Day 2
- River Road Distillery
- Oak Alley Plantation
- Laura Plantation
- Houmas House Plantation
- Dinner at Nobile’s
Nobile’s Restaurant and Bar
The second day of the FAM took participants west along the River Road to explore three of the landmark plantation homes along the banks of the Mississippi. The morning began with a visit to River Road Distillery, a start-up craft distillery that creates rum from locally grown sugarcane. From there, guests visited Oak Alley Plantation, home to one of the most iconic stands of live oaks in the South, and Laura Plantation, a colorful plantation home that tells a compelling story with a distinctly French point of view. Next, they followed the river toward Baton Rouge to visit Houmas House Plantation, a property that is still privately owned and occupied by a local history lover who has preserved it and added beautiful gardens. The day ended in Nobile’s Restaurant and Bar, another local favorite seafood establishment in the town of Lutcher.
River Road Distillery
The farmland around the Mississippi River in New Orleans Plantation Country is filled with sugarcane, a crop that was valuable in the area’s French period and remains a staple today. At River Road Distillery, which is based at a sugarcane farm, guests learned how a local family is making rum with molasses milled from sugarcane grown throughout the area. The group toured the distillery to learn about the signature product Kicking Mule Rum, then got to sample a Blueberry Mule, a cocktail made with lemon juice, agave nectar, basil, blueberries and the distillery’s rum.
Oak Alley Plantation
Twenty-eight majestic, sprawling live oak trees stretching from the banks of the Mississippi River to the front door of the Big House make Oak Alley Plantation one of the most photographed sites in Louisiana and one of the most iconic plantation homes in the American South. FAM guests enjoyed a tour of the 1840s plantation home — one of the few historic homes in the country that guests can tour with a mint julep in hand. In every room of the house, interpreters told the stories of both the plantation owners and the enslaved people. The tour also included additional programming and a delicious lunch.
Laura: A Creole Plantation
Built in 1805 by a French Creole family, Laura: A Creole Plantation is a more colorful property than the classical white-columned homes often associated with Southern plantations. During the tour, a bilingual guide highlighted the French heritage evident in the home’s architecture and the customs of its inhabitants. He also told the story of the four generations of the family who lived there, explaining how they slowly abandoned the practice of slavery. Guests also learned about the lives of the 400 enslaved people who worked on the plantation throughout its history.
Houmas House Plantation
Fourteen different individuals have owned Houmas House Plantation since it was established in 1774. New Orleans industrialist Kevin Kelly purchased and renovated the home in 2003 and has since added acres of lush gardens decorated with beautiful statuary and other artistic touches. Kelly still lives at the plantation part time, and during tours, guests see his private living quarters, along with other historic areas of the home, which was built in three stages over time. Highlights include numerous notable antiques, such as a clock owned by Marie Antoinette and a table owned by Jackie Kennedy.
