On a chilly Tuesday morning at 3 am, our family gased up our SUV and headed towards Louisiana from Houston, TX. Addy accompanied me for what would be her first official road trip and the beginning of new adventures for her and I. Back home, or shall I say in cyberspace awaited about 80 adult collectors who where eager to see where Addy was headed. After 8 hours of swamps and bridges high enough to make you think you where flying, we arrived safely in NOLA. Our first destination being the Everygreen Plantation in NOLA. Recognized as the most intact slave plantation in the south and the site where many scenes from the movie Django where filmed. We where more than excited to arrive. Its important to note that, everyone in the car was either a fan of the movie or a die hard history buff .We anticipated this would be a very fun road trip.
We arrived in NOLA about 9 am.. Traveled about ten minutes out from the plantation and found a small Cajun restaurant and decided we would try some gumbo, before the tour started at 11 am. Then we would have adequate time to check into our rooms at the
Historic Street Car Inn .
Upon arrival at the plantation, we enjoyed the artifacts at the information building and chatting with the staff.
The Evergreen Plantation is known for its sugarcane and to this day, still a working plantation.. Many
movies have been filmed there, and at the time they where filming the remake of
Roots . The plantation tour is about 2 hours long. It was a guided tour with guides who are native to the area and have very deep roots and ties to the land. We where able to take photos throughout the grounds but not inside the home because it was currently a movie set. Inside the home, we lavished at the simple elegance of the décor and where amused by the stories. We first toured the area of the slave owners.. reliving their day to day life and then of course, saved the most intriguing for last. We eagerly walked through the gate that stood as a reminder of separation from two different people and two different worlds. Inside the gates there was an instant feeling of heaviness. We could feel it under the large oak trees that framed the path so perfectly. Please look at the 22
slave cabins lined up, identical, preserved and still standing. People walked around in awe. This was without a doubt the attraction of the entire plantation and tour. There was a quietness as people moved around slowly taking in every visual detail of how African Americans lived during slavery.
I would certainly say this was a very educational and enjoyable tour. Along side getting a chance to experience NOLA ... its food, people and culture, I can say we will be returning!
We had the pleasure of meeting these young ladies the day before our road trip. They enjoyed learning about Addy's story!
View our road trip here!
VIDEO
We learned that the staircase was added and so was the bottom floor. The home only has 6 rooms but looks like a mansion.
All of the slave cabins are original and housed at least 2 families. Inside there was a fire place in the middle of the home that separated the two families.
Addy sitting in the backdoor of the cabin. I imagine clothing would be hung outside in this area and children would be running and playing.
Addy and I on Sacred Grounds
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