Allison's Wonderland

Day 3 on our Trek through the Deep South
7/31/2011


Kels and I got up and had breakfast down at the Castle House which is included in our stay at Dunleith. It was really good too! After that we met Dad and Jeanne for our tour of Dunleith where this little old lady gave us a tour. She said the upstairs rooms were off limits, but that we could go up there if we just wanted to see the wraparound porch since we were guests. And guess who we find up there cleaning all of the rooms? Staci. Haha…just as cynical and sarcastic as ever, but he makes us laugh. He was cleaning all of them so we were able to see every room. They were so stinkin beautiful and all of the rooms had these amazing canopy beds. So we asked him if the rooms were full for the night and he said probably not so Jeanne ran down to the front desk to see if we could get our rooms switched. Come to find out, only one of the rooms in the main house was available to stay in, so we passed.  Bummer.

We then went to the Visitors Center where we decided on which houses to see in the area. There were only three that were open on Sunday, so we chose those three. We started out at the Melrose Manor which is owned by the National Park Service. This one was owned by lawyer and planter John T. McMurran who died by jumping off a burning steam boat. SAD! The thing is with these houses, that they’re beautiful and all, but the stories about the families are all so tragic. This house had a really cool green and red room that I loved. It was the only house where we could take pictures indoors which I liked. Our tour guide was kinda awful though. Worst.

Our next stop was my personal favorite, Stanton Hall. This home was used in the filming of North and South where the rooms where used as Orie Mang’s home. Our tour guide here was kinda awful as well, but she made me laugh because she was so dry and had NO personality whatsoever. I loved this home. It reminded me of a wedding cake. The parlor was the biggest one we’ve seen with this beautifully hand carved red furniture along with all Italian marble fireplaces. The beds in this place are just as gorgeous as the ones in Dunleith. Stanton Hall is also the same house where the movie/TV series North and South was filmed. I'm in the middle of the book series right now, so that was pretty cool. I got to see Orie Maine's bedroom (Patrick Swayzee's character.) We got lunch at the Magnolia Grill down by the Mississippi River. This is where I had severe stomach problems and started pooping my guts out. TMI. I know, but I just had to throw that little tid bit in. 

Our last home on our tour of Natchez is called Rosalie. This home is owned by the DAR and has a beautiful view of the river. The Union soldiers when they occupied Nachez used this home as their headquarters. When the soldiers occupied the house the commanding officer put all the beautiful parlor furnishings in the attic in storage so that none of the pieces would be damaged. Thank you sir! I loved visiting all these homes because they took you back to a time in history where things were much simpler and fascinating. We then checked out St. Mary’s Basilica which was cool, got some ice cream and headed back to Dunleith. Sista, Dad and I went swimming in the pool that was warmer than the air. It was ridiculously hot. Then we napped. Kelsey and I were cracking up laughing because when we first arrived we told Dad how we thought Staci HATED his job. When we got back to the room after swimming we looked at our door knob changer that you can change from "Privacy Please" to "Service Please". Well Staci wrote on ours, "It's what I live for." We were cracking up laughing because he was dry and funny and that just proved it! After that we had dinner at “Biscuit and Blues” which was the only thing open on Sunday. Natchez turns into a ghost town on Sunday’s. It’s a little scary honestly. There was absolutely NO ONE at Dunleith when we left even though the receptionist said the house was full. No one on the roads, no one working at Dunleith. It was a little eerie and we kept thinking that the rapture happened. Anyway, we ate at the restaurant and I had some of the best biscuits I have ever tasted with this amazing apricot butter. For desert we got Beignets a la Mode with pecans and caramel sauce dripped over it. YUM! After we got our tummies all full went back to my room, took a Jacuzzi bath and went to bed!