Monacos in Motion—Natchez Trace Caravan

The First Day—Saturday, Mar 26th
We all arrived safely and successfully, ten motorhomes dribbling in by early afternoon, impressing the group with our hand signals and coach-backing skills. We are meeting at the French Quarter RV Resort (FQRV), a very clean and nice looking destination located about one mile from the French Quarter in New Orleans. It ain't cheap but it's definitely close in. I'd recommend it and I'll be back. The reason we are gathered here... a two-week RV caravan from here to Nashville. Much of that trip will follow the Natchez Trace.

Quickie History
The "Trace" is a 440 mile (710 km) historical path extending from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee and linking the Cumberland, Tennessee, and Mississippi rivers. It was established by animals following dry ground between the salt licks of central Tennessee to grazing lands southward and the Mississippi River.

It's been six years since yours truly was here—in January the year of Hurricane Katrina. I'm looking forward to it. I've always been a fan of New Orleans and have visited here many times since the early 1980s.

Many of the group knew each other from other gatherings. Some introductions were necessary but easily handled.



There were no planned activities until 1700 hrs (5:00 PM for the rest of you). Then, we gathered (informally, of course) at the pool/hot tub/outdoor kitchen area provided by the FQRV for a "happy hour" followed by a traditional Louisiana crawfish boil (along with shrimp, potatoes, sausage, mushrooms, and garlic). This feed was cooked and hosted by our wagonmasters, Betty and Jack Ehlenberg and Bill and JeanAnn Miller. The food was fine, tons were left over (to be used later), and several of the women soaked two lower limbs in the hot tub while finishing off the wine. We were back to our coach about 2030 hrs (8:30 PM) but don't know when the rest of the group gave up.


The Second Day—Sunday, Mar. 27th
We spent the night at FQRV and met at 0900 (9:00 AM) at the CG office, made contact with our tour bus driver, and loaded on the small bus for a city tour. She (Wanda) spent the next three hours mostly non-stop driving the city and non-stop talking, too. It was great. We toured the French Quarter, some of the Garden District, Magazine Street, 7th and 9th Wards (the devastation is still very visible), and heard that the city has scheduled 20,000 houses to be bulldozed during the next few months, drove the very unusual "green" homes designed for maximum energy (these 200 homes were initially funded by Brad Pitt), walked a bit in one of the cemeteries and learned how the deceased really "got the shaft" but in an appropriate way. Families own the above-ground tombs and burials are handled in various special ways. A brief rest stop in City Park (the oldest and one of the largest in the nation) concluded the tour. Wanda and her trusty bus let us off back in FQRV.

Early afternoon we met the group at the FQRV "recreation center" and Rita and Art Carlton offered a brief but thorough presentation on some of the customs and architecture in this unique city. Thus, we were introduced to the King Cake. Supposedly, the King (of one of the Krewes who sponsor a Mardi Gras Float) needed to select a Queen. The process was that a cake was baked with a small red bean in it. The cake was sliced, shared among promising Queens, and whomever got the bean became the Queen.

Originally, there was a walking tour scheduled for this afternoon but our bus tour covered much of that. So, a change in plans was necessary.

We left in a small carpool and drove to the Canal Street Ferry. The Canal Street/Algiers ferry crosses the Mississippi River, takes you to the west side during a pleasant 10–15 minute ride, where you can witness some excellent views of the original city of New Orleans and learn why it is called the Crescent City. The ferry is free for walk-ons.

Following that, we boarded one of the trolley cars for a round trip ride through the Garden District out to Loyola and Tulane University campuses—they border each other. The weather is picture-pleasant and a perfect day for a ride. The houses, the architecture, flowers, and live oaks were perfect and enhanced by thousands of strings of colorful beads hanging from the (shorter) tree tops, on electrical lines, and about any surface out of reach from the sidewalk. After all, they just had their annual Mardi Gras Parade on March 8th. Since the success of the parade is based on the weight of the trash removed from the parade route, they simply haven't had time to calculate it yet.

Returning to our cars, we carpooled to the Commander's Palace Restaurant—one of the top New Orleans restaurants—(where Emeril Lagasse worked as a Sous Chef) and had a superb, first-class dinner with impeccable service. The restaurant has been here since 1880 and they have learned to do it right. Some of us even had their special "Bread Pudding Souffle." We returned to the coach full and tired.


The Third Day—Monday, Mar. 28th
It's an early meeting again (at least for me). We meet the crowd at 0900 (9:00 AM) in front of the coaches and will carpool (5 cars) to the National WWII Museum. This was a fantastic facility done in an excellent style for meandering chronologically or just looking around. Laid out in two uneven parts—you could tour the ETO "European Theater Of Operations" and PTO "Pacific Theater Of Operations." There was a special exhibit on loan from New York focusing on Jews in our military during WWII. Finally, we saw a presentation/movie (narrated by Tom Hanks) that was a 40-minute, excellent overview of the magnitude of WWII and it's true influence on the world.

There was a downside. We only had three hours (including the movie) at the museum and that wasn't even close to enough time. We will definitely be back to visit this attraction again. It's a "keeper!"

Most of the crowd had a lunch at "Mothers." Just one more in a long list of excellent New Orleans restaurants. They were serving (in their words) "The World's Best Baked Ham."

We have a free afternoon today.

The First Driving Day—Tuesday, Mar. 29th
Someone made the drive to Cafe DuMonde in the French Quarter this morning to pick up beignets (pronounced, "ben-yay"—New Orleans locals often call them "French Doughnuts"). These deep fried pearls are wonderful and everyone was grateful for the goodies.

Since it was only a 50-mile drive today, the first group left FQRVat 1030 hrs (10:30 AM) this morning. We will drive in "waves" or groups of three/four coaches with a half-hour break between the three waves. This allows us to maintain some organization while driving but not create any traffic problems. Traffic can flow in an out of our wave just fine.

There nothing planned for today except the drive. While most caravans do not include boondocking nights (no hookups), this one will have three boondocking nights. That is fine with us as we do this regularly.

After an easy one-hour drive on I-10, we arrive at a Cabela's in Gonzales, LA and they have a huge parking lot for oversize vehicles. This lot can park at least 30 big rigs, has dog kennels, horse stalls, and a dump station. We have stayed at other Cabela's in many states and the parking areas are usually excellent.

Lunch and the afternoon was unscheduled. Happy hour was initially set for 1600 hrs (4:00 PM) but that was when the rain started... not just rain... but RAIN. It poured, it blowed, it lightninged, it thundered. Several of us gathered in one of the coaches—not for safety but for the happy hour that had to move inside.

Dinner was originally set for 1730 hrs (5:30 PM) but it was simply too wet to go. We delayed it for an hour. The rain backed off.

We had dinner at The Cabin," a restaurant supposedly set up in an original slave quarters. It was typical Louisiana fare, excellent, great service, fine portions, and served right. It was a great meal.

Our Second Driving Day—Wednesday, Mar. 30th
We were supposed to meet and drive out at 0900 (9:00 AM) to Vidalia, LA. It had continued to rain and blow all night and was raining intermittently in the morning.

[Author Note... We had a miserable night with both of us bordering on a bout of bronchitis. I was in worse shape so I decided to let the caravan depart without us this morning and we headed for the local hospital. I was treated, only in there about two hours, and we decided to catch up with them since the day's drive was only about 115 miles (185 km.]

We pulled into River View RV Park and Resort about 1700 hrs (5:00 PM). This park is on (and I mean ON) the Mississippi River. Everyone's coach is parked facing the river and you can see the shipping go by. River View is actually on the Louisiana side of the river and you look toward the Natchez, Mississippi shore.

This was an unplanned day so we didn't miss any of the tours or sights. It's good to be back!

Our Antebellum Touring Day—Thursday, Mar. 31th
We are here during what is called the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage. This year, it ran Mar. 12–Apr 16th. To quote from their website...

"Thirty antebellum mansions, many of them private residences, open their doors to visitors during this five-week Pilgrimage every spring. Brilliant musical productions, theater, Gospel music, and historic presentations take the stage each evening. Your guides are costumed family, friends, and descendants of the original owners, whose stories are as real as the bricks and mortar in their hearths. Each house is unique with 18th and 19th century furnishings, porcelain, silver, clothing, tools, documents, and diaries."

We started with a visit to the Natchez Visitor Center where an excellent movie explains what we were going to see and why. It is the perfect place to start the tour.

We were a carpool of five vehicles and our trusty leaders had chosen the "Green" tour for us—just one of eight tours available. It was just fine and we did five of these mansions from late morning through all afternoon. After we toured Stanton Hall, we were treated to an outstanding lunch at The Carriage House Restaurant—located on the grounds of of Stanton Hall—a palatial residence.


A Music Touring Day—Friday, Apr. 1st
The Delta Music Museum (operated by local volunteers) has exhibits on sixteen rock-and-roll and blues musicians from the Mississippi River delta area. The museum is located in Ferriday, Louisiana. There is no admission charge. The first exhibit is a sculpture of the three Ferriday cousins at the piano including singers Mickey Gilley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Jimmy Lee Swaggart (an evangelist). Other musical personalities include... Conway Twitty, Percy Sledge (When a Man Loves a Woman), Johnny Horton, Clarence "Frogman" Henry, Fats Domino, and Pete Fountain.

We visited and toured Frogmore Cotton Plantation and Gins, a working cotton plantation started in the early 1800's. The unusual feature is that this is a fully functioning 1800 acre cotton plantation today with a computerized 900 bales-per-day cotton gin. Our tour followed early Natchez planters and their slaves as they built a thriving 1850's cotton plantation, survived the War Between the States, and literally made a new life after the war.

The tour includes the slave customs, secret music, and their surprising relationships with the master, mistress, and overseer. Plus, you can walk through authentically furnished slave quarters, see the rare steam gin, and other plantation tools and necessities. You actually journey forward to the present touring the 1800 acre computerized cotton plantation.

The day concluded with dinner at King's Tavern... supposedly one of the oldest buildings in Natchez. Wooden ceilings are low and stairs are steep. King's Tavern is also haunted. I personally didn't see any ghosts but who knows? The house specialty is hickory-smoked prime rib and it was excellent. This proves you should never go on a cheap caravan.

Our First Driving Day on the Natchez Trace—Saturday, Apr. 2nd
We pulled out this morning in our three "driving" waves at 0900, 0930, and 1000 hrs, respectively. We have about 125 miles to cover today and most of it is on the Natchez Trace Parkway. We will drive up through Baton Rouge and then get on the Parkway. What we find ourselves on is an excellent highway, two-lane, no shoulders, with small hills, and passing through woods and fields—a lovely area and equally lovely and pleasant drive. The speed limit is 55 mph (88.5 kmh) and that's fast enough on this highway—maybe our fuel economy will go up.

There are a number of places to pull off but most are small. A car or normal vehicle will fit just fine. Actually, for most of them, one motorhome would fit, too, and (possibly) leave enough room for one additional car (but that would have to be tested). There were a few places where we could pull off with our "wave" consisting of three coaches and we take advantage of these. Interestingly, the previous "waves" have to be gone or there isn't room for us to pull in. That's the reason for the 30-minute break between waves. Hey, it works.

While I was somewhat disappointed that we didn't see any wildlife, it was simply the wrong time of day. I imagine that early mornings and evenings bring out lot of animals.

Our route takes us up to Jackson, MS where we got off the Natchez Parkway and onto I-20. We (sort of) backtracked because we then drove back to Vicksburg, Mississippi. We are headed to the Ameristar RV Park, Vicksburg, Mississippi. We have stayed here many times. This is a very nice, clean, functional campground and used to be owned by Diamond Jack's Casino. They sold it to the Ameristar Casino. You can get a free shuttle from the campground to the casino (almost across the street but a difficult walk).

We arrived at the campground in our "waves." This process works well unless one wave delays their departure at some intermittent stop. Then, two waves are in one (sometimes small) parking area.


That afternoon, we had scheduled a tour boat that would start at Vicksburg and go to the "real" Mississippi river. The tour boat operator was well prepared, knowledgeable, and we had a very nice tour. During the boat ride, several of our members provided "heavy" hors d'oeuvres—more than just light bites. This allowed us to skip a heavy, formal dinner tonight. The original tour time was delayed by one hour so that we could experience the sunset on the Mississippi. It was excellent and worth the delay.

Our Second Day in Vicksburg—Sunday, Apr. 3rd
Sunday morning was totally open with nothing scheduled except for an "open" breakfast at the Casino.

Early afternoon, we carpooled to the Vicksburg Military Park for a tour. This is a huge park (part of our National Park System) with lots of driving. It covers the land under the control of both the Confederate and the Union Armies during the siege of Vicksburg—a 47-day siege of the city. This was during what has been called the "Civil War," the "War Between the States," or, as it is often called locally, the "War of Northern Aggression."

When both General Robert E. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg the previous day is combined with the Confederate surrender at Vicksburg (July 4, 1863), it is often considered the turning point of the war. The city of Vicksburg refused to celebrate Independence Day for nearly eighty years as a result of the siege and surrender.

In 1941, Congress changed Independence Day to a paid federal holiday. The residents of Vicksburg, Mississippi, celebrated the Fourth of July for the first time since July 4, 1863.

Our tour was two hours and unusual in that we were in our cars (normal carpooling). We had picked up a park ranger to ride with us and and narrate. He used the two-way radio and each vehicle had one. It was an efficient way to tour a park this large and complex. We also had several stops where he explained various aspects of the park and the respective battles. The stops also gave us a chance to stretch our legs a bit. We appreciate that.

That evening, we had a reservation for dinner at Cedar Grove Mansion—one of the old original mansions in Vicksburg. They had preserved a hole in the floor where one cannonball hit and we could see a second cannonball embedded in the wall. We are all thankful that no cannonballs are currently being fired. Dinner was great.

Driving the Natchez Trace, Again—Monday, Apr. 4th
Today is our longest driving day—about 200 miles (322 km) and we are driving on the Natchez Trace again. We will drive to Jackson, Mississippi, get back on the Trace, and continue to follow it to the end.

We listened to numerous weather warnings and are concerned with a rather serious storm heading towards Tupelo, Mississippi (where we will spend the night). Most likely, lots of rain, wind, thunder, and lightening will greet us.

We drive away under an overcast sky and about 40 miles later turn onto the Natchez Trace Parkway once again. It is much the same as before but with less visibility today. Most of the day is overcast but no rain. The rain hit us about the last hour on the highway. It was pouring and blowing. We made it to our boondocking site for the night.

We are in the back (behind Sear's Automotive) of a huge mall and, of course, have permission to park overnight. The area around us is vacant and only an occasional car comes by. This will be just fine.

Although it is still raining when we park, after a quick set-up, we carpool to the Birthplace of Elvis Presley and tour the house he lived in. Our guide to the house was one of the many cousins that lived here, too.

We are own our own for dinner tonight.

Driving the Natchez Trace, Again, Again—Tuesday, Apr. 5th
We will be driving the Natchez Trace Parkway again and are trying to get started from the Mall parking lot. One couple, Don and Linda Day, was having some electrical problems on their coach (a new one) and took off this morning going directly to Nashville. They have an appointment and hopefully, the repair will be quick. If so, they will join us tomorrow night at the campground in Nashville. The remaining eight coaches will drive on in their respective waves.

The temperature dropped about 20 degrees last night and this morning is definitely cool and windy. This equals cold if you are standing outside for any length of time.

Today's drive is a bit different as we have frequent stops. It seems to be about every 30 miles or so. This is fine. We stretch, walk around, smell the forest, and sometimes actually see the "Old Trace." Again, no wildlife sightings.

The Natchez Trace Parkway only roughly follows the original route (what the National Park Service calls the "Old Trace"). You will see occasional signs pointing to the "Old Trace." This is where you can see the original route from the 1800's. What is interesting is that in many places, the actual foot/animal path is actually sunken and is now below the normal ground surface. It did not actually sink but was simply worn down and worn away over the hundreds of years it was in use.

We arrived in Meriwether Lewis Campground this afternoon and our trusty caravan leaders have made arrangements for us to boondock as a group in some obscure parking lot. There is lots of construction in this area and it is easy to see it will result in some major improvements. Our National Park Service does a fine job but they are not known to be flexible with the "rules." So, boondocking near a real NPS Campground, even one under construction, is rare and even rarer is them letting you boondock there. I don't know how our fearless leaders pulled that one off but they did. It worked out well.

The Last Drive on the Natchez Trace—Wednesday, Apr. 6th
With only a 115 miles (185 km) to drive today to the campground in Nashville, we decide to do a random start and meet at a large pull-off just before the end of the Natchez Trace Parkway. This way we can arrive at the campground in a somewhat organized group and be parked together efficiently. The last two coaches departed that fine parking lot in the Meriwether Lewis Campground around 0900 hrs (9:00 AM) and it was a leisurely drive on a cool day.

Finally, we saw some wildlife. Two hen turkeys were on the side of the highway. Hey, you take what you can get.

Ultimately we all met up at the big pull-off for a "snack." This food/drink offering conjured up by one of our food "teams" will forever redefine the word "snack" and consisted of one can of RC Cola, one can of V8 Juice, one mini "Moon Pie," one pseudo-candy/energy/filler bar (mine was CoCo Puffs—seriously), and the healthy option of a small cup of peaches and ??? in sweet syrup. I admit, we should have recognized the clue when the snacks were doled out in a plain, brown paper bag. This was forced on us under the guise of being "southern" and since we were in the south, blah, blah, blah... surely you understand.

Our salvation was to hurry back to our coach to partake of some "chaser." Our option was a can of vienna sausages and crackers hopefully, to straighten out our digestive system.

Having survived the snack, we arrived at Yogi Bear Jellystone Park in good shape. This is a nice park close to Nashville. We have stayed here before.

We gathered for a happy hour, then departed for a short drive to the Nashville Nightlife Theater for a buffet dinner and a musical stage show. A good day.

In Nashville—Thursday, Apr. 7th
A touring day. We met the tour bus (Tommy's Tours—this is a great bus tour and running commentary) at the campground and 16 of us headed out for the day. One couple—Art and Rita Carlson—had some business to handle today but the Day's were back with us and their coach was repaired.

Part of the tour was to see some of the nicer homes (some of the local performers) in and around Nashville. As Tommy pointed out, "we will see where the rich and the filthy rich live." It was a nice drive on a gorgeous day. We ended at the Ryman Theater, we looked around on our own and could get our picture taken on the stage, walked to the Country Music Hall of Fame (two blocks—downhill), and had a nice lunch.

The Country Music Hall of Fame is huge and well done. We were told they are just starting the project to actually double it! When that is done, it will certainly be impressive. It was impressive today! We needed more time in there today.

That afternoon, we boarded another tour bus for transportation to "Studio B," a former real recording studio, for a guided tour. Virtually every country star from the mid-1950s-on recorded there. Built by RCA, Studio B became one of the world's most important recording studios. Over 35,000 songs were recorded there including more than 1,000 top-ten American hits. Over 150 Elvis Presley recordings were made in Studio B.

Dinner and happy hour were handled by one of our food teams and we were treated to some BBQ in the campground meeting room.

Last Big Day In Nashville—Friday, Apr. 8th
We carpooled out of the campground at 0900 (9:00 AM) and headed to "The Hermitage"—the home of Andrew Jackson, our 7th president. While you could meander the grounds, the house was a guided tour (and no inside photographs allowed). All the "Historical Interpreters" were in period costume and extremely knowledgeable. It was well done.

Today, the driving/parking will be a bit different because of tonight. We are told to be parked in the Grand Ole Opry lot by 1415 hrs (2:15 PM) where we will board a tour bus to Fontenal Mansion (Barbara Mandrel’s Estate). We will have a Farewell Dinner at Fontenal and then bus back to Grand Ole Opry parking lot to attend a 7:00 performance.

This place is impressive. It is the largest log cabin in the world at 27,000 sqft (2,508 sq. meters). Barbara and family lived here about 20 years but have moved to a smaller house in the Nashville area.

We had dinner in the restaurant on the property and it was excellent. Served family style, the three entrees include roast pork, meatloaf, and brisket with a variety of veggies and cole slaw.

We had to hurry to get to the Grand Ole Opry for the evening performance. It was sold out. They offered the typical array of entertainers for the evening. For the last segment (there are four, 30-minute segments), they brought on Trace Adkins (one of the current popular "stars" for those of you that don't follow this). Trace Adkins has had a longstanding relationship with the military. That continued tonight at the Grand Ole Opry where he performed with the West Point Glee Club—yes, that West Point! Trace and the glee club performed Trace's “Til the Last Shot’s Fired.” There were lots of emotional and proud tears on cheeks plus a well-deserved standing ovation.

Departure Day—Nashville—Saturday, Apr. 9th
There was a coffee and donuts gathering this morning for goodbyes. Some needed to depart ASAP while others will revert to their normal daily lives.



Credits...
Since I was the blog writer, I would like to thank myself for writing this blog. Ron, you did a very good job. For questions or comments, contact me at...

ron@aboutrving.com

For photos, I want to thank Rich Halverson for the big photo album on the Picasa website. I used my shots and some of Rich's in the blog. All of Rich's shots can be found here...

tinyurl.com/MiMBlogPics

Just hit the "back" button on your browser to return to the blog.
Thanks, Rich.