I went to Monroe, Louisiana for my Spring Break to visit my dear friends, Erika and Bruce. Monroe is first in a variety of ways. It is where Delta Airlines began. It was also the first place to start bottling coke. We went to a Coca-Cola Museum. We got a coke for 5 cents and had a fabulous tour from a former clown named Tommy.
Cool Hand Bruce
We also went to the Black Bayou. We saw some alligators in a nature center there. They were just babies. The Bayou is full of cypress tress and herons. We were walked around the boardwalk over the water.
Baby Alligators
Goin' Down the Bayou!
Erika and I drove over to Natchez, Mississippi. They have a Pilgrimage there every Spring. The town opens their old Antebellum homes and the hostess dresses like Scarlet O'Hara. We toured three homes. Some of the homes have decedents of the original owners living in them. There is a lot of history in those old homes. In the words of Erika, we overheard: A dandy Southern gentleman to a group of German tourists (in a fine Mississippi drawl and with the wave of the hand) "As a 56 year old black-hearted bachelor there's but one phrase in your language I need to know: Isssh Liebe dissssh."
We went to a pageant in the evening. It was a very interesting performance. This little town has been doing the pageant since 1932 and I don't think they have changed the program much. :) They performed about 10 short scenes. Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederacy, married a girl from that small town so one of the scenes is their wedding. Another is the Fox Hut, where they dress up and actually have their hounds walk through the auditorium. The final scene is where the belle says goodbye to confederate solider sweetheart one last time. They turned the lights out and this teenager held a giant Confederate Flag. A spot light was on him and he started screamed (Rebel Yell). He ran around the gym twice then he lead a procession of the Confederate Soldiers. The audience all stood up. Erika and I remained seated and we got some dirty looks. Then they brought out the American Flag and we stood up. They never call it the Civil War. Down South it is call the War Between States or the War of Northern Aggression. I was reminded that in some ways it is a whole other world down there.
The Bells and the Cadets
The Fox Hunt
The King and Queen of the Pilgrimage
We had lunch at Mammy's Cupboard. It is a 3 story tall African-American Woman lunch counter. You enter in through her skirt. The bread was good and the pie was mile high. Erika and I shared a slice of humming bird cake: a spice cake with coconut and pineapple topped with cream cheese frosting.
Erika and Mammy
We also ate at Biscuits and Blues. It is a little establishment in downtown Natchez. We ate a Natchez Beignet. Is a small scone that is cut open and filled with ice cream and topped with Praline Sauce. It was so heavenly!! That was the best part of Mississippi.
On the way back to Louisiana I told Erika that the country road reminded me of a scene from Cool Hand Luke. Only moments later we passed a 'chain gang' of prisoners in striped jumpsuits picking up litter along the highway...O Brother, Where Art Thou?
It was nice to be in the South again. I hadn't been back since my mission. I had forgotten how large and full of Spanish Moss the oak trees are. It is a place where you can get craw-fish boiled or live at the gas station. It takes a little while to get used to being called Ma'am. But there is something to be said for Southern Hospitality.
Spanish Moss City
Notice Erika in the corner
Oak Trees
