Photo essays around the world

Destrahan Plantation, Louisiana

Destrahan Plantation is the second plantation I visited in Louisiana. I have been to Oak Alley plantation a few years ago and I really enjoyed learning about the colonial period of Southern history and visiting smaller towns around New Orleans.

Destrahan Plantation was built in 1787 and is one of the old homes and plantations in Louisiana and in the country. Louisiana was still under Spanish rule and the plantation is built in French colonial style.

It was built by Robert Antoine Robin de Logny to support his indigo plantation. He dies in 1792 and as was the custom back then, the property went up for auction. It was purchased by his son-in-law, Jean-Noël Destréhan, as he wanted the property to stay in the family.

Destrahan plantation is situated on 6,000 acres of land but most of the land is covered by swamps.

Jean Noel’s lifetime was a cornerstone of Louisiana History. He was the first Deputy Mayor of New Orleans. Jean Noel helped shape the economic situation of the South when he perfected the granulation of sugar. Jean Noel was active in the political arena all his life and was well respected for his fairness and intelligence. Jean Noel became a driving force in the statehood process and the writing of the territorial and state law for the new state of Louisiana.

Live Oak Trees

The property is surrounded by spectacular live oak trees. The oak trees at Destrahan plantation are "baby oaks". They are only 200 years old and could live up to 600 years old.

The trees are draped in a Spanish moss. Interesting fact is that Spanish people of that time called "Spanish moss" a "Frenchman beard".

Guided tour of the plantation

Our costumed tour guide told us about the Destrahan family, historic events that occurred on the plantation and unique architectural features of the plantation.

Together with our tour guide

Slaves lived in the cabins. The cabin below was home to two slave families.

Slave cabin

Owners of the plantation used rain water from the cistern while the slaves used the water from the well.

Cistern

Kitchen was located in a separate building. The reason for that is to separate the smells coming from the kitchen and to avoid the main house from catching the fire.

Kitchen

Inside the plantation

The plantation was built without a single nail as nails were expensive back then.

Kitchen warming

Pantry

Merchandise from China was very expensive back then and it was displayed for viewing as it was a sign of wealth.

Chinese tea set

Lydia's room

Mama's Room

Father's room

Covered patio

Official Destrahan Plantation website - hours of operations and directions

Other blogs about Destrahan plantation I enjoyed reading:

Travel is my yes

Fishing in Venetian Isles, Louisiana

Even though legally part of New Orleans, Louisiana, Venetian Isles has always had an apparance of a small fishing town. It is separated from the city by miles of undeveloped land. Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge is located there.

At the end of 20th century, there was some suburban development in Venetian Isles but a lot of houses still have a direct access to the water.

Venetian Isles

On a sunny day like today, we decided to go fishing.

And here is our first catch. We think it was a mullet so we let it go.

Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge

Terry and I went for a quick hike to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge. It is located right next to Terry's mom house.

Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1990 and encompasses approximately 25,000 acres. It is the largest urban wildlife refuge in the country and one of the last remaining marsh areas adjacent to Lake Pontchartrain and Borgne. Most of the refuge is located within massive hurricane protection levees built to protect New Orleans from surges and flooding.

Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge map

Map

The Ridge Trail Board Walk

The Ridge Trail Board Walk is the most popular short hike on the refuge, affording views of a variety of habitat. A boardwalk trail leads about ½ mile through woods with palmetto understory to an overlook which gives views of some marsh, swamp, and open water.

This live oak tree grows to only about 50 feet in height, but its large limbs may spread out 100 feet or more. The wood was commonly used for shipbuilding.

Madere Marsh Site

Madere Marsh Site is located approximately 1/4 mile Southeast of the Ridge Trail site. The lush marsh grasses not only provide excellent habitat for the alligators but are also a heaven for migratory birds and waterfowl. The viewing area at the end of the short boardwalk offers an excellent vantage point amid the lush grasses for viewing a variety of birds.

The diverse habitat supports 340 bird species during various seasons of the year. There are also healthy populations of alligators, turtles, otters, fish, and other wild animal species. We did not see any alligators who are a common sight on the refuge but we saw a bunch of rabbits.

Pictures are taken with Samsung Galaxy S4, Black Mist 16GB (AT&T)

Useful links:

1. Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges - directions to refuge and other useful info
2. Wikipedia

Crawfish boil in Louisiana

One of my favorite times to visit New Orleans is during crawfish season. It generally starts in late February or early March and runs through the end of June. At the end of the season they’re normally really large and begin to get hard.

I love seafood and my first crawfish boil experience was totally mid blowing as I have never seen so much seafood at once before. This crawfish boil we bought 5 mesh bags of crawfish to feed about 40 people.

To host a crawfish boil, you will need a steel stockpot lined with a draining basket and a burner.

Stockpots on the burners

Steering paddle

Crawfish boil recipe

First, add seasoning, onions, garlic and lemons and boil for 10 minutes. Then, toss potatoes, mushrooms, sausage and corn in the spicy seafood boil and boil for 5 minutes.