Nov 2, 2015 Mississippi to Louisiana

Monday, November 2, 2015
Mississippi to Louisiana

Woke early this morning and it is 70 degrees and humid already.   Very heavy fog.

We stop for a quick breakfast and then hop on I-65 toward Mobile.  I  wanted to take a photo of the bridge into Mobile, but by the time we were off the bridge and could stop, it was swallowed up by the fog.

 Since it is still early (8:00) we head to Magnolia Cemetery, an old Victorian cemetery started in the early 1800s.  It used to be outside of town, but town has grown around it.    There is still fog when we arrive, which gives an interesting aura.

Part of the grounds is a national military cemetery.

We see a few interesting statues

and markers and Greg suggests we stop by the office to see if they have any literature or maps or such.  What a GREAT idea, because there we meet Tighe Marston  ("friends call me Tiger" )whose official title is Municipal Cemeteries Manager for Mobile.  He gives us a map and marks a few things of interest as we chat a bit. He asks if we'll be around Saturday because there is a tour then.  When we say no, he grabs some keys and asks if we'd like to see the most beautiful mausoleum.  He then leads the way in his car and for the next  two hours or so we get a wonderful individualized tour!

 Tiger is incredibly knowledgeable, with stories about many of the folks buried here - cotton merchants, confederate soldiers(including General Bragg), the creators of Mardi Gras (one has a cowbell atop his marker), well-known local families, etc. - but also full of information on Victorian customs and the many symbols used in funerary art...

The inverted torches symbolize end of life.

.angels, Greek gods and goddesses, urns, laurel wreaths, obelisks(originally phallic symbols) both truncated (for lives cut short) and complete (for full lives), hour glasses, egg and dart decorations, the snake eating its' tail, and many many more. He explained how the archeological discoveries in Egypt and Greece influenced the Victorians.

 He took us into a few locked structures which have statues, stained glass and funerary chairs, among other things. I wish we could remember even 10% of the knowledge he spewed!

 Most of the markers and statues are made from white Alabama Marble, which is a little soft - great for carving but some is not holding up so well after 150+ years.

Inside one mausoleum

This one had a gorgeous full size marble statue inside.  No photos allowed.

Tiger explaining a charnal house piece.

view through cutout in metal door to one mausoleum

He even explained the different kinds of trees - live oaks, magnolias because they don't lose leaves so symbolize eternal life; cedar trees for the jewish which symbolize temples. Many trees were lost to hurricanes - at one point he said the cemetery was seven feet under water!

He said he often gives presentations and has begun to use some humor,  of which he gave us a few samples. And what a southern gentleman - he extended his hand to help me whenever there was a rough or uneven patch!  He really was charming and quite entertaining! Who knew cemeteries could be such fun?!

Much of the wrought iron was stolen by vandals during a period when the cemetery wasn't cared for.

After bidding him farewell with a hearty handshake, Greg and I continued to drive and look around for a short time and then headed into town to the Mobile Carnival Museum.

It was located in an old house surrounded by wrought iron fence, gates and trim.  Mobile claims to have started the whole Mardi Gras tradition of parades and music, although the first parades with rakes and cowbells (long story, google it) were at New Year's Eve.

Part of one float

The museum showcased many of the elaborate costumes from Kings and Queens of past years, photos and mementos, as well as some items from floats and parades.  The lady who sold us the tickets was very friendly and knowledgeable too.  We watched a short film and then wandered through the displays.  Did you know that they used to throw CrackerJacks (along with beads and such) but had too many complaints of injuries, so they switched to Moon Pies!

 A fun museum that made us want to return in February to see some of the 30 different parades held over 2 1/2 weeks.

Across from the museum was the Spanish Plaza built to commemorate 30 years of Spanish rule. Cordoba, Spain is their sister city.

We turned westward then, back to I-10, towards home.  The sun had come out briefly but we are back to dense cloud cover.  We found a restaurant called Dempsey's in Baton Rouge for our traditional shrimp Poor Boy (Poboy) sandwiches. These were great and I enjoyed some crab corn soup as well.

Greg drove for another few hours and we stopped for the night at the Atchafalaya Welcome Center near Breaux Bridge, LA.  A little noisy, as it is close to I-10, but, hey that's what earplugs are for!

Finally cooling down after reaching 80 today and the rain seems to have moved east. Tomorrow we will head home, about another 6-7 hours.