destrahan plantation and laura plantation were two we chose to scope out. they were both very visually pleasing. the slave thing that was beyond our comprehension, i guess you had to have been there, but once you got by that little item they were quite impressive. i think the most beautiful element in the plantation grounds were the live oak trees. some of them were upwards of three hundred years old and they looked ageless. it seemed like they had been there forever and would be there for hundreds of years hence. absolutely mind boggling they are. destrahan looks old and stately... laura more playful and happy. they looked grand but in reality they were quite plain inside. they were places of business for the owners and they were there only to conduct business... the winters were spent in new orleans partying and impressing their peers. the town houses were very luxurious and elaborate while the plantations looked impressive but in reality were very sparingly decorated.
one note on our tour guide at laura plantation that i found revealing... she told us the plantation slave quarters had been used as late as the 1970's to house migrant workers... but they had been "electrified" therefore upgraded, she said.. and i quote.."the upgrade amounted to just a single lightbulb in the living area, but it was adequate for them." oh yeah? (i thought) how would you like to live in a 150 year old slave cabin, no water no heat no furniture and just a single light bulb? would it have been adequate for her do you think? i took pictures of the old cabins so you would know what i was thinking, and why.
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