St Joseph Co-Cathedral, Thibodaux, LA
I was up at 7 a.m. this morning. Bright and early and ready for the day. My wife was still sound asleep so I was kinda quiet for a little while. Then I decided to take a shower and see if that noise would wake her. When I got out of the shower and came out to get dressed she was still sawing logs just as sound as before. I kept thinking that I’d just let her sleep. Sometimes she needs the added rest to keep her pain level lower. Finally about 9:45 a.m. she awoke. Oops, missed breakfast in the lobby. That stopped at 9:30. No big deal. Or at least that’s what we thought. She showered and dressed and we packed back up and were ready for the road by just after 10. When I went in to check out they were still serving breakfast and said we could still get ourselves some.
Nice of them. So we grabbed some juice, a hard-boiled egg and a sweet roll.
Then on the road from Morgan City headed north to check out as many Plantation homes as the day would allow.
Along the way we drove through several small communities taking pictures the whole day. Homes, churches, courthouses, and anything else that caught our eye, including water towers.
We actually took only one tour today. Oak Alley Plantation was the one we didn’t want to miss. It took us nearly two hours at that property. Lots of pictures, even though we were not supposed to take any indoors. I did take a couple and a few more through the two hundred year old glass. That’s why they look a little wavy.
Water towers always have the town name on them so we liked to shoot each one. Mid-day today we went past one and it only said "Welcome", and I thought darn, I wish I knew what town it was instead of a big welcome. Judy checked the map and sure enough, the name of the town was "Welcome, Louisiana"
“Grande Dame of the Great River Road”
Oak Alley Plantation has got to be one of the most spectacular antebellum homes in the entire south. It has in fact been referred to as the “Grande Dame of the Great River Road”. You can see why as you near the property. There is a canopy of giant live oak trees that run from the front of the home the quarter mile to where you used to be able to see the Mississippi river, a most spectacular view. The home has been through many owners since it was built back in 1837-1839. But this Greek revival showplace with its 28 huge freestanding Doric columns makes it something to see. It has gone through a complete restoration and now looks much the way it did back in its much younger days. Of course modern features were added in the early 1900s as would be expected. Tours are available and although no pictures are allowed inside the guides tell you interesting and enjoyable facts while leading you throughout the home, both downstairs and up. From the front upstairs balcony you can look out towards the river and imagine how great it would have been to see the ships making their way up and down the river. Today, they have built a large artificial flood bank so that the river will not overflow during high water levels. The grounds, although much smaller than the original plantation, still hold some beautiful areas, gardens, and out buildings. There is even a bed and breakfast, café, and gift shop. This was one visit not to miss.
A long distance shot thru the 28
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A zoomed shot of the front of Oa
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From the front walk close to the
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The rear of the home.
Our tour guide in costume.
View from the front balconey
Part of the gardens
Part of the gardens
I took a picture of this paintin
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Historic marker sign.
