Saturday April 5

Had a busy day today. Started by doing a two hour swamp tour on Lake Martin. We were in an aluminum boat, with a flat bottom, designed for the Louisianna bayou, with a fairly quiet motor on the back. Lots of cypress and tupelo trees growing up out of the water. The largest we saw was about 125 foot tall and more than a hundred years old. Lots of birds here, egrets, herons, spoonbills, cormorants,  ducks. Some of the birds migrate, some were here having their babies. Also saw a few gators but they were not sunning themselves in the sun as it was a cloudy morning, so were mostly underwater with their heads floating just above the surface.

Next stop was about an hour and a half away, at the Rosedown Plantation at St. Francisville. It was a lovely house with an interesting history.

We continued on to Natchez, Mississipi whose heyday was in the 19th century, due to its location on the Mississippi River. It was bustling due to the river boats transporting goods and cotton was the main industry. About two thirds of the richest families in America had homes here at that time. Lots of beautiful old homes remain here but it is quieter than it once was. We visited the William Johnson House, the home of a freed slave who went on to become a successful businessman and own slaves of his own. He left a 14-volume diary chronicling 16 years of his life. We are staying the night here, but not in the Grand Hotel!