Slowly we are nearing the end of Highlights of the Mississippi Cruise...
Tuesday, July 11,
we did depart in Baton Rouge at 2:00 AM and after breakfast at 8:30 AM we could get off and
walk just across the road to Oak Alley Plantation
Oak Alley Plantation had been such a long time dream!
Impressive Greek Revival antebellum home.
Also here, a
13-foot deep veranda encircles the entire house for providing shade for the entire day.
Much needed in the
hot and humid Deep South.
As Southern Lady magazine wrote in March-April of 2009:
THE GRAND DAME OF THE Great River Road
These two pictures should be seen side by side of course!
Oh,
that alley of majestic Live Oaks!
You can
almost see the Mississippi river in the end...
"The serenity and quietness of this place is like
nowhere else on earth."
Jacques Telesphore Roman and his wife, Celina, spared no expenses when they bult on this land in the late 1830s. The house took two years to complete and featured such details as
28 solid brick columns 8 feet in circumference, 16-inch-thick walls, and a 13 foot-deep veranda that kept the house shaded most of the day--a decided advantage in the Deep South heat.
12.5 foot-ceilings add to the grandeur and beauty.
All walls are of solid brick, approximately 16 inches thick.
All windows and doors face one another for cross ventilation!
For an interesting video of the tour click:
Oak Alley Plantation Tour.
Again, for doing the tour and wanting to see the rest,
this time frame was not quite enough!
Oh, we did have to leave ONCE a person behind that stayed in the gift shop at one of the plantations and the captain announced that we had to depart without him.
Sad... He got transport by taxi and was put up in a hotel and met with us at the next port.
Scary too! Especially if the person would have medications on the boat for the evening and morning...
When we arrived at the House I took this photo of the
Oak Alley and in the far distance there are two ladies in period costumes.
Once more in a wider view...
Every person should have a chance to
BE here; if only ONCE!
If only those majestic 300 year old live oak trees could talk.
This photo shows you the
THICK inside walls!
Yes, they are made of approx.
16" of solid brick!
That keeps the building cool too.
Antique and
ORIGINAL Rosewood Cradle of Oak Alley Plantation!
One really does
step back in time...
One only can be in awe by such a
Ceiling Medallion...
The same bedroom and you see here a
fainting couch next to the rosewood cradle.
Oak Alley as seen from the veranda down...
Oak Alley
from the veranda in a wider view.
Husband Pieter admiring the view of the gardens, from this 13-foot wide veranda.
Oak Alley has this 13-foot wide veranda encircling the entire house!
Taking care of shade for the entire day...
Admiring those
lush Crepe Myrtle trees (Lagerstroemia) in the garden...
Our most expensive trees that we have came from a Louisiana nursery and we learned this day WHY this probably is the best state for growing anything!
White blooming Crepe Myrtle tree to the left and in the
center a lush Southern Magnolia.
What a lush garden!
More white blooming Crepe Myrtle trees.
There was so much more to explore, like this
Confederate Commanding Officer's tent...
A little insight into the Civil War (1861 to 1865) and its impact on Louisiana and Oak Alley.
Headquarters of
Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, Commanding.
Lieutenant General Richard Taylor was a son of President Zachary Taylor and the brother-in-law of Jefferson Davis. He owned a large sugar plantation and was a Louisiana senator.
Husband Pieter, having served himself in the Dutch army found this quite interesting to peak into army life back then.
Simple life back then...
This cast iron sugar kettle we saw at the
Sugarcane Theater of Oak Alley.
It was used to heat, clarify and evaporate the cane juice over a wood burning furnace.
Walking the grounds,
to the left you see again blooming Crepe Myrtles.
Vertical photo of entrance to Oak Alley, the other I used as opening photo above.
Walking back now to our boat, one more time turning around for this majestic live oak alley!
A quarter of a mile alley of 300 year old Quercus virginiana 'Live Oaks'.
Now turning around and you can see the America on the Mississippi river behind the dike.
She is
being supplied by a fresh produce truck, right here at Oak Alley.
Those that couldn't walk are being transported on golf carts, but both of us manage the walk up to the boat.
Returning back in time; from the old era and also
in time for a tour of the Pilot House Tour on our cruise ship.
Back on the dike, for getting to our cruise ship and returning from a visit back in time.
Such a memorable sugar cane plantation!
Oak Alley is really the Grande Dame of the Great River Road!
Would have loved to linger longer here at Oak Alley!
Climbing up higher on the dike...
Behind this tall dike, awaits our America cruise ship, on the Mississippi river.
Here you can see on a
Google map where
Oak Alley Plantation is at and where the ship was docked.
Oak Alley overview
Oak Alley Plantation - Vacherie, Louisiana
Oak Alley Plantation Highlights
Oak Alley Plantation Highlights
Visitor Guide & Map of Oak Alley Plantation
Oak Alley Plantation Productions
Hope you enjoyed this Grande Dame!
Here is a good video for a visit:
Oak Alley: See Historic Grounds and Big House! - YouTube
Thank you for your visit and stay tuned for
Pilot House Tour and Upper Deck
Related links:
