Natchez--Take 2

Kimberlee came in Tuesday night from Cedar City and, after visiting until 2 am, I put her right to work in the office. Commissary orders are coming in for next week, and they're SO much easier to fill with 4 hands! Only 3 of the zones got their emails in when requested, so we have that to look forward to next week. But as long as she's here why not take advantage of her height and strength. We cleaned and reorganized the back back room so I can reach the most used items, and put the other stuff up high since it's hardly ever needed.

Thursday afternoon we took off for Natchez. Since Kimberlee has seen New Orleans 3 times we thought she might enjoy something different. Our intention was to arrive in Natchez early enough to take a carriage ride, because the city web site says it goes until dusk. We drove past the place where the rides begin, but no one was there. No problem. They're just out around town. After searching for an hour with Marc giving a self-guided tour of everything we saw the last time, we found the horses in the stable and all the carriages tucked away under an open barn. The man basically said it was too cold, so maybe they'd be back in a few days. Needless to say, we were extremely disappointed!

Here are a few pictures of our driving tour.

St. Mary's Basilica was dedicated on Dec. 25, 1843 and has held mass continuously since 1886

A true OLD shotgun house~

As you can see, this is the first brick house built in the Mississippi Territory. Manuel Garcia de Texada (originally de Tejada) arrived in the New World as a Spanish subject during the American Revolution. By 1782 he arrive in Natchez, served as mayordomo of the Natchez Royal Hospital and was a recipient of a Spanish land grant in present day Jefferson County. In 1798 he acquired this brick building where several tenants ran a variety of businesses. Today it's know as Texada Tavern. The interesting thing about it is that, somewhere down the road, someone(s) reversed every brick, transforming it from old to new. I can't even imagine how long that took.

Part of the original brickwork before being reversed

Next stop, Pig Out. All the missionaries who serve in Natchez tell us to go to this place to eat. We tried it the first time we were here without being too impressed. Maybe we just ordered the wrong thing or came too late. Kimberlee and I shared a meal that wasn't too bad, but Marc's expressions pretty much tell how he felt about it. We won't be going here again.