5/29/09
(NOTE: Not posted in order time-wise; should have been inserted earlier. Sorry!)
Our first destination in Natchez was the Visitor Center, well-located just across the bridge from our RV park.
We opted for a 1 1/2 hour bus tour to get an overview of Natchez. With some time to spare, we dashed to the “Pig Out Inn” nearby for a delicious BBQ sandwich for lunch. (We liked the food and atmosphere here so much, we returned one evening for dinner! Customers are given stickers reading “The Pig Out Inn BBQ, Best Smelling Pits in Town!”)
The Pig Out Inn’s interior is delightful! Various signs, compatible with a old river town, warn of avoiding gamblers, pickpockets, and women of ill-repute. The more recent and featured sign above reads: “We were invited to the recession but we declined.” Now isn’t that just SO southern in tone – so polite??!!
Our tour driver, Doris, spoke in a southern accent as thick as molasses on a cool day! Plus, she spoke in a type of local dialect which meant we had to ask her to repeat several things!! This just added to our discovery process – Doris was so agreeable and her summary of Natchez history was a great help. We were Doris’ only passengers, a real treat for us. Doris made 2 brief stops, one at Melrose, an antebellum mansion, and at Forks In The Road, the site of an enormous slave market many years ago. Slaves were dressed in fine clean clothing and paraded slowly in a circle; if not immediately purchased, they were waited until the next “parade”. (For more information about slavery, please see our blog posting about Frogmore Plantation.)
Melrose, now owned and maintained by the National Park Service is a “must-see” when visiting Natchez. On the grounds, various outbuildings still exist, one of which houses an exceptionally good slavery exhibit. Melrose has remained relatively unaltered, unlike the bed-and-breakfast conversions elsewhere in town. We feel that’s kept it more authentic.
Once our driving tour was finished, we returned to Melrose for a longer visit.
At this time of year, the magnolia and mimosa trees are all in bloom. Magnolias are so fragrant and the tree is quite handsome! The leaves are shiny green on one side and bronze on the other. Mimosas are covered with a haze of feathery pink blooms and are everywhere! They’re a very common native tree.
Also in bloom everywhere this time of year is Crape Myrtle, a flowering tree which blooms in several different shades of pink (both soft and bright), red, purple, as well as white. (I borrowed the photo below from HowStuffWorks.com) It has no scent and is a delightfully showy shrub or well-formed small tree. Southern gardeners use it with great spirit to add color to the landscape. It’s in the median of highways, in front of banks, in parks, and seems unparticular as to where it’s planted.
After wandering through Melrose, we came back into town and did the “Walking Tour”. We recommend it! (Maps are available at the Visitor’s Center.) “Downtown Natchez” is filled with dozens of tidy red brick, stone, and stucco buildings, many on the National Register of Historic Places. Several are currently being restored. There’s a real pride in preservation here. We apologize for not providing photos -- there were too buildings from which to choose! The websites below might be helpful.
FACTOID: the area near the border of LA & MS is known as “Miss-Lou”. So, the local newspapers and radio stations frequently use this as a point of reference. (For a brief moment, Richard and I had wondered just who this important “Miss Lou” was!!!)
Here’s a couple of good resources:
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