I programmed the GPS and headed north. I passed a petrochemical plant that was so old, one of the pipes was rusted. Further up US 61, I saw the turnoff for Georgia Pacific. The sign said that they made Quilted Northern and Brawny there. Who knew?
I saw a sign for my destination telling me to turn right, but the GPS said to go left. Curious as to what she was up to, I followed her directions. She led me to a forest. This is the second time in two days that the programmed address has been absolutely correct and the GPS has had me turn in the opposite direction on the correct road. I don't know, if it is because it hasn't been hooked up to the computer lately for an update or what. To top it off, when I did get to Oakley Plantation, I'd missed the 11 am tour by just a few minutes.
So, I headed a bit further up 61 to the exit for St. Francisville. It's a nice little town that had been started by Capuchin monks. There are some nice old buildings to see, some of which have been repurposed to shops or restaurants. I drove down to the end of the main street to drive up a steep drive to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church. It wasn't open, of course, but looked nice from the outside. I then turned back and turned on to a side street to take pictures of the courthouse, which looked like stereotypical small town courthouse.
Just down the street from the courthouse, on a back street, I could see a shop that I'd seen an ad for-Grandma's Buttons. It is housed in an old bank. It had interesting gift items, like many shops. But, it also had an exhibit on historical buttons in the old vault. They also sell jewelry made from antique buttons. I couldn't resist some pendants made from Mississippi mussels. I also got a necklace, whose pendant was a very old button set with glass stones. It looked like a fancy pin.
I drove along enjoying the old homes. They have a nice visitor's center with a small museum in it. I particularly liked the miniature rooms that showed old furnishings. I asked for a suggestion for lunch, and while she didn't really want to make a "recommendation", she did suggest the Magnolia Cafe. Upon further reflection, I realized this was the place the lady at Magnolia Mound had suggested.
The cafe,which has screened in areas as well, is housed in the office of an old motor court. The motor court looks well maintained and sweet. The cafe was crowded and I realized that most of the people were locals. Always a good sign. When I indicated I was having trouble deciding, the waitress sat down to talk me through it. Her help was perfect. The Chicken Magnolia sandwich that I had was wonderful! It was moist and had slices of avocado on an onion roll. I had a side of sweet potato fries that seemed to be freshly made. For dessert, I chose the Reeses Peanut Butter Cake. It was moist and the icing was so creamy!
After lunch, I strolled around the corner to the Bohemianville Antiques shop. It was a mini antiques mall. I love roaming through those! I found two small wooden cigar boxes that will be perfect for building miniature scenes.
I drove down the street a bit further to make sure there was nothing else worth visiting. Finding nothing, I hurried off to Oakley to catch the 2 pm tour. I made it! In fact, I was the only one who did and I had my second solo tour of a plantation house. This one is famous for Audobon having done so many of his bird studies here. It dates to the late 1700s and is not an antebellum house, nor does it look like Greek Revival. Instead, it shows East Indian influence in having louvers on the front porch upstairs to circulate air along a curved ceiling. The house stayed with the same family for four generations before being sold to the state in 1947. It contains many, many items from the family. I really enjoyed the tour and the guide and I had a great chat.
After the tour, I headed off to look at the grounds. Unfortunately, while looking at the map, I didn't notice the path had changed to be rougher and stepped down hard into a hole with my bad foot, of course. It really hurt, but I was able to walk it off. After checking out the outbuildings, I went to the other side of the entrance museum to walk some of the nature trail. Evidently, no one else had been along them recently, because I kep encountering spiderwebs.Some of them had really huge spiders in them. I developed a method for protecting myself from most of the webs. I put on regular glasses rather than sunglasses. I pulled out the cardboard fan from Magnolia Mound and used it like a machete to hack at them. It also came in handy for just plain fanning; it was so hot! I had to spend so much time watching the path, that I really couldn't enjoy the view.
On the way home, I realized how much I've depended on the cooler I've had with me on every outing. I've kept it on the front seat with a beach towel over it. I went through 3 bottles of water today. The last was while stuck in traffic on I110 and I10.
The slowdown didn't really hurt my gas milage too much. When I'd left this morning it said 320 miles were left on this tank. By the time I got back, it said 405. I think, she liked stretching her legs.
When I got back I collapsed on the bed, just exhausted. However, my husband soon showed up for us to go to ths shrimp boil that we'd signed up for. We walked in the serving line and served ourselves everything except the shrimp, which were given to us on a separate plate. We had jambalaya, red beans and rice, very spicy ear corn pieces, potatoes (which we both skipped- we already had 2 things with rice), vegetables marinated in vinegar, soda, and a dessert which was chocolate pudding on vanilla pudding on bananas on nilla wafer crust. I've made a decision- I do not like shrimp with the heads still on. I think that keeps them from checking through the shrimp, as several were mushy and at least one was very black. Also, I really missed the Old Bay seasoning.
I've let my husband take my car for the night. He had a jazz concert (I can't get into anything without paying for the day and joining the ICA), a Selmer-sponsored party, and then he had to go into town for a party with his undergrad clarinet teacher and his former students. This lets me shower,relax, channel surf and do needlework. Not a bad ending to the day.
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