November 9, 2023

We woke up in Darrow tied up to the levee in the heart of sugar cane country on the Mississippi. We visited two plantation houses, that headquartered huge sugar plantation, the first is Houmas House and Gardens, which was walking distance from our boat. The property covers 38 acres and was the headquarters for the Burnside estate the was established in the late 18th Century and became known as the “Sugar Palace”. At its peak the plantation produced 20 million pounds of sugar per year, making its owners among the richest in the U.S. at the time. The house itself was completed in 1828 and is filled with elegant period furniture and is occupied by the current owner.

After lunch we headed off by bus to Oak Alley Manor, said to be “the most photographed manor in the south”. The Manor house was built 200 years ago amongst 28 oak trees that are over 250 years old.