Chapter Fifteen May 14, 2001 Monday Vicksburg, Mississippi to Lafayette, Louisiana Dave is Working On It Our plan today was to wake up in Vicksburg, Mississippi and drive an hour and a half south to see  Natchez, Mississippi. From there we would cross over to Louisiana, pass through several smaller towns, then spend the night in Lafayette, the heart of Cajun country. As day broke, we got Dave a cup of coffee and sat on the balcony enjoying the very early morning Mississippi river traffic. We were on our way around 9am, toured the town of Vicksburg one last time, then pointed the car south toward Natchez. From Vicksburg we followed the Mississippi river south until we met the Natchez trace. Dave has always made a fuss about the Natchez Trace and the Blue Ridge parkway. We grew up in Michigan so we didn't really have an equivilent road. We stopped and took these pictures, but the bright sun and blue skys caused them to lose the delicate beauty of the lush greens of the overhanging trees. We arrived in the city of Natchez in time for lunch.  We picked up  a map and drove around a little, then headed down to the waterfront and had a delightful lunch at the Magnolia grill. After lunch we drove again around town and out to the historic cemetery. The city is filled with authentic plantation homes, many of them converted to B&B's. But, once again, we found that our interests lie elsewhere. We want to see a town, then press on to the next. We will return to Natchez when we are retired or writing our novel. We crossed the Mississippi and drove into Louisiana. This panarama is typical of mile after mile of countryside that we encountered. We drove to Alexandria, Louisiana then south to Opelousas. This was the heart of Cajun country but it was a Monday evening. The scenery was pretty, and each town had some famous festival or other on a certain week-end, but for us we just enjoyed the drive and eventually checked in at the Courtyard in Lafayette, Louisiana. We had done our reading ahead of time, so we checked in and headed right out to Randol's cajun restaurant and dance hall. We arrived just before the dinner crowd, and were graciously seated at the last table directly beside the band and dance area. The cajun food was spectacular and the live zydeco band was delightful. Dozens of locals danced all night while we enjoyed the food and down home show. The table next to us had over a dozen people, which turned out to include local folks and guests visiting them from Quebec. It was a hoot to hear the conversation between the Canadian Francophones and the Cajun band leader and emcee. The sound of French spoken with a heavy southern accent is as melodic as the English in so many cowboy movies. Of course, the audience would laugh on cue when a joke was made. What a delight! After dinner, we drove around town (home of the Ragin Cajun's of University of Louisiana at Lafayette), then crashed in bed. Tomorrow we would drive south, enjoy Louisiana and spend the night in New Orleans. Original Web Upload May 2001 Last Update: September 30, 2001