Hidden Secrets of a Peaceful Plantation

A day off in St. Francisville and amazing stories

   Yesterday I spent in a beautiful Treehouse on the Butler Greenwood Plantation grounds, where tall old trees hung with feather-light Spanish moss stand amid the green grass and a showy peacock calls loudly to announce he is opening his tail to show off his magnificent feathers. Built in the 1790s, the Plantation is now looked after by the eighth generation of the family, Anne Butler, and the ninth younger generation lives in town. Anne is an author, and her "Tourists' guide to West Feliciana Parish" is a must have for anyone visiting the area.
      Half of us stayed here, and the rest were at the St. Francisville inn. The plantation now has a pool, and a spacious pool house where all the bicyclists met for dinner the night before. The climbing wisteria has not opened yet but the branches twine up the poles and to the ceiling. Each one of us had a room in one of the lovely small cottages and houses on the plantation, where I saw a red cardinal flitting among the leaves and saw countless small birds darting among the trees. As we biked in, I saw signs for other plantations that offer tours of the grounds and houses.
       However, for all its bucolic charm, there are surprising stories about the plantation and about what there is to see in town. Anne herself has written an account of her horrendous shooting by her husband, then the director of Angola prison, who left her for dead never believing she would recover. But she did, and made a new life for herself. . She has created the beautiful Butler Greenwood Bed and Breakfast and gives a tour of the houses on the plantation. Her book, "Weep for the Living" is an account of the shooting and how her husband was sent to prison. It is available on Amazon.com if you want to read the whole story.
      St. Francisville looks like a charming Arcadian village with antique shops, and a few restaurants, and hotels, old plantations to tour and B&Bs.  However, it is also home to Angola, an 18,000 acre former cotton plantation which has become known as one of the bloodiest and most violent prisons in America. It was featured in movies such as "Dead Man Walking" and "Dying to Tell", and a number of award-winning documentaries. Every year there is an Angola Prison Rodeo which is sold out so people are urged to buy tickets in advance. It's been described as the "wildest show in the south." There is also an Angola Arts & Crafts Festival of work done by inmates.You can also tour Louisiana State Penitentiary Museum which has "Old Sparky," the infamous electric chair, which has now been replaced by lethal injections on the gurney.
   Another unusual tour is of River Bend Energy Center, which is next to the multi-million dollar nuclear generating station, which describes how the nuclear power plant was built and set up when it opened in 1985.Who knew that there was nuclear energy in Louisiana?

     I didn't have the energy to follow up on any of these unexpected sights, because I slept most of the morning, cleaned my bicycle, Ricardo, so he was clean and ready to go out again, and played a game of Bananagrams with Susan, who plays a good game, and then we all went out to dinner to the best Italian restaurant in town with the most delicious bread and food I've had in a long time

    My inexpensive watch decided to run out and so I went to a Dollar Store, Fred's, next door after I ordered my food, and bought a $10 watch to see me through the next few weeks. I wear it when I ride to give me an idea of how far and how long I've been riding each day.

    TODAY, which is only TWO WEEKS till our last ride into St. Augustine, Florida, I rode from St. Francisville almost to Hammond, but skipped the last 20 miles when it got up to about 85 degrees and very humid. So I did 63 miles, and enjoyed them biking along farm roads and country roads, and occasional traffic and trucks, to reach the Comfort Inn. This one has a heated pool and a hot tub, so I spent an hour enjoying them before our picnic dinner outside, with a gift of fresh-picked strawberries for dessert - delicious..