Laying Memories on the Hearth

Frances Mayes is one of my favorite authors. 

In her latest work,

  A Year In the World, Journeys of a Passionate Traveller, 

she explains the allure of travel

 in a manner that captures it perfectly. 

Last week I, too, experienced the joy 

of a journey unfolding before me.  

Let Frances narrate as I share images 

from my travels over those four days.  

Come along, won't you?  

View from the Castle Restaurant ~ Dunleith Planation, Natchez, MS

Travel pushes my boundries.

Seemingly self-indulgent, travel

paradoxically obliterates me-me-me,

because very quickly--

pretissimo--the own little self

is unlocked from the present

and released to move through

layers of time.

Upper floors {unfinished due to the Civil War}
Longwood Plantation, Natchez, MS

You are released also because

you are insignificant to the life

of the new place.

Illinois and Michigan monuments,
Vicksburg Battleground, Vicksburg, MS

When you travel,  you become

invisible, if you want.

I do want.

I like to be the observer.

What makes these people

who they are?  

Could I feel at home here?

No one expects you to

have the stacks of papers

back by Tuesday, or

to check messages or

to fertilize the geraniums.....

Travel releases spontaneity.

You become a godlike creature

full of choice, free to visit

the stately pleasure domes....

....sketch a bell tower,

read a history.....

You open, as in childhood,

and--for a time--

receive this world.

Moon over Dunleith

There's the visceral aspect,

too--the huntress who is free.

Free to go, free to return

home bringing memories

to lay on the hearth.

Thank you for traveling with me.
Your comments have been so meaningful
and precious.


Now,
enjoy this weekend...
Go out as a traveler 
in your own life, pause and
receive this world!

[1 Country Living] [All others: Privet and Holly]

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Posted in Frances Mayes , historic homes , images , journey , joy , the South , travel

The Other Side of the Looking Glass

Last week my traveling partner

{AKA my mom} 

and I took a wonderful trip to

Mississippi.  We'd always wanted

to visit the Natchez area in the 

spring to tour the antebellum

homes and gardens that are open

to the public.

Like all intrepid explorers, we

had to find a rhythm to our days.

Our sea legs, so to speak.

Because we were in the South

and staying in bed and breakfast establishments,

we started each day with a lovely

BIG breakfast.

Yes, including grits!

Those breakfasts would give us energy

for a day of visiting many of these 

antebellum {built before the Civil War}

and Victorian {built between 1840 and 1900} beauties.

On three of the days, the afternoons

included me driving our rental car for

a fair distance, which meant stopping

at the local gas mart for a caffeine jolt

like this

We had some interesting dinners.

One night was at a local joint in Natchez

where we both had hush puppies, a sort

of fried corn fritter and we swapped tastes

of grilled shrimp and fried oysters, which

I have to say are really, really wonderful!

The evenings included movies in our room, feet up

under the canopied bed, swathed in the white terry cloth robes

 provided by the plantation....

and plenty of these.

Now, I don't want you to think

that Natchez was all Gone With The Wind

and perfect and shining.

As one of our tour guides explained,

these big homes have been in families

for three to four generations.....

Which many of the families feel

is a privilege

but also can be a burden.

Many of the homes we saw were down

at the heels, so to speak,

with peeling paint and yards that

were crying out to gardeners that had

tended and loved them in years gone by.

We saw a lot of signs like this:

And shops in downtown Natchez that

were vacant and boarded up.

So much potential, but in this economy,

no one to bring it alive.

Did I mention the plantation where we

spent three nights?

Even that had a faded charm.

{Which I can sort of relate to!}

In the end, the good far outweighed 

the bad.  After the storms and tornadoes

had passed the weather was outstanding

and I was with my darling friend, my mama.

I'll toast to that!

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Posted in gardens , historic homes , mom , the South