Mississippi Dreaming
Wednesday, November 29 to Friday, December 1, 2017
In spring of 2015, we drove the Natchez Trace Parkway on our way to my son’s Senior Violin Recital at Rice University in Houston. It starts near Nashville, Tennessee and is a nonstop, peaceful Sunday drive in the country. There are historical markers along the way: unmarked gravestones, the old Trace trail, the mysterious cypress swamp, and more. The parkway ends in Natchez, an intriguing town that we wished we had time to explore.
My brother is a Cruise Director, in addition to being an entertainer, on the American Queen Steamboat along the Mississippi River. I asked him where he’d be when we crossed it on our way east and was excited when it became clear that Natchez, Mississippi would be the best place to cross paths. We had a wonderful time in Natchez, stayed an extra day, and we want to go back perhaps for Christmas!
If you’d like to visit New Orleans, but the sheer size and raucousness of the place is overwhelming, consider Natchez as an alternative. Lots of history, historic buildings to tour, gas-lit lamps, great food, beautiful views of the Mississippi River, in a peaceful, low-key setting.
The bridge we crossed over the Mississippi River from Vidalia, Louisiana to Natchez, Mississippi.
As we crossed the bridge, we could see the hotel we’d booked:
Hotel Vue.
View of the Mississippi from our room at the
Hotel Vue, one of our favorite hotels of the trip with the best complimentary breakfast, clean rooms, and friendly staff.
We toured Rosalie Mansion: a pre-civil war historic house overlooking the Mississippi River. During the Civil War, it served as Union Headquarters in Natchez and the furniture was locked away in the attic to prevent it from being destroyed, although Natchez never saw destruction.
The kitchen at Rosalie Mansion was in a separate house, a common practice to minimize potential fire damage.
You know a town is serious about Christmas when the tree is a traffic obstruction.
In the morning, we walked to the “Under-the-hill” part of Natchez to meet my brother at the docked
American Queen.
Built in 1995, the
American Queen is the largest steamboat to date. It holds roughly 400 passengers and 160 crew.
My brother was waiting on the deck to greet us when we arrived. He gave us a tour of the boat.
A consummate entertainer, it’s always great to get to hear my brother’s rich voice. He plays a mean piano, too. Dan and I quietly sat in on the rehearsal for the Christmas show.
The
American Queen‘s calliope played whistle organ music that filled the streets of Natchez as it headed north up the Mississippi River.
After the American Queen sailed away, we were able to go to a restaurant with Kiva:
the Cotton Alley Cafe. She was thrilled. It was great to sit outside in December.
We drove as much of the Natchez Trace as we could and took less travelled highways in an effort to avoid Atlanta on our way to Charlotte, North Carolina. Alabama has a lot of rolling hills.
Dan and his friend John’s trucks hanging out together in Charlotte.
