Louisiana Plantation Homes - Oak Alley & Nottoway

History is something that has always fascinated me, especially when it comes to Louisiana history and life in the 1800's. Lucky for me, my friends also share in the same love and on Saturday, we visited a couple of Louisiana plantation homes along River Road - Nottoway and Oak Alley!

I've made it a mission to tour as many plantation homes as possible and I've shared a few of my experiences here in the past:

• Shadows on the Teche Plantation Tour
• "The Shadows" Vlog
• Evergreen & San Fransisco Plantation Home Tours
• Houmas House & Bocage  (& an overnight stay for our 5th Anniversary)
• Houmas House Vlog #1
• Houmas House Vlog #2 

Our first stop was at Nottaway, a gorgeous plantation home located along River Road in White Castle, Louisiana. I hadn't visited Nottaway since I was a freshman in high school (we did this one year for our summer family vacation), so I was curious to see the changes made to the grounds and overall area. Well, they've made a lot of them over a 20 year time span, that's for sure, and it all looked amazing!

We loved hearing about the home and its origins!

The white ballroom is one of the draws to this beautiful and opulent home!

They still host events in this room to date. Wedding, anyone?

So, I had this amazing idea of creating a "jump shot" in front of the home. It took several attempts, but we finally got it!

This plantation home also serves as a "hotel" with rooms you can rent for an overnight stay. The grounds are full of activities that range from biking to swimming, and even swinging! No swings were broken in the making of this ridiculous photo.

After spending a couple of hours at Nottoway, we left and went on our way to our second plantation home of the day, Oak Alley. I'd visited Oak Alley as a very small child with my parents, so I had zero recollection of this home. I was excited to see it again, though!

The draw to this home is for sure the alley of oaks that line the front! They are over 200 years old!!

But first...before touring the home, we needed a bite to eat!

Oak Alley also has a very nice restaurant with a full service menu on their grounds. We all ordered something different and mine was delicious! I had the open face roast beef poboy.

After lunch, we shopped for a few minutes in the gift shop, then headed to the home for our tour. To be honest, I was not as impressed with this home tour as I have been with others I've taken in the past. The guide sounded like she was reciting from a memorized script. Although she was very knowledgeable when we asked her questions, I still felt as if this tour wasn't as personable as ones I've taken in the past. It was a beautiful home regardless, and I still loved learning about the history, I just feel as if the tour guide can make or break a tour for you and this one wasn't my favorite on my list.

I absolutely loved all of the beautiful flowers at each home!

I have a picture like this as a four or five year old at my parents house somewhere, so I had to recreate it!

These oaks line the back of the home and are about 170 years old!

After leaving Oak Alley, we decided to drive about an hour to the nearest town for dinner. If ya'll have been a blog reader for a little while, you know my obsession with McAlister's and my sadness when they closed down in my hometown. Well, we found one on the way home and HAD to stop. It did not disappoint!

We also stopped for dessert at a little place we found a few years ago that serves both Hershey's Ice Cream and Great American Cookies! This is our group tradition every time we are together here, so we couldn't pass it up!

Our day was filled with a lot of fun, laughter, history, and lots of memory making! We are already talking about the homes we would like to tour next and I can't wait!

Vlogidays Weekend Edition #3

Another weekend of this holiday season has come and gone and it was definitely a fun one for us! We visited a local Louisiana Plantation home (Houmas House), went shopping, took Brayden to meet Santa at the mall, and I gave a brief home Christmas decor tour.

Up until this point, I'd never seen a plantation home during the holidays and that's what I was looking forward to the most! It did NOT disappoint!

Checkout this week's vlogidays (weekend edition) above!

I hope you had a great weekend and are enjoying all this holiday season has to offer!

Plantation Homes Take 2

Over the weekend, a friend of mine and I decided to take a drive down Louisiana’s famed River Road to visit a few plantation homes I hadn’t yet toured (there’s still quite a few out there, believe it or not!).

What should have been a 2 1/2 hour drive to get there turned into a 4 1/2 hour drive because of an accident on the interstate and re-directed traffic.

All that matters is we made it to our first home before the final tour of the day with 10 minutes to spare. Whew. (We were stressing!)

Our first stop was at Evergreen Plantation. We decided on this home because a lady from our town purchased and refurbished the home back in the 1940’s – she also named it Evergreen for the rows upon rows of Oak trees on the grounds.

The movie Django Unchained was filmed here (haven’t seen the movie, just heard about it).

The Oak Alleys are breathtaking. Had I known about this place 7 years ago as a bride, I would have asked to take my bridals here! :)

Here’s the home itself – doesn’t it remind you of Port Orleans Riverside at Disney World?

This home and grounds are still a functioning sugar cane plantation! By the summer, these tiny sprouts will be really tall sugar cane!

Our second home of the day was named San Francisco Plantation. I sure wish I could have gotten a picture of the front of the home – but a fence was placed after 911 and it’s impossible to see the front of the home without a chain link fence in view. Sad times.

This is by far one of the most colorful plantation homes I’ve visited (both inside and out)!

A view of the back of the home.

We were the last ones to leave the grounds before this plantation home closed for refurbishment. As of Sunday,  a $1.3 million dollar refurb began that will last until September. I would love to visit the home again after the refurb to see the updates!

We had a wonderful time and finished off our trip with a little retail therapy! Overall (despite the crazy morning traffic), it was a beautiful and a great day!

Have you ever visited a place where a movie or certain movies were filmed?

Vlog: Louisiana Plantation Home & Houma Relay

Today, I am sharing a vlog I made of last weekend’s visit to an area plantation home, Shadows on the Teche (and discovered a few secrets along the way)! My visit also included a stop in Houma, Louisiana for their Relay for Life event!

It was a jam packed fun-filled day to say the least!

Enjoy! :0)

Have you ever participated in a walk/relay/run for a loved one who has battled with cancer? If so, please share! I would love to hear about it!

“The Shadows”…and Its Secrets…

Deep in the heart of Cajun Country lies a plantation home named Shadows on the Teche. Commonly known as “The Shadows”, this home is full of history and beauty.

Built between 1831-1834, this home was once owned by a family who produced and sold sugar cane. Now, this home is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation – the first in the Gulf Coast!

What brought me to this home? Well…back in the late 90’s, my family and I took a vacation one summer where we toured plantation homes, visited the capitol, etc. While researching plantation homes to visit on our vacation, I discovered a brochure for a home in New Iberia and the brochure made this home sound very intriguing. When the home was being restored, trunk after trunk of home information, letters, and secrets were found in the home’s attic. I kept the idea of visiting this home tucked in the back of my mind, just incase I ever made my way through New Iberia.

Finally, I got my wish! 

(Keep reading, this is one secret you won’t want to miss!)

 

The Shadows is nestled among an array of azalea and camellia bushes, all blooming with life, color, and fragrance.

Named “Shadows on the Teche” because of it’s proximity to Bayou Teche – the bayou is practically in the backyard!

See that muddy brown water? That’s life here in Southwest Louisiana – hence the reason I don’t often visit “the beach”.

My favorite secret of the home is one I discovered on the tour that very day. While touring the home, we stopped in an art room – this room belonged to the final owner of the home and the last one in the family line (named Weeks). His wish was to preserve this home and keep the history alive. In the process, he invited famous icons to visit his home and place their mark on a door inside the home.

I browsed over the names and didn’t see many that I recognized, until our tour guide pointed out a name that was right at my height level. An inscription that read:

To “Weeks”
The Best Friend A House Ever Had
from
Mickey Mouse
Walt Disney

To say my heart stopped for a few seconds is an understatement. Walt Disney! THE Walt Disney…had stood in the very spot I was now standing…and in a tiny old Cajun town like New Iberia?! Shut the front door. No, really…I was awestruck.

Source

Photos and video were not allowed inside the home – instead, I must have stared at this inscription the remainder of our time in that room. Incase it wasn’t “out there” on the internet, I wanted to remember it and truly commit it to my memory. Thankfully, I found this inscription easily and am now able to share it with you! :0)

Following the tour, I wandered around the grounds for a little while then continued on my way. I definitely left this home on a high note and completely enjoyed my visit. If you are a Disney fan and love Disney history…or if you are a history buff at all, this is a great place to visit, I highly recommend it!

Tell me a little history about the area you live! Any fun places to visit and see?

Saturday Getaway Vlog–Houmas House

This past weekend, my parents and I decided to spend a day away from all that’s been going on in our lives. With a tough week behind us, we wanted to get away and enjoy time together. Unfortunately, Jason had to work so he was unable to join in the fun with us!

On our way out of town, we stopped at one of the neatest Rest Stop/Visitors Center I’ve ever seen! I’ve passed this place at least a hundred times and never thought to stop inside! Have you ever found a hidden gem like this?

We continued driving and decided to stop at a plantation home in Gonzales, Louisiana to eat lunch and tour the grounds/home.

Jason and I spent part of our 5th Wedding Anniversary (2012) here at Houmas House and LOVED it. My mom is really big into gardening and flowers, so I knew she would love the grounds. We were told that this location is considered the “Disney World of Plantation Homes”…no wonder I love it so much! :0)

I can’t get enough of this place. If I had time, I could spend hours walking the grounds, there’s SO much to look at.

Check out my vlog to see more of my family’s little getaway!

Have you ever taken a day trip to get away from it all? Where did you go?

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Don’t forget about my Pixie Power Giveaway…ends Tuesday, July 16th!