On March 8th-16th, my sister, Simone and I took the American Queen steamboat down the Mississippi from Memphis to New Orleans. Not enough can be said about the wonderful staff on board, great regional food and sunny disposition of the weather!
We had a prenight stay in Memphis, TN. That night we strolled down Beale Street and ate at the Rendezvous world famous BBQ.
The next morning we took a tour of Graceland. Such emotion in the grounds and exhibits. The Lisa Maria airplane and the vintage cars were impressive. As you can see the home is unpretentious.
We set sail for Helena, AR. We took the city tour. The Pillow-Thompson house was a highlight. Built in 1896, was beautifully restored. Finest example of Queen Anne architecture in the South.
On to Vicksburg, MS. Beautiful, chilly day. We toured the Biedenharn Coca Cola Museum; which was where Coca Cola was first bottled in 1894.
The next morning we woke up to Natchez, MS. Another beautiful, sunny day! We toured several magnificant restored homes; Rosalie, Magnolia Hall, and Stanton Hall. Many of the guides inside the homes were dressed in period costumes; which was very cool. The azaleas were in full bloom!
The next day we took a premium tour in St. Francisville, LA to the Louisiana State Penitentiary and the fifth haunted house in the United States, The Myrtles. The Penitentiary is the largest maximum security prison in the United States. Known as Angola and nicknamed the "Alcatraz of the South". The prison farm is 18,000 acres and is totally substainable. We had a wonderful, animated tour guide in the Myrtles. Very spooky!
Second to the last port - Baton Rouge. Unfortunately the American Queen had to dock at 1:00 pm rather than 10:00 am as planned. Go figure this was the port that had the most sites to see. We did make it through the Louisiana Art & Science Museum which was huge and very well done. We did not realize many of the sites close at 4:00, so we missed the rest of Baton Rouge highlights... I suppose we should have raised a stink about this, but hey why be unhappy on a vacation!
The last port before New Orleans was Houmas House, "The Sugar Palace". The 32-acre estate is home to centuries old oaks, some over 450 years old. The Gardens were spectacular. Our tour guide inside the house was equally spectacular; playing and singing at an old Steinway and keeping us laughing with her inside jokes. There is a three-story spiral staircase and was featured in the film "Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte" starring Bette Davis. The current owner had his two labs, King Sam and Princess Grace, married on the grounds complete with a pre-nup!
In New Orleans we took a city tour and then off to the airport and home.
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