Natchez and free breakfast entertaining......

Chad and I returned from our first trip to Natchez together. It was our overdue anniversary getaway-- since my grandfather became sick around our anniversary in May.

Natchez is a neat city. We had a really good time, ate some good food, and burned slap up. What else do you expect in Mississippi summers?

Above is the drive up to Longwood-- we toured 3 of the mansions while we were there. I love history and wish I had more time and focus to study up on history. These houses and the histories behind them fascinated me. But, Longwood was my favorite. If you ever make a trip to Natchez, Ms, be sure and make that one of your stops.

It started being being built before the Civil War by workers from the north. It is the largest octagonal house ever built. Only problem is that it was never finished. When the war began, the workers literally dropped their tools and headed out of the south back to the north. You can still see their tools where they dropped them and left and there are even paintbrushes still stuck to the wall on one of the floors. It was supposed to be a 30,000 square foot house with a total of 6 floors. The basement is the only floor that was finished. The basement alone is 10,000 square feet (you could put 5 of my houses in the basement.) But, they used it as their living quarters for the remainder of Mrs. Nutt's life. Dr. Nutt (the homeowner) died shortly after the war broke out and his wife lost every dime they had (they were both millionaires , even in 1860-- one of them was worth 1.5 million and the other 3 million---and yes, that was in the 1850/60 standard of monetary value.) Their money was invested in Confederate currency and after the war broke out, all of it lost it's value. So the widow Nutt ended up with 8 kids and not a dime to their name.

The house has a little bit of an eerie feel. It's in the middle of 90 acres, and the living quarters in the basement is beautiful, but there is a staircase that leads up to the rest of the empty, unfinished house. Call me crazy, but I would have been a little creeped out living in that big of house and having an staircase that just opened up to an unfinished house and to the rest of the world. But, that was back in the day when they slept with their windows open to get fresh air. I guess they didn't have scary movies to put creepy thoughts into their heads.

There are many other AMAZING details about this house that I could go on and on about, but you will have to visit yourself and see exactly what I am talking about. I told Chad that even unfinished, it should be considered the 8th wonder of the world.

Anyway, photography was not allowed in the basement where the family lived, but up above you could take as many pictures as you wanted of the unfinished mammoth of a house.

One of the side porches at Longwood. I just thought it looked so cozy.

This is on the first true floor looking up.

One of the places the workers literally dropped and left everything. Paint cans, gasoline cans, ect.

The front door at Longwood.

This is where we had dinner on Friday night. Everyone knows the legend of the King's Tavern. Jealous wife kills husband's mistress and a jeweled dagger and 3 skeletons were found after one of the chimneys collapsed. Many different versions to that story. But, it is fun to see "Madeline's room." And this is the oldest building in Natchez.

Rosalie. The second house we toured. I really wish they would allow photography. These houses are breathtaking on the inside. And the details about the inside and some of the pieces of furniture and architecture are fascinating.

The Natchez Grand. This is the hotel we stayed in, which overlooks the Mississippi River.

Natchez is a town (unlike New Orleans) that shuts down sort of early. There isn't much to do in the nightlife unless you go to a bar or to listen to a band at one of the restaurants. After Chad and I had dinner, we sat and watched the sunset. Really beautiful. I took lots of pictures of it. How often do any of us really stop and take the time to watch the sun set? I highly recommend it.

Chad and I found a carriage ride still in operation after dark, so we decided instead of turning in at 7:45, we would tour the town of Natchez in a carriage. I took lots of pics, but didn't upload them on here. Above is the First Presbyterian Church. All the churches in downtown are just gorgeous.

This morning we went in St. Mary's Basilica . Wow. There was such a sense of reverence in a church like that. And it was one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen.

This is the Guest House. Now a bed and breakfast, it once belonged to Dr. Nutt and his wife (the owners of Longwood) as their town home. This is one of the things Mrs. Nutt had to sell after they went broke.

This is Stanton Hall at night. This was the 3rd home we toured before we left today. One of the rooms in that house was my favorite rooms out of all 3 houses. It was GORGEOUS.

Ready to turn in for the night!

The view from our hotel room when we woke up.

Stanton Hall in daylight. We ate lunch at the Carriage House, which is on the same property. The Carriage House had great food. They are famous for their Mint Juleps--- a southern delicacy (wink, wink)--- but of course, preggo just had water with a twist of lemon and Chad had his normal sweet tea. They sure did look refreshing though.

Our only souvenirs were for the baby. I will not tell you how much we paid for this dress, but I feel it was well worth it. It's not very often you find Colonel Reb anymore. And I'm certainly not buying a dress with a black bear across it. Chad had a moment of weakness and really, and I mean REALLY splurged on this dress. I bought it in a size 2 so maybe she can get a little more wear out of it.

There was a children's boutique that was very upscale and depending on who you are, either VERY affordable or unaffordable. For us, it was not an affordable place to be leisurely shopping. But, they just happened to have ALL of their clothes on sale for 40%. If Chad would not have been with me, I could have done some major damage. I fell in love with the outfit above. Since it was on sale, the sticker shock wasn't quite so painful. I also bought a matching bow. Hush your mouth.

Daddy also had to buy her first pair of shoes. Handpicked by Daddy himself.

Fun times in Natchez. Next time we will go when the weather is a little more merciful.

This morning we had such an entertaining breakfast: Apparently this couple had spent the night together after one too many drinks. He was a show-off. She was dressed in very little for 8:30 in the morning. His voice carried. LOUDLY. Apparently, neither of them remembered much about the night before, other than they had a little too much swagger in their wagons, and he was telling her a little about himself. LOUDLY. (Did I say that already?) He grew up (these are his words) "privileged and with a silver spoon in his mouth". His dad "is a very prominent, well-known doctor in his hometown of Jackson". Life was "very tough because Jackson is such a hard place to grow up in. Everyone is superficial". Apparently it just depends on what side of the tracks in Jackson you grew up in. He went on and on and on about himself. Chad and I about died. I swear I almost threw up my scrambled eggs and orange juice. And she wasn't much better. Then they were trying to decide "where to go from here". He didn't want to "be awkward or anything". But, "he really had a great time last night". (Even though he admitted "What exactly happened last night?) By the end of breakfast he was checking her phone--- yes, I said checking her phone--- because he just wanted to see what kind of apps she had on her phone. He "always likes to see what other kind of apps people have on their phones to make sure he's not missing anything cool". As they left, she went to the drink station to refill her drink, and he walked over to her and sniffed her. I guess he was trying to be smooth and all, but it was the uncoolest thing I have ever seen. Free entertainment at breakfast. I guess it doesn't get much better than that. However at one point I really wanted to go ask them to take this very "private" conversation back to the privacy of whatever room they came from.