Welcome.....

to the Smithonian..He said, she said. I hope between me and Allen we are able to keep this up as well as Fonda and Robin. I so enjoy reading their blogs. This past Saturday we went to Natchez, MS to see the antebellum homes and taste the local cuisine.

Our first stop was to the visitor's center where we got an overview of everything there is to see in Natchez. Next we purchased our tickets to the homes that we wanted to tour. It was a hard decision as we were only there for 1 day and most of the tours started around 10 a.m. and ended by 4:30 p.m.

We saw The Ellicott House first, which is a Federalist style house. It was built in the 1700's and believe it or not Mr. Ellicott never lived there. Go figure.


Next we went to Stanton Hall. What an elegant house this one was to see. For those of you old enough to remember the movie The North and the South, this is the house of Patrick Swayze's family. They actually filmed in the house.


Brittany said, she wants a house just like this one!
Then we were on our way to Longwood (no pictures). This house was never finished because of the War Between the States (aka Civil War). It would have been a breath taking house if it had been finished. Mr. Nutt died before the war was over and his wife ran out of money before it could be finished. It is a 6 story octagonal shaped house. Very unique to say the least.

Then we were on our way to the William Johnson house (no picture). This house was owned by a free man of color. His family was very educated. In fact, his daughters were one of the first black teachers in the state of Mississippi after the Civil War. He owned several barber shops around town and he also owned slaves.

Then we went to St. Mary's Basilica (no pictures). Talk about breathtaking. It has stained glass windows and the ceiling lights up. I wished I had a picture to show you but we didn't know if we could take pictures inside. I'm sure you can go on the web to see it.

Almost gave Allen a heartattack, this is the only ghost we saw! Ha Ha.

This a portrait of Madeline.

Dining room King's Tavern.

Last but not least......we went to the oldest building in Natchez, MS....The King's Tavern. It was built in the late 1700's so of course you know there is a ghost history here. Back in the 1930's part of the chimney collapsed, and what do you suppose they found.......3 skeletons. One with a jeweled dagger sticking out of her chest. Legend goes that the owner, Mr. King, was having an affair with Madeline. It doesn't say if she worked there or if she was just someone he knew. Anyway, his wife finds out about the mistress and stabs her in the chest and seals her up in the chimney. That's a lesson for all of you would be mistresses out there. BEWARE OF THE WIFE THAT HAS ACCESS TO KNIVES. ha ha... To this day they don't know who the other 2 people are that were sealed in the chimney with her. The food, service and atmosphere was wonderful. If you ever get a chance to go there, I highly recommend it.