10. Family Table (Week 33)

~  With people you have known for years,

or with brand new friends,

 the fondest memories are made gathered around the table.  ~

Our second night in Natchez, Mississippi, Greg & I, the couple we traveled with, and a couple we hadn’t met yet moved to Bisland House.  Schelley, the coordinator of our “Maids on the Trace” event had arranged for all of the Motormaids and their traveling companions to soak in the historic atmosphere of Natchez by staying at one of the many houses and cottages in walking distance from downtown and not far from the bluffs of the Mississippi River.

The Bisland House on Commerce Street, was 3 blocks from downtown and 3 blocks from the bluff.  The Evergreen Cottage was located on Cemetery Road on the bluff.  The remaining accommodations were on Pearl Street, around the corner from us – Clarimount House, Savannah House, Emsley House, Marcia’s Cottage, and Evergreen Cottage.

After we all met for dinner at Roux 61,  we were to meet back on Pearl Street to pick up the commemorative red shirts and patches that we had ordered.

It was fun to look into the other houses.  The Savannah House was not new, but much of the building materials were from old Natchez structures and in 2009 won the Historic Natchez Award for New Construction in a Historic District.  The 1852 Planter’s Cottage known as the Elmsley House won the 2008 Historic Natchez Foundation Award for Restoration as the result of a 2007 renovation.

Our bed & breakfast, the Bisland House, was a Circa 1904 Colonial Revival Historic Home, listed on the National Register of Historic Homes.  We learned from our conversations with the current innkeepers, Byron & Christine Tims, that they bought the house after losing everything in a hurricane that swept through New Orleans, Louisiana.  Since their purchase, they’ve been renovating in stages and have filled the home with antiques and period pieces.

After a restful night, we looked forward to breakfast – this was a B&B, afterall!  When we sat down at the dining table, we felt like we were all at a family table as we all ate together and shared stories. Our innkeepers did not join us at the table, but they propped nearby as they served us and joined in our conversation.

With breakfast over, it was time to thank our innkeepers and start our journey up the Natchez Trace Parkway, but first they requested a picture of us all in front of Bisland House.

(L to R: Roy, Connie, Greg, Orlin, Me, Clara)