Pictures: Lyle Such
Words: Thu Buu
Camera: Canon 5D Mk IV
Bayou Tour - Baton Rouge, LA
The meeting place for our bayou tour was in the parking lot of a small liquor store on a quiet road in a little rural town outside of Baton Rouge. It was a hot and humid afternoon. Andrew and I needed something to drink so we headed into the liquor store. Lo and behold! Familiar Vietnamese words bombarded our ears the moment we opened the door. Hahaha. The store owners were Vietnamese! They asked us how we managed to find this little place. In my head, I was thinking the very same thing. How did they find themselves owner of this little liquor store in the middle of nowhere? It just seemed so out of place, from both perspectives. I guess there is a large Vietnamese population in New Orleans because of the fishing industry. They were so happy to see another Vietnamese and thought Andrew was such a cute little boy, they kept patting his head. Before we left, they warned us about the viscious mosquitos that come out to bite at dusk.
The cyprus trees left standing in this bayou are a sad testimony to the lax, careless or rather non-existent environmental protection regulations at the local and state level in Louisiana. Upon closer examination, we noticed all of these trees have been victims of lightning strikes that have scorched the center of their trunks. In a convoluted turn of events, their damaged core was exactly what ensured their continued existence to this day. All other healthy cypress trees in this bog have fallen victim to the logging industry. Can you believe that? There is not even one undamaged tree spared. The natural state of this bog has been greatly diminished in size and altered by human actions affecting the balance of the fragile ecosystem here.
In searching for a company for our bayou tour, we were very selective. We only wanted to give our business to companies who were ecologically responsible, which meant they did not lay traps or routinely feed the wild animals to establish a correlation between the tour boats and food. Thus we instantly ruled out any company that guaranteed sightings of crocodiles. Sadly, that narrowed our choice down to just one company, The Last Wilderness Swamp Eco-Tour, whose main objective is to educate rather than to profit. This compay is also part of a coalition to protect these forested wetlands from further mismanagement and overuse. They’ve been able to convince companies and even foreign governments to pull out of potential projects that would overstress or harm the ecosystem in the area.
These bayou are natural breeding grounds for blue herons. They make their nests high up in the branches of the cypress trees. Many other animals and insects call this ecosystem their home.
Crocodiles are naturally timid and afraid of people. We were lucky to have seen this baby crocodile sunbathing on the log. When we turned the boat around to get a closer look, he quickly slipped into the water.
Myrtles Plantation - St. Francisville, LA
We knew we were going to stay overnight at a plantation, but which one? It had to be the most haunted one. Of course, this was not my idea. I no longer invite the dead into my company like I did when I was young and careless. The Myrtles Plantation has been featured in all of the most popular paranormal ghost hunting shows. With at least thirteen known spirits who had suffered from a range of tragical deaths, from hangings to poisoning and revenge killing to broken hearts, this plantation is rumored to experience frequent unexplained happenings. Lichen dangling lifelessly off these magnificient myrtle trees adds to the haunted feel of the plantation, especially at night. During the day time, however, the grounds of The Mrytle Plantations are lush, green, and picturesque.
As a compromise for staying overnight on a haunted plantation, I got to decide which room we would stay in. We were definitely not staying in one of the rooms in the main mansion and definitely not the room full of porcelain dolls. In the end, we reserved the Caretaker’s Quarters, which was the cabin closest to the main house. In the middle of the night, Andrew began talking loudly in his sleep. His words were clear and in full sentences. Luckily, he had forewarned us about his tendency for sleep-talking. Had he not, I would have thought him possessed by a spirit! Needless to say, I did not have a good sleep that night.
During the tour of the haunted main house, the most interesting details for me had nothing to do with the paranormal business. I learned that there is a real object called a shoofly. That giant fan behind me would have been hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the dining table. Servants would have been pulling on a string to swing it back and forth, fanning the family as they dined and shooing away annoying flies at the same time. Another interesting detail I learned was how short people in the 1800s really were. The average man hovered around 5’5”, and the average woman was less than 5 ft. tall. All the furniture was very low compared to today’s standards. I’ve read about this before, and last year while in Bruges, we were constantly reminded of how short Medieval people were as to not bang our heads on the door frames, but it wasn’t until this trip that I truly internalized that fact. It wasn’t until I put my arm up next to the glove belonging to the lady of the house and realized the contrast that this fact really sank in. It just goes to show how many times and in how many ways we must present new materials to students in the hopes that they will learn it. And the best way always is through reality and real life experiences. Too bad we can’t just go on field trips all the time. How fun would that be!
Last night, around midnight, Lyle wanted to take a walk around the grounds. Andrew abstained and stayed in the cabin by himself. The moonlight was struggling to shine through thick patches of clouds. It was creepy and luckily we didn’t come across any lost souls gliding around. We did distract a blind armadillo from his task though. The first real armadillo I’ve ever seen.
At breakfast, we talked to a couple that stayed in one of the upstairs rooms in the main house. They said that around 3AM, the couple who stayed in the room full of porcelain dolls heard what sounded like one of the dolls crashing to the ground. They packed up and left. Now, I’m not sure if that really happened, or if it’s part of the rumors stirred up by the workers to lure more thrill-seekers to The Myrtles Plantation.
Gun Battle 1 - Myrtles Plantation
The moment of truth had finally arrived. Andrew and I had been waiting since Hannibal for our Southern duel. The grounds of the plantation was a perfect site since Huck was involved in a gun battle while staying at one of the plantations down South. We did have just a little reservation about holding the gun battle here. One of the spirits did die from a gun shot wound. In the end, we figured pop gun sounds were probably different enough from the real guns that it wouldn’t trigger an episode from the spirits. And so our gun battle ensued.
The battle was intense. We ran out of ammunition and had to call a truce to go to the car and resupply. At first, we thought we’d just spend a few minutes re-enacting the gun battle. But just like everything else we do, we got so caught up in the game that we didn’t realize how much time had passed.
Finally fatigue and empty of ammunition, we called it quits. In the end, the orange plastic gun prevailed over the fancier one. Andrew was a valiant challenger to his last dying breath. But this merely whetted his thirst for revenge. And we were then on the look out of another perfect place to hold the next gun battle.
Oak Alley Plantation - Vacherie, LA
On our way to New Orleans, we stopped at the gorgeous Oak Alley Plantation. The tour of the main mansion was interesting, but it was the walkway leading to the main entrance of the house that captivated our attention. Centuries-old oak trees with gnarled branches intertwined formed a perfectly arched tree tunnel shading the entirewalkway. By this point, Andrew was pretty much done with tours of fancy old Southern plantations. But he was a good sport and patiently waited for us. He even indulged us, when we needed him for a few photos.
Andrew’s very good at finding things to occupy his time. He found the perfect patch of green grass to lay down and relax on but only after searching through dozens of blades of grass for the perfect one to suck on while contemplating life. A box full of of spiders caught and sustained his attention for a while. He transfered the spiders from the box and onto the tree trunks to see if they would do battle with each other. I don’t think his scheme worked. I don’t recall spiders being too territorial.
Towards the end of our tour of Oak Alley, we visited the Slaves Quarter on the other side of the plantation and learned a little more about the lives of slaves on Southern plantations. The day was getting really hot, so we decided to head out for our final destination, New Orleans.
Gun Battle 2 - Vacherie, LA
Just outside of Oak Alley Plantation, we spotted a quiet corn field on one side of the road and a knoll on the opposite side that led into a wooded area along the Mississippi River. This was our stage for the second gun battle. This time, Andrew lead a relentless charge up the knoll. I had to retreat into the shelter of the trees. By the time I finished reloading, Andrew was nowhere in sight. I combed the area. He laid waiting, hidden behind the bushes so quietly, I walked past him without knowing. He opened fire. I was ambushed. All hope was lost. Well played, Andrew. Well played.
New Orleans, LA
We had planned on a nice long morning exploring New Orleans, but because we had so much fun with the gun battles, it ate into our time in New Orleans. Luckily, we quickly found a parking spot right outside the restaurant we wanted to have lunch at. The seafood was savory, but we didn’t have enough time to really relax and enjoy the New Orleans vibe. After lunch, we walked around a little and took a couple of pictures before making our way to the airport.
Our Mississippi River, Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn journey had come to an end. What fun we had! How much we’ve learned about the Midwest and about each other on this ten-day journey! Andrew added a whole different dimension to our adventure. He was the perfect Tom Sawyer to my Huck Finn. We thank you so much for going on this adventure with us, Andrew. You are definitely one-of-a kind!