 1 Our River Boat was the newly build, "American Eagle". It was a pseudo-paddle wheeler but actually actually diesel propeller powered. |
 2 We spent a couple of days in Memphis. The Civil Rights Museum was the highlight along with great eating (ribs, etc.). Here we are, riding on a horse driven carriage. |
 3 Elvis stuff everywhere. |
 4 "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, in the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Dianne joins them. |
 5 Wednesday nights on Beale Street is special for the motorcycle crowd. |
 6 Some of them have been parked too long. |
 7 This WWII battleship was a museum on the shore of the Mississippi. |
 8 On to the Capital, Baton Rouge. This view is from the top of the State Capital building. |
 9 A legislative chamber in the Capital. The once govenor & assassinated Huey Long had built the showy Capital and a Govener's Mansion. |
 10 Baton Rouge is located in CANCER ALLEY due to the many nearby oil refineries and chemical plants. |
 11 Oil company treats next to the Govenor's Mansion. |
 12 Yup, each booth had a huge pot of Gumbo as part of a contest. |
 13 Next we headed south on the Mississippi with frequent stops. Oak Alley Plantation was one of a number we saw. Slaves built this one. |
 14 Elegant furniture, mostly slave built, have been preserved in some museum-like old plantations. |
 15 Household slaves used a hidden staircase. |
 16 Plans for another pentagon shaped huge plantation that was never completed because of the American Civil War. |
 17 Next are relics found on some of those plantations. Some raised cotton and some sugar cane. All depended on slaves. The economy collapsed after our Civil War with the passage of the 13th Constitutional Amendment. |
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 21 Many plantations had their own Doctor to care for the owner family and to keep slaves heathy enough to work. |
 22 Hmmm. |
 23 An old medical remedy. |
 24 Oh, amputations for gangrene were frequent as there were no antibiotics in those days. |
 25 One of the few remaining original slave cabins. This one was featured in the movie, "12 Years a Slave". |
 26 Culture in Vicksburg. Classic music in a grand old historic home. |
 27 Not every one is prosperous. |
 28 Downtown Vicksburg was not thriving. |
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 30 Some weirdness in Vicksburg. |
 31 Whatever you might need. |
 32 This is even older history. This country existed for some 74 days but became part of America with the Louisana Purchase. |
 33 Some triva: Pink flamingos were a symbol of that country. |
 34 Beads were also a symbol and are used even today to represent an independent south. |
 35 Dianne wishes you happy travels as as our Mississippi river cruise comes to an end. It's New Orleans next. |