Natchez, Mississippi Day 2

We had a great day! After horrible thunderstorms all night we woke up to a beautiful morning. Our hostess prepared a great breakfast and it was off for a day of siteseeing. We headed to the Natchez visitors bureau and left armed with brochures and recommendations for things to see and do. First stop was a lovely 4 story plantation home named Longwood which had started being built prior to the Civil War. Only the basement and 1st floor were actually completed due to lack of funds during and after the war. The furniture was amazing. There is so much history here that is hard to fathom that many of these buildings and structures were built in the mid 1700's and are still being lived in today.

Our second stop of the day was at the Indian Village site where there was a small museum and in various areas within the property was a prayer mound and very small living spaces made of mud (from the Mississippi of course) and straw. It was all very primitive and I am thankful that I am living now and not then. For one thing, I don't like being dirty and from what we hear taking a bath was a luxury that happened only once a year. That is why there were so many June brides-they took a bath then got married! I won't be complaining anymore about having to give up my pedicures....................................

It is time for lunch so we head back to Fat Mama's for another awesome margarita and a Gringo Pie which consisted of tamales covered with chili/cheese and a generous helping of jalapenos. We love our mexican food and this did not dissappoint-delish. James made friends with some of the locals who were there celebrating a birthday so we joined in on their fun. They invited us to join them to listen to live music at a place on the river a few blocks away-how could we refuse? There is something to be said about hanging out with locals in a tourist town-they know the really good places to go and you can also gain valuable knowledge about the area you are in. This particular group was a fun loving bunch, they liked having a good time and they were funny. I love hearing the ladies talk with their southern drawls-it was hard not to picture them with hoop skirts and a parasol. They called the "Garden Club" ladies the "Petticoat Mafia" which I found hysterical as I pictured gun toting, hoop skirt wearing ladies. Obviously this group of women were NOT in the Garden Club. I'm thinking that the Garden Club is pretty instrumental in running the show in this little corner of the world.

James and I decided to walk along the riverfront before meeting up with our new friends. A little man who looked like a mini Colonel Sanders (KFC) came up and told us there was a 200 year old whorehouse down the street that we should visit. We didn't quite know what to make of this character other than he was probably eccentric. He was wearing long shorts that came way past his knees, converse tennis shoes, a gold earring in one ear and a black bowlers cap. We just kind of laughed and moved on down the river. We found the place with the birthday bunch and the live band was fabulous. I haven't been that entertained in a long time. So we are sitting there enjoying the music and drinking a beer with all our new friends, when the mini Colonel strolls in and everyone is telling him hello. If you haven't guessed already we were sitting in a bar that 200 years ago had been a whorehouse and is owned by John David (1st and middle name-how southern) aka the Colonel. We had to give old John David credit for trying to drum up business. At one point during the bands performance John David stood up on a chair (he is only about 4ft 10in) and joined the band in a lively rendition of Jambalaya and When the Saints Go Marching In. You can't make this stuff up-it's great. We are hoping that we continue to come across unexpected treasures like this along our travels. We sat on the riverfront and watched a beautiful sunset then headed back to the B&B for the evening.

We did manage to take a few pictures today and I will try to get them posted as soon as I figure out how. Thanks for tuning in and more to come later..................