one of the few five and dime stores still open today!)

*If you haven't read my past posts about The Myrtles Plantation or Grace Episcopal Church and Cemetery, please click on the "here" links above and take a look so that you don't miss out on our travels through Louisiana.

For those of you who are just tuning in, a few of my favorite girls and I are together for 10 days, road tripping our way through Louisiana in pursuit of a girl's weekend of fun in Texas with lots of other favorite girls...there is still much road to cover :)