Never having visited a plantation we expected to see a towering two or three story mansion. The Laura plantation house was two stories, but only if you count the open air basement. The history of the family that lived here is fascinating, based mostly on the diaries kept by the plantation's namesake. Several generations of the family were detailed as we passed through each room on a whirlwind tour. We loved our charming tour guide who provided excellent information and insight, but the whole thing was a bit too assembly line streamlined, with an exhausting pace and even so the next group audible in the adjoining room waiting for us to move on.
Many years ago at Laura, African slaves told each other stories from their homeland. One day someone wrote down the stories and they were put into print. They were called the Briar Rabbit stories. These slaves and their descendants would eventually receive their freedom but still many stayed, having no other place to go. Our guide told us that just a few years ago a free slave died still living on a local plantation.
On the grounds we also got to see crawfish holes (apparently the "mud bugs" get lost and dig holes looking for water) which are a little hard to describe but are narrower and deeper than gopher holes.
Finishing up the day on Avery Island we toured the McIlhenny Tabasco factory, getting tiny bottles of their most popular sauces and seconds and thirds of interesting samples like Raspberry Chipotle ice cream and Tabasco soda, both surprising good.
Counterpoint:
I personally thought the concept of paying the descendants of slave owners (or perhaps worse, outsider opportunists) to take pictures of the product of forced labor was screwed up. I mean do people go to Germany and give money to the grandchildren of Nazis to see pretty houses paid for by stealing from the Jews?
At least it wasn't a B&B.
Amanda points out that by my criteria I wouldn't go see the pyramids in Egypt, though I say, to my Philistine eyes, Plantation houses look similar to other historic houses in the region, ones that aren't quite as tainted. The pyramids are unique, ancient, and foreign. That America still needed a Moses in the 1960's is excruciating.
Crawfish Hole
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