First trip down Trace to Natchez

TxTwoSome wrote:
When you are coming down the Trace from the north and get close to Natchez look on your map for a town called Lorman Mississippi.

Go there to the country store for the BEST FRIED CHICKEN you have ever tasted you will not regret it!

Also close to there are ruins of an old Plantation that burned it is worth the side trip. They are called Windsor Ruins.

Also south a Natchez on 61 the is a retaurant built in 1939 in the shape of Aunt Jemima. Unique place we had lunch there.

Melrose Plantation in Natchez has a good tour and is a beautiful place.

Also a place in Natchez called under the hill has some shops and restaurants right next to the Mississippi river.

Port Gibson Mississippi is a very pretty little town with the most unique church with the gold finger pointing up. (not the middle one)

We drove the Trace as a part of our first post-retirement extended trip. TxTwoSome hit pretty much most of the same highlights we enjoyed, and would especially recommend the chicken buffet at the Country Store in Lorman. It's a really quirky place with great, local food and outstanding southern fried chicken. The guy who owns and runs it is a real character who uses the proceeds to fund his kids/nieces/nephews college expenses.

You might also consider a side trip to Vicksburg. The civil war military park there rivals the Gettysburg battlefield, if you are into history.

Great trip. The Natchez Trace is a real 'less-traveled' gem.

On the trace at mm 122 we stopped at Cypress Swamp and enjoyed a 20 minute walk on a nice trail. At Natchez, ms The visitor center is worth going to. They will let you stay on the parking lot at least a couple of days. Lots of 20A outlets, one 30A outlet. Water and dump. Take some boards to level with.
We went to the mansions of Rosalia, Stanton Hall, Longwood, (no pictures allowed) & Melrose (pictures OK). They’re all very nice. If I had to pick one I guess it would be Melrose.
We really liked the Oak Alley Plantation but it is 2 hours S. of Natchez.
The Cotton Alley restaurant was VERY GOOD, a little pricey. We really enjoyed the Rolling River restaurant. The food was good and they had live, local music every night.

Just finished the entire parkway. It was great. did many of the markers. cant wait to do it again.

Hey, you guys are making me hungry!

Oak Alley plantation just south of Baton Rouge is the most photographed of all the plantation s. Cajun food is best located near Lafayette.

Roux 61: Great, popular restaurant about 5 miles south of Natchez on the east side of Highway 61. I go there for oysters and beer, but there is a large and diverse menu.

Sounds like a great trip. For more Creole than Cajun a stop at one of the zydeco events is a must. Pick up a few zydeco dance steps while there. My wife and I loved it.
http://zydecoevents.com/dev/index.php/events/louisiana

When you are coming down the Trace from the north and get close to Natchez look on your map for a town called Lorman Mississippi.

Go there to the country store for the BEST FRIED CHICKEN you have ever tasted you will not regret it!

Also close to there are ruins of an old Plantation that burned it is worth the side trip. They are called Windsor Ruins.

Also south a Natchez on 61 the is a retaurant built in 1939 in the shape of Aunt Jemima. Unique place we had lunch there.

Melrose Plantation in Natchez has a good tour and is a beautiful place.

Also a place in Natchez called under the hill has some shops and restaurants right next to the Mississippi river.

Port Gibson Mississippi is a very pretty little town with the most unique church with the gold finger pointing up. (not the middle one)

Most of the interesting plantations are on the east side of the Mississippi river north of Baton Rouge. As to Cajun food, you are not really in cajun country when you are near Natchez, so don't expect much good cajun food. Cajun Country is generally contained to a triangle with its SouthWest point at Sabine Pass on the coast at the Texas / Louisiana state line, its South Eastern corner being just west of New Orleans around Houma, and its Northern point being just south of Alexandria, Louisiana.

As a rule of thumb if Catfish is considered seafood, then you are not in Cajun Country

Also note it is very hard to find Cajun Food in New Orleans, most of the food in New Orleans is either Creole, or some type of Creole / Cajun fusion. Creole and Cajun food are very different from each other, though both have many foods with the same names, Gumbo for example, though the ingredients are very different. For one thing only a few Cajun dishes have tomatoes in them, and Gumbo is not one of them.

If we spend a day driving in Louisiana anything we need to see? If you pick only one plantation home to visit, which one?

Directly west of Riverview--all the way west--the town of Natchitoches
is worth a visit, and the plantation I would suggest is Melrose, a most interesting history and the home of painter, Clementine Hunter.
Melrose Plantation

Eat some Natchitoches meat pies.

There is also Oakland Plantation Oakland Plantation

Natchitoches is pronounced NACK a tush -- accent on first syllable.