New Orleans and a few Plantations

This is the first time during our trip where we stayed at a campground that we had stayed at before. The Poche Plantation RV Park is situated about halfway between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Not only is it within a half hour drive from numerous really cool plantations but it is situated on a plantation itself. We learned this time that this plantation and many others have morphed from being slave holding plantations along the Mississippi River to land owned by the big oil refining companies and then to tourist destinations as museums of a sort. Not only would we become tourists and visit a few of these magnificent estates but we would revisit a restaurant in downtown New Orleans to reminisce about the best sandwich we have ever eaten. The locals call them “po-boys” as when there was a street car strike a hundred or so years ago the lunch spots of the era were known for yelling out “here comes one of those po-boys looking for lunch”. We got the surf and turf po-boy with fried shrimp and roast beef on a fabulously fresh foot long roll. Take a look at the wikipedia description of a po-boy; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Po%27_boy

Our first new plantation of the trip is called Destrehan Plantation. For the official introduction check out their website at https://www.destrehanplantation.org/

We took this picture just across the street from the mighty Mississippi river. Gorgeous building!

The back of the building is impressive too. During the restoration they used the original cisterns used for holding fresh water and turned them into a restroom and an elevator for handicapped access.

This plaque was neatly hidden in a garden. Glad Amoco decided to preserve the history here rather than turn the place into another refinery.

Every good tourist destination has a people greeting kitty cat. What a cutie!

Read below how these sugar kettles were used in the production of sugar cane. Destrehan Plantation had sugar as its major moneymaking crop.

We thought this placard was very interesting.

The magnolias were blooming on this mid February day and the live oaks were as spectacular as ever.

Everything around here on the Gulf of Mexico seems to revolve around oysters. Once the the living thing was turned into a fabulous po-boy sandwich, the shells were used to help make plaster for building.

Had to include this pic from inside a slave cabin.

Some pictures of the mansion from back in the day before it was restored.

Fabulous shade trees these live oaks make.

Left this picture large enough so it was legible. CRAZY stuff.

The terminology here is sad, but it is what it was so to speak:

Creole: French settlers used this term to distinguish those born in the colony of Louisiana from those born in another country or elsewhere.

Negress: A female negro

Negrillion: A child negro

Negrite: Spanish term for female negro

Mulatto: A person of mixed white and black ancestry, especially a person with one white and one black parent.

Driver: A slave of authority appointed by the master to lead and discipline field workers and maintain order in the quarters.

Dropsy: A condition with accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, chest, head or extremities.

This replica of a slave cabin here at Destrehan led our group to discuss the Great Slave Revolt of 1811. After the rebellion was put down there were three trials for groups of re-captured slaves. One of the trials was held here at Destrehan. A number of the slaves involved in the revolt also came from Destrehan. During the Civil War, the Union Army seized the plantation and established the Rost Home Colony where newly freed slaves learned trades enabling them to transition into a life of freedom.

Our tour guide as she comes out to greet us. Fabulous costumes and very knowledgeable too.

There were wax figures strategically placed throughout the property. Actually quite nicely done. This one here is of the original owner Jean Noel Destrehan. The plantation was the most successful sugar cane plantation in Louisiana. Destrehan also is credited with being the driving force toward Louisiana statehood. He was also partially responsible for creating Louisiana’s civil law of government, that is still in existence today. I lifted the following explanation from the Pearce-Trust website. To view their full description of the differences and why they are important see:
**https://www.pearse-trust.ie/blog/common-law-civil-law differences#:~:text=The%20main%20differences,may%20need%20adjudicating%20in%20court.**

“The key difference between these two legal foundations is that civil law is codified whereas common is not, at least not in the same way.
Civil law codes tend to be comprehensive and encompass the full spectrum of civil and criminal matters that may need adjudicating in court. They set out how each matter should be dealt with and what remedies should be applied, if any. And unlike their common law counterparts, civil law courts are inquisitorial, with civil law judges investigating and establishing the facts of a case before applying these against the relevant sections of the civil code to reach a verdict.
Common law systems are less structured and more organic in nature. Legislative statutes tend not to be as comprehensive as in civil law countries, so courts play an important role in developing the law. Thus, case law forms a major source of law, and, as a result, judges are more active in shaping the legal landscape. Further, common law judges act more as mediators than as investigators, presiding over an adversarial system where the parties in dispute argue their case.
In reality, however, few jurisdictions are purely using one system or the other, with common law jurisdictions reflecting aspects of civil law practice, and vice versa, often depending on historical legacies. South Africa, for example, with its British and Dutch influences, practises a mixture of the two.”

As usual, most of the restoration was flawless but they did incorporate some plexiglass so we could view some of the original substructure.

One of the more fabulous views of a live oak tree on the grounds. Some of the bigger branches actually lay on the ground and root themselves in the soil. Others are carefully propped up by man-made structures.

Back at Poche Plantation we had a nice meal at their country restaurant. The elder lady that owns the place had quite the personality. She was glad to turn on her “air conditioning” for us even though it was early February. Check out the engineering involved below: