Yes we are from Oklahoma and yes we are southern Magnolias! How do we know this, well for one our grandmothers always told us so, and... well for second... so did Southern Living. And now according to Wikipedia, if a state is south of the Mason-Dixon line, the U.S. Census Bureau classifies you as a Southern state even though we weren't a state during the Civil War, many former confederates settled here when the War Between the States ended. But... no one had to tell US three that. We have always known we were southern. "It's in ya bones girl." As our grandmother use to say. "If Magnolia's can grow in your yard, then you must live in the south!" There is nothing more southern...
Finally Spring Break had arrived for us hard working Teachers and we were ready for a road trip! Last year we visited Graceland in Memphis... we love Elvis! Nashville was awesome, the small community of Bell Buckle, and then stumbled happily into Franklin Tennessee.
Franklin is where one of the most deadliest and important battles of the war occurred. We wanted to be wowed again this year but we had a hard time deciding where to go. There are so many places where history comes alive (you know how we LOVE histoy) that we wanna venture to them all. At first we thought about New Orleans... we have all been but it has been sometime since we had been there, except Marla. The Farm Bureau Man travels a lot and so since she is the wife, she gets to go. Lucky peach she is that she was in New Orleans not long ago. The Principal and the Fire Man dont get to travel like that, hence nor do Lisa and I. Then we thought about Savannah Georgia. Oh my... we have all wanted to go there... but the closer it got to the date of departure and seeing how far it was from our lovely Oklahoma, we realized that we were short on time and as usual... short on funds!
Marla has a friend who had been telling her about Natchez Mississippi. It sounded good, so we thought why not? Good job BrOKe Teachers, we nailed it as usual!
Marla picked Lisa and I up and we left on Saturday, heading down I35 towards Dallas. We knew that Natchez was only 7 hours away, so we were in no hurry. We stopped in Tyler Texas for lunch at a pizza place in the square. It was yummy and the price was right. We like to try different places we have never tried before and it was worth it. The pizza and pasta were top notch! The Flat bread and sauce were delish.
We took off down the road and saw the sign for Marshall, Texas. Of course us thinking we know it all believed it was the Marshall from the movie, We Are Marshall... we were wrong. Not an uncommon thing, but we decided to stop anyway. So glad we did. We about fell out of the car when we saw the court house. It was beautiful. Built in 1900, it is an awe inspiring piece of Architecture. One to behold for sure.
We found our way downtown Marshall and it was like walking back into history. It was getting late but we saw that the Weisman General Store was open. Holy Toledo! It was a treasure trough of happiness! We were enthralled and definitely hit the jackpot! Antiques galore! We can't wait to go back!
We were there for sometime and realized we better get to movin... so we made our way down the road and into Louisiana.
We passed a sign that said Natchitoches 39 miles. Marla said we need to go to Natchitoches sometime. Lisa and I agreed.
Lisa, being in the back... as always leading the head banging moves, 80's sing alongs, sleeping contest, and researching... It's kind of become her job lately.. decided to look up Nacogdoches. She began to read the history and wow, it was interesting. It's the first town in Texas and so old... it was the other way of course, so we knew it was a no go.... then we passed another sign... NATCHITOCHES 15 miles. I said, "wait, it's just down the road here." Marla and I looked at eachother... confused... Marla said, "No, Natchitoches." I replied, "Yes, Nacogdoches?" "Noooo," she smirked. "Natchitoches." Lisa leaned forward and said, "I know, Nacogdoches!" Needless to say, this went on for sometime until we all realized we were talking about two completely different cities. One in Texas and the other in Louisiana. We pulled up research as we pulled into Nachitoches and were pleasantly surprised that this was the city where one of our favorite movies of all time was filmed...Steel Magnolias!🌼🌻🌺🌹🏵💮 "Blush and Bashful are our signature colors!" (Our most southern accent imaginable) No not really, black is mostly our signature colors for us, it gives the skinny vibe but none the less we were hyped!
We found the home where Shelby and Jackson had their wedding reception, where Drum shot the birds out of the tree... the same tree where Ousier tied up her dog to bark at Drum. We saw Miss Truvy's house, the church where the wedding was held and even the park where the Easter Egg hunt to place. It was starting to get dark and we didnt have time to look further. There was a huge St. PATTY'S DAY party downtown and it looked fun. All the shops were closed but the music was loud and the college kids were letting loose. We just didnt have time to join in. We drove around and saw all the lovely homes and knew we would have to make our way back here someday. One thing I did notice was that almost every house we saw, big or small had an American Flag flying... that sure made us proud! 🇱🇷
We turned down a side road trying to find our way out of town and by chance we ran into the oldest Cemetery in the Lousiana Territory. What luck!! Can you believe that?? It was right in the middle of this old town of Natchitoches, Lousiana. It is called the American Cemetery.
We saw actual Revolutionary War Heroes! Even legend says Davy Crocketts wife is buried there in an unmarked grave. It was amazing and we were stunned!
Stones that were so old, they were buried with the same brick that was the foundation of the original roads and buildings. So many stones with no names, they were just that old.
It may seem a little weird that we like cemeteries, but arent they really just fields of history. The beautiful stones, the loving epitaphs that a husband or wife may leave to eachother, a child who meant the world to a family.... someone's history. Their last part left behind for someone to read. We feel honored to read them, to remember them, to reflect about their time however long or short it may have been. I teach 5th grade history and about the American Revolution. I cant wait to show my students that I stumbled upon a Cemetery that had revolutionary war soldiers!
We were in there for sometime and knew we needed to move on, so off we went... towards Mississippi. We finally crossed the Old Man River and arrived around 11:30 or so that night and checked into the Magnolia Bluff Casino and hotel. The price was right and between the 3 of us we paid $87.00 a piece for 2 nights. We hit the hay ready for tomorrow's big adventure.
We slept in, like we are good at, but made it to Breakfast just in time. The little lady who runs the weekend breakfast area is famous for her hospitality and we enjoyed her very much.
Our first quest was to head to the Natchez Visitor Center where we noticed that the Pilgrimage was going on. I saw the statue of Jim Bowie and his knife. That was pretty cool as I am about to teach that in class soon!
The Pilgrimage is a yearly program that the Natchez Womens Garden Club/ History Club put on to raise money to help take care of homes they have acquired in town. The Price was $150 for 8 Antebellum tours. We, being tight Magnolia money grubbers decided we would just take our own tour at our own risk and go to each house ourselves. We grabbed a map and went outside and frankly, in our usual Fashion didn't have a clue as to what or where to go. But we did save some money, and that made us happy. Saving Money is a priority, especially when your an Oklahoma Teacher. We first went to LongWood. It cost $20 bucks and it was amazing. The history of this Plantation was absolutely.... well... AMAZING! It was never completed due to the interruption of the War... it is a MUST SEE FOR SURE!
The Nutt family had hired skilled workers from the North to complete their Octagone Plantation design when the war began, they of course went home to join the union. The house will never be completed and the family will live the rest of their days on the basement floor. We weren't allowed to take pics but could of the unfishished part. It is a wonderful gift.
To see the original plans of the home you can just visualize how wonderful it would have been, unfortunately Nutts Folley would happen when the family went bankrupt after the war and their Confederate money was no good.
We then drove around not sure where to go next. We didn't realize that Natchez had so many homes to tour, it kind of was overwhelming. And since we had slept in so late and dilly dallied around it was already getting late into the day. A lot of homes close early on a regular day, today was Sunday.... so many were closing by 2:30 or so. We decided to go eat lunch when we came across a home back off the road and across the way. Me being the daring one decided to drive up to this beauty and at least take a pic.
It is called the Arlington and it just made us so sad. The city is trying to save it. We sure hope they can. We made our way to the city below the hill. The bluffs of Natchez right on the Mississippi. It was so cool. The Mississippi was way up and would actually Crest the very next day. We ate at the Magnolia Grill. It was fantastic and the Fried Green Tomatoes were perfecto!! We loved it!
By this time it was late into the afternoon so what can someone do to widdle the time away? Go to a Cemetery, of course.
Wow, it was beautiful and so big. We went into the Jewish part, the very old part, the German part, and then found our way to Genrals Row where again we found Revolutionary and Confederate soldiers.
We then went down the road alongside the Mississippi and saw the Louisiana National Cemetery. It was also beautiful and big... rows upon rows of stones... of soldiers.
Isn't that tree amazing!
Confederate States of America.
The sun was setting on an eventful day and we knew we wanted to get in bed early so we could drag ourselves up for a big day on Monday. We went downtown Natchez to eat at the King's Tavern. One of the oldest buildings in town. It was so fun and the food was Devine. The cocktails were pretty pleasant as well.
Famous for their Flat Bread and Brisket, it was delicious!
Chicken Pot Pie
We came back to the room and crashed and got ready to explore some more on Monday!
We woke up early and headed out. We weren't able to take pics in most of the Antebellum homes, but man... we were in love! It was so fun to see the beautiful homes, the furniture, and hear the amazing stories. In 1850 there were 22 millionaires in the United States.... 19 of them lived in Natchez! Isnt that crazy! It was the rich of the rich! And believe me, it shows in the homes they built. There are so many in Natchez that there just wasnt enough time to see them all. Here are a few of our faves!
Rosalie, 20$ entry fee and so worth it. Our tour guy was a real southern gentleman and so full of information. The history of the house and family was so interesting. A union General stayed for two years in the house during the war and had all the furniture put in the attic, thanks to him it was all saved. Looking out on the verandah, it is a clear view of the whole Mississippi. It was this reason he chose the house and you could see why. The house alone was so grand!
The balcony from Rosalie
We then made our way over to Melrose. A national historic home ran by the National Parks and Recreation. One of the largest homes in town and we could take pics inside. We were pretty pumped about that! Even though the tour guide was from Massachusetts, we still enjoyed hearing the history and seeing the furniture pre civil war.
Actual slaves quarter still stand in the back with a museum and memorial. I always tell my students... we have to teach it, to know and show that men can be wrong and evil and to never forget! We must never forget!
We were getting hungry and we were told we just had to try the famous Mammy's cupboard... this was really all Marla could talk about. but when we arrived we realized they were not open on Mondays. That didn't stop us from getting a picture or two and a few honks from passerby's... Marla's 21 year old daughter was just happy she got to see it, she was afraid she would have to bring her back to it... no fear Cortlin, the three BrOKe teachers got it covered!
We had heard of a famous spicy little place to eat at... Fat Mama's Tamales... if you like it HOT, Then you will love this little joint! The knock you naked Margarita hit the spot on this hot and humid day!
Some of the best tamales ever!
Fire and Ice pickles! YES!
We drove around trying to decide where we go next as the afternoon was closing in on us. We knew we only had today and probably one more house to see. We ended up at Stanton Hall.... oh what a treat. This ended up being our favorite of the day!
Lisa just wanted a normal pic, I obliged.
Our tour guide was a true Natchez Southern Woman... she was so kind and sweet and you could tell she loved this house and the history of it. I think this may have been our favorite. We were not allowed pics inside, this is truly a MUST SEE! The gas lights alone will blow your mind.
It was about 5:00-5:30 PM by this time and we crossed the Mississippi and headed for home. We were tired, but wanted to save the rest of our moolah and decided to drive on thru.... Lisa had been quite irritated because she didnt see a gator in Lousiana. In fact Marla was saying, "look out the window and let's see if we see one Lisa." Ummm, okay let's treat her like a 6 year old. What does she do. Yep, she and Marla looked out the window until it was to dark to see. LOL we finally made it to Texas and one of our other favorites pots... BUCEE'S!
Lisa was happy!
We made it home around 1:30 am after a long day... "It was a great party," -Shelby, Steel Magnolias. No, it really was, would we go back and plan better, take the package deal at the Pilgrimage? Yes... maybe. I mean, we never plan anything really, its who we are... we are teachers, we live on a wing and a prayer... We ended up spending about $350 a piece on gas, food, and bedding. A little gift shopping for the kids and our Three BrOKe husbands... so... maybe not. We try to keep it as cheap as possible. We are Southern, not stupid! We made a plan to go South again and maybe a little up North next time. Until then, we Magnolias are gonna rest... Spring Break is almost over, but you know we are just living til the next school break! Time for a little grading and SLEEPING! Hope you enjoyed the trip
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By Lori Karpe
