going old

Going old

Posted by carol.fletcher@rocketmail.com
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Going old?

“Forty eight. I have 48 pairs of shoes.”

On a spring day in 2017, I stood in my closet and counted my shoes. When did I accumulate so many shoes? I was getting ready for work and it was way past time to go. My mind was elsewhere. I’d just read an email that a website where we’d parked our travel diaries for 10+ years was closing shop. It was going to be a lot of work—in not-a-lot of time—to move the entries before the site closed. I had thumbed through our posts, like pages of a magazine. There we were in Iceland, in Portugal, Jerusalem, Cuba, Antarctica, in Easter Island ten years ago. There I was in front of the moai—camera in hand, hair blowing, eyes closed, and a beaming smile. Where had the time gone?

A lot had changed in 10 years, yet the days and weeks never really varied. Work, eat, clean, TV, sleep, and talk-talk-talk about traveling the world. I had sat there staring, turning off the computer in a numb daze. Now I stood staring at shoes. Would we ever go on the trip we’d saved for, dreamed of, talked about?

Portents

Not long after, I had a vivid nightmare. In it, I couldn’t move. My legs wouldn’t listen to my head. I was trapped listening to some banal TV show and was too far from the room’s small window to even look outside. My time for walking in the big, wide, wild world had passed. I was bored. Claustrophobic. Angry. I awoke—scared and sad and anxious.

One morning a month later, I was sitting in my kitchen drinking a cup of coffee when we learned yet another in our circle had died. He was only a few years older than us. And on this summer morning, he had dropped dead in his kitchen while drinking a cup of coffee.

Chilling. My stomach soured and my nerves tightened. Gripping fear. We had to go. GO NOW. ASAP. We’d talked about going for years, saved for it, dreamed of it. Why were we waiting? What were we waiting for? We’re healthy. Our families are healthy and independent. How much longer would we have the time and the vigor to go?

And that was that.

We made the decision that morning to go, to quit our jobs, to take a break. Pent-up dreams of places far away starting spilling out. We jotted down cities, countries, rough plans to hit the road for an extended period of time. Travel light. Sleep cheap.

My mother was supportive. She told me that she and and my step-father had always wanted to travel around the USA, yet never made the move to go. He passed away two years ago. “You should go while you can,” she said. Light bulb. It took a month or two, but we convinced her to go with me on a long road trip before Bryan and I left for the around-the-world trip.

People said, “How brave!” when we told them about our plans. “You’re quitting your jobs?” “What about health insurance?” “What will you do when you get back?” We tripped through the answers. We secretly grilled ourselves on these same dead-weight questions and still had no real answers. It felt beyond irresponsible. In the weeks leading up to the gap, we bounced between thrilled, terrified, tingling, sleepless, and frantic—but always with giddy smiles, pounding hearts, and no regrets.

My last day of work was on Friday the 13th of October. A few days later, I got on a plane to go get my mother for a road trip around the USA. We pulled out of her driveway two days after that. Seven weeks, twenty-seven states, and 11,511 miles passed. We got home in time for Christmas. And then, in early January, my husband and I left for an 11-week, 28,000+ miles, around-the-world trip. Thousands of photos and stories later, here we are—back home.

We’ve been on the move—living in the moment. Now, I’ll share some of the memories. Also, please note, that I’ve backdated the blog posts for when they were happening and drafted).

And then?

Well, we’re still figuring that out.

We are going old. But life is too short not to GO. One day, when we become lost in our heads and/or trapped in our bodies, we’ll have our memories to go on—even if they play as random as a box of VCR tapes with the labels worn off.

So here’s to going—and going until we run out of road!

Death-Valley-Badwater-Basin
Carol and Lucy in Death Valley’s Badwater Basin
annapurna-himalayas-nepal
Bryan and Carol in Nepal’s Annapurna range
Mekong boat phnom penh cambodia
Bryan on a boat on the Mekong, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Night train India
Carol on the night train to Varanasi, India 
Niagara Falls
Lucy on the viewing deck at Niagara Falls, NY
Death valley road
Going old is a bit like traveling on this single lane, one direction road in Death Valley.

Road Trip: Louisiana Plantations and New Orleans

Posted by carol.fletcher@rocketmail.com
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October 30: Memphis to Tupelo and Louisiana. Starting mileage 32,852.

On the Natchez Trace

We left Tupelo on the Natchez Trace, a 444-mile highway that follows old Indian trails from Nashville, TN to the Mississippi River in Natchez, MS. Since we are Nashvillians, we know about Natchez Trace. Years ago, my father was obsessed with the building of its bridge over Highway 96 at Birdsong Hollow. And I’ve had many meals at the Loveless Cafe not far from where Natchez Trace starts. I’ve driven short distances on the two-lane road, always feeling reluctant to exit it, and wondering if I might still see Indians or settlers passing by in the thick woods along the road. It is protected land: a living history of what the American “West” looked like in the early 1800s. You’ll see no gas stations, McDonalds, Walgreens, or strip malls on it.

High Cotton

Instead, Mama and I saw deer, and a coyote. Cedar, cypress and pine trees lined the quiet road, and in the distance, fields of cotton stretched for miles. We left Natchez Trace to get fuel and cut over to I-55 via a small road through farms and acres of high cotton. White bits of fluffy cotton balls lined the road. When we pulled over for photos, I picked up a bit of cotton from the road. Mama and I sat in the car for a few minutes feeling the incredible softness of this little piece of cotton, amazed that ages ago someone, somehow, figured out how to take this little miracle from a puff, to thread, to clothing.

Cotton field in Mississippi.
Cotton field in Mississippi.

 

October 31: LaPlace to New Orleans. Starting Mileage 33,303.

After a night in LaPlace, Louisiana, we were ready to go see some plantations before driving into New Orleans for a two-night stay. These Louisiana parishes are known for growing sugarcane. In its heyday, The Mississippi River used to be a grand boulevard through here, when more than 300 plantations radiated out from every bit of river shoreline from Baton Rouge all the way down to New Orleans. Today, few of the grand old houses remain. Many of those that survived are open to tours and/or have restaurants and bed and breakfast accommodations. But for me, this was all about those magnificent trees.

Louisiana Plantations: Oak Alley

For years, I’ve seen photos of the ancient oaks at Oak Alley Plantation and it was our first stop. As we drove down River Road, we heard the church bells of St. James Parish. Suddenly, there they were, 28 massive oak trees partnered as if for a reel and lined up back to a big house.

unknown French settler 28 oak seedlings two evenly spaced rows down to the river.trees continued to grow. In 1837, a French sugar planter, Jacques Roman, built a mansion at the end of the allée of oaks Civil War, Reconstruction. restored, trust for preservation.
In the early 1700s, an unknown French settler placed 28 oak seedlings in two evenly spaced rows from his modest house down to the river. The settler eventually left and his house fell into ruins, but the trees continued to grow. In 1837, a French sugar planter, Jacques Roman, built a mansion at the end of the allée of oaks where the original house had stood. 
Oak Alley Plantation, line of trees from the road by the Mississippi River.
Oak Alley Plantation, as seen from River Road. In the old steamboat days, seeing this allée of oaks from the river meant you were halfway between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. 
The Oaks of Oak Alley Plantation have lightning rods and are well-maintained with liquid fertilizer and trimmings.
Naturally, the giant oaks at Oak Alley Plantation are the stars here. These trees have lightning rods to protect them during storms, and are well-maintained with liquid fertilizer and regular trimmings.
Oak Alley Plantation, Louisiana.
Oak Alley Plantation, Louisiana. Spared during the Civil War, the house was unable to avoid disrepair during Reconstruction. In 1925, the property was purchased and restored, and in the 1970s put into a trust for preservation. Only a handful of plantations remain. Most have been knocked down–too broken to repair, too costly to maintain, and no longer income-generating. Instead, mostly chemical and oil refinery plants line the Mississippi River now.

 

Southern Hospitality
At Oak Alley Plantation, LA: A pineapple on a guest's bed at breakfast meant it was time to go, as in "you've overstayed your welcome. Here's a pineapple for your trip home."
At Oak Alley Plantation, we learned that a pineapple served whole on a guest’s breakfast tray meant it was time to go, as in: “You’ve overstayed your welcome. Here’s a pineapple for your trip home.”

 

We had lunch at Oak Alley, an old four-square building with one fireplace in the center of the building and shared via corner openings into each room. Genius design. They served a delicious Po-boy fish sandwich with rice and beans, and sweet mint tea, made even better by the location among those old oaks.

The Mississippi River Levee

Later, we walked over to see the Mississippi River from atop the levee. These levees were built after the 1927 floods, and are nothing more than ridges topped with dirt and concrete. I don’t know what I expected of a levee, but this wasn’t it. We did enjoy a few minutes of breezes at that height and the view of the wide, muddy Mississippi.

Oak Alley looking towards the Mississippi River.
On the porch at Oak Alley Plantation, looking towards the Mississippi River. At the end of the walk, past the little gate and the River Road, is the shore of the river. Today the levee is built high enough to protect the area from catastrophic flooding. And though all the antebellum homes face the river, their view of the water is obstructed. 
The levee blocks the view from the Mississippi River. No one can see the remaining plantations from the river.
The levee blocks the view of the Mississippi River. The remaining plantations cannot be seen from the river.
Mama Lucy on the Mississippi River levee.
Mama Lucy on the Mississippi River levee.
Mama at Evergreen Plantation.
Mama at Evergreen Plantation.

 

Louisiana Plantations: Evergreen

Next, we stopped at Evergreen Plantation, about 15 minutes from Oak Alley, towards New Orleans. This Creole farmhouse was built in 1790 before the Louisiana Purchase brought them and their land into the USA. It is the most intact plantation in the South with 37 buildings (including 22 slave cabins) on the National Register of Historic Places, and also holds landmark status for its agricultural acreage. Today, Evergreen Plantation is still a privately-owned, working sugarcane plantation. In fact, trucks were busy harvesting and trucking cane from the fields while we visited.

Evergreen Plantation, a Creole plantation that continues to be a working farm.
Evergreen Plantation, a Creole plantation built in 1790, renovated in 1832, it continues to be a working sugarcane farm.
Evergreen Plantation continues to grow sugar cane. This is the front yard of the plantation, and across the street sugar cane is being harvested.
Even today, Evergreen Plantation continues to grow sugarcane. This is the front yard of the plantation. Across the street, trucks harvest sugarcane. This Mississippi River is beyond the tree line.
Moss drips from trees on the Evergreen Plantation grounds. Louisiana.
Spanish Moss drips from trees on the Evergreen Plantation grounds. Louisiana.
Evergreen Plantation has 22 preserved slave cabins that were used until 1947 to house sugar cane workers. The cabins are in an allée of 82 live oaks.
Also, Evergreen Plantation has 22 former slave cabins, later used up until 1947 to house sugarcane workers. They are in an allée of 82 live oaks leading down to the fields.
Evergreen Plantation's 102 oaks lining a red dirt road to the sugar cane fields behind the house.
Evergreen Plantation’s 102 oaks lining a red dirt road to the sugarcane fields behind the house.
Sugar cane grows beneath a puffs of clouds in Louisiana.
Sugarcane grows beneath a puffs of clouds in Louisiana.

 

October 31 – November 2:  New Orleans, Louisiana.

After the plantations, we spent two days in extraordinary New Orleans, mostly wandering the French Quarter and eating–Po-boy sandwiches with seasoned fries, beignets and chicory coffee at Cafe du Monde, and red beans and rice and a Pimm’s Cup at the Napoleon House. We saw the Mississippi River at Jackson Square, mules in horses’ harnesses, saxophone players on the streets, wrought iron balconies dripping with ferns and decked out for Halloween (or Mardi Gras?). Of course, we saw beads in trees, beads on balconies, beads on the streets.

Beads & Fern on the sidewalk, New Orleans, Louisiana
Beads & a fern on the sidewalk. New Orleans, Louisiana.
Beignets and coffee. Cafe du Monde. French Quarter. New Orleans, LA.
Beignets and coffee. Cafe du Monde. French Quarter. New Orleans, LA.
Lucy at Cafe du Monde. NOLA.
Lucy at Cafe du Monde. NOLA.
New Orleans sign for Hotel Monteleone.
New Orleans sign for Hotel Monteleone.
Old and New. New Orleans.
New Orleans. Old and New.
The Royal Pharmacy. Haunted? I just liked the neon. New Orleans, LA.
The Royal Pharmacy. Haunted? Maybe! I liked the neon. New Orleans, LA.
Old door. New Orleans, LA.
Old door detail. New Orleans, LA.
Shotgun house for rent. NOLA.
Sassy little shotgun house for rent. NOLA.
Beads in a party tree. NOLA.
Beads in a party tree. NOLA.
Stay Puft Marshmellow Man and a Hearse. Only in New Orleans, LA.
Stay Puft Marshmellow Man and a Hearse. Only in New Orleans, LA.
Beads on a balcony. New Orleans, LA.
Beads on a balcony. New Orleans, LA.

 

Traveling is eye-opening. We learn, we are vulnerable, we change. Read more about our reasons for going. Also, some of these photos will be available on Etsy.
Finally, a big THANK YOU for following along.