Vidalia, Louisiana

November 17, 2024

Our final leg of the Natchez Trace ended in the town of Natchez, Mississippi. From there, we crossed the Mississippi River to our next destination just over the bridge in Vidalia, Louisiana.

Our final leg of the Natchez Trace Parkway

Crossing the Mississippi

Our home for the week was River View RV Park, and our site had a sort-of view of the Mississippi River. From our deck, we were able to see the tops of barge tugboats go by, but the levee obscured the view of the water for the most part. It was quite a nice RV park--it even had a hot tub which we indulged in one evening.

With a zoom lens, you can sort-of see the river from our deck. Julie liked the pink flowers that were blooming in the lawn.

Rick's birthday was on Tuesday. The day started out with fancy breakfast that he cooked himself. It might seem kind of strange to cook one's own food on one's birthday, but Rick is a bit of an egg snob, and he doesn't trust the cooking of them to most other people (including his wife...but she's not complaining 😉). He did request that Julie make some breakfast potatoes (and toast), and she is happy to say that both turned out pretty darn good!

Rick cooking his own birthday breakfast

Julie's new potato recipe turned out pretty good!

A beautiful morning for an al fresco birthday breakfast out on the deck

The next order of business was to play some disc golf. Fortunately, there was a nice park just across the river in Natchez.

The course was quite nice and in great shape

A couple of baskets would have required throwing over some flooded sections. We opted to skip these.

An old historic house being converted into bathrooms (and other functions) for the park

We happened upon an abandoned pool with discarded playground equipment

Nothing much sadder (and creepier) than an old abandoned pool with old playground equipment cast into it.

First time we've encountered an old steam engine in a disc golf course

Afterwards, we got out the bikes and rode around the historic town of Natchez.

We rode down to the base of the bluff

Old houses up on the bluff

There was a row of once-opulent historic "cottages" facing the bluff

This one needs a little work

Rick had stopped to contemplate young kids playing with a ball in the yards and where that ball would eventually end up.

St. Mary's Basilica

The live oaks in this little park reminded us of Savannah

The next day we strolled along the walkway that parallels the river from the RV park into Vidalia.

Natchez just across the river

We found "Santaland" to be a bit underwhelming. It consisted of several aging wooden booths depicting various Christmas scenes. Perhaps it was more impressive after dark?

Creepiest snowmen ever

On Sunday, we attended Mass at St. Mary Basilica in Natchez and visited the Natchez National Historic Park.

St. Mary Basilica

The Natchez National Historic Park features the historic Melrose Estate, one of the best-preserved estates in the Deep South from the 1800s. There was a very informative self-guided tour that we accessed from our phones.

The slave quarters are on the right

One evening while we were sitting on the deck, the setting sun shined on the bridge, making it glow pink for a few minutes...

We'll end this post with this scene from a local liquor store...

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