Excess and Heartache

We both noticed this morning that Louisiana is the first State we have been in on this trip which looked like it had recently received a lot of rain. We saw a lot of standing water in the fields and along the roadside. It almost looked strange after seeing so much dry countryside over the last several weeks.

We had a short morning drive to Natchez, Mississippi. It was fun to cross the mighty Mississippi at this southern point. It seems impossible that 7 weeks ago we crossed this same river at the Iowa border.

We were so glad we took the time to visit Natchez. We were fortunate that the Fall Pilgrimage of antebellum homes had just begun this week. We visited several and enjoyed learning more about the history of that time period. It was apparent that the excess of those beautiful homes came at a huge price to humanity. As we toured the homes I couldn't help but think of all the slaves that were used to make that lifestyle possible. We visited the place where one of the largest slave markets in America existed. Heartbreaking.

We left Natchez via the Natchez Parkway. Jim commented that it felt like we were driving through a large city park. We saw so few other cars on the road and must have seen at least 50 deer along the way. I mentioned to Jim that I felt like we were traveling through a picture postcard. It was relaxing and beautiful.

Tomorrow we will travel along the rest of the Parkway as we continue to wend our way north.