Seeing the South: Weekend to Natchez, MS

My very best friend since literally birth is getting married next weekend! So as matron of honor I wanted to take her to a fun girls weekend before the wedding, so we headed towards Natchez, Mississippi. It is right on the Mississippi River and has beautifully restored plantation homes that literally feels like you are stepping back in time. 

 We toured several of them which was amazing, but we couldn't take pictures inside. The outside though gives you a good idea of how perfect they are.

We took a carriage ride through downtown, and I think this was the bank. There are blocks upon blocks of just amazing historical buildings. 

 This house is called The Longwood. It was very very interesting and if you go to visit Natchez, I found this to be very neat. I won't give away what is so special about this one, but go see it if you are ever around. 

 Then we went to Saint Mary's Basilica. It was free and is open to the public. Even though we are not Catholic the architecture was stunning. We went inside and just sat and soaked up the wonderfulness. It is reportedly the first Catholic church in Mississippi. The stained glass windows are amazing. 

I don't know how I didn't get more pictures of the house we stayed in, but here is the one I have. It is named "The Monmouth" and is a beautiful Inn you can stay in. The grounds are spectacular with a rose garden, hiking trail and two ponds. If you are looking for a nice historical weekend getaway, I'd point the car towards Natchez. Even homesteaders have to have fun right? 

Visit to Mansfield, MO- Where the Little House Books were Written

You all may recall that I'm quite fascinated with Laura Ingalls Wilder. Please refer to my other posts regarding Laura and her life:

 Part 1: Introduction to the Series, information about Laura
Part 2: The books!
Part 3: Dress like Laura
Part 4: Places to visit to have that "Laura Experience"
Part 5: Cook like Laura
Part 6: Other books you might enjoy

Over Spring Break though I took it a step further and visited Mansfield, MO which was the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder and Almanzo once they got married and was where the Little House Books were actually written. There is a home tour a museum that had Pa's FIDDLE!!! I know right, the ACTUAL fiddle that Laura referred to so lovingly in her books. You could take pictures inside the museum but I did get a few pictures of her house.

You can see the three littles playing here around her home. This is the home in Mansfield, MO that started out as just the small piece on the very left and the built onto through the years. You can take a tour of the home that still has many pieces from her. I was like a kid in a candy store. It was so neat getting to feel so close to your favorite author.

Just another view of the home. I liked the stone fireplace.

The back of the house. It looks out into the woods.

Not a good picture at all, but a pic of me and my Dad enjoying the tour. It was worth the drive, and worth the very nominal fee that they charged. I would highly recommend to any Laura fan to put this on their to do list!

 

They have a gift shop/bookstore on site and I purchased several items, a tshirt, some other books ( there was a subsequent series written about Laura and Almanzo's daughter Rose, that takes place while she was growing up in Mansfield, that I purchased and read and enjoyed for that matter.

You can shop online as well as the following link. Shop from the Laura Ingalls Wilder Bookstore 

There isn't a ton to eat around, so bring a picnic or eat before you go. The little town of Mansfield has a very small statue/bust of Laura in the city park which we went to and let the kids stretch their legs.

They also have the cemetery where she and Almanzo are buried if you are so inclined.

 

Until next time,

Happy Homesteading Ya'll

 

Our vacation to the Smoky Mountains: Tennesee and North Carolina

So I have been having trouble inserting pictures into my blog, so that is why I haven't had many new posts lately. Anyways I may have figured it out and wanted to share pics of the most recent family vacation we went on. It was my husband and myself, our 3 kiddos and my parents.  

I've always wanted to hike the Applachian Trail, but have never done it. Of course it takes like 6 months to do the full length, but we at least did a very small portion of it on our trip.

 So fantastic.

 I guess my hubby and my mother were ahead of us, but here is the rest of the crew. It was beautiful weather and the kids loved being able to explore.

 Cade's Cove is a must see. Honestly I would put it on your bucket list if you are into that sort of list making thing. It was a fantastic journey. It's a several mile loop that has historic homesteads, churches and buildings you can explore.

 This has to be one of my favorite pictures. I made it into a large canvas. I just love the kids running and that memory will be in my head forever. Beautiful weather, beautiful scenery, the air is so fresh and the sounds of the little ones laughing. I would take this over Disney World any day. Any. Day.

 

We stayed 10 days and drove on into North Carolina. It was truly a wonderful experience and we would all love to go back. Until next time...

 

Happy Homesteading!

Adventure to Petit Jean Mountain

Time to get out of the house for a bit. Our weather can be crazy, flurries one day, 60 the next, sunshine, rain. oh my. But here is a little trip we took not to long ago to explore Petit Jean Mountain...

 I mean really, isn't it beautiful?

 You probably can't see this, but I'll paraphrase, basically when French settlers came over here, there was a young couple in love, and the girl couldn't bear to be away from her beau so she pretended to be a boy so she could take the trip with him. She was a tiny thing so they called her Petit Jean or " Little John". Once over here in the new world she made it for a while but passed away from some kind of fever, and the grave markers are still here. It is on a beautiful mountain on the river, and is a State Park now. It's wonderful to camp, hike and picnic at.

 The grave....

 I like this picture, don't worry they aren't close to the edge, there is a little shelf of rock just a few inches below what you see as the drop off, so they couldn't fall far from here.

We had a great time and love to get outside and explore.

 

 

Happy Homesteading guys!

Our Spring Break Getaway to Oklahoma City

We went on a small getaway while the kids were out of school to Oklahoma City. It was about a 5-6 hour drive for us and the kids had never been to Oklahoma. We want to visit all 50 states with the kids, by the time the oldest one graduates. So off to Oklahoma we went.

First stop- The National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum

They had a great little kid's area. Here is a place that had a little cabin for the kids to play in, a pretend campfire that had dutch oven cooking stuff, a stage coach they could play in etc. It was very hands on and the kids had a blast.

This is a picture of the city that is set up inside the musuem. It's amazing. You feel like you literally step back in town. They have US Marshall's walking around in costume, they have jail cells you can get into. They also have a saloon, bank, church, school house, general store, post office and more.Super fun.

They had a bunk house where the kids could dress up in cowboy type clothes. The kids enjoyed dressing up. They had a lot of stuff for adults as well. Beautiful artwork from Western artists as well as Native Americans. Sculptures, paintings, weavings, jewelry and clothing.

 

Another place we visited was the Musuem of Osteology.Oh My Word!It was amazing. Probably not everyone's cup of tea, but our family loved it.Such a learning experience for our little Scientists. They had complete skeletons from mice and fish all the way up to giraffes, whales and elephants. We looked for hours. Even little guy.

The flamingo above was fascinating. Their legs are just super awesome.

This was a little rabbit. We had a great discussion about the shape of the thighs and the legs and how that made them be able to hop.

Here is my biggest Science lover with a skeleton as big as she was.

 

It's important for us to travel, but we try to make it a learning experience and something the kids will remember. If you are close enough to OK City, it's a fascinating city and we could have stayed there several more days.

 

 

Happy Homesteading Ya'll!!

Linked up with Monday Homestead Blog Hop I heart Naptime

This and That

So, since I'm fairly certain no one reads my blog yet anyways, I doubt anyone has missed me, but I just returned home late last night from a 7 day trip to California. It was work related but thankfully my work is crazy awesome and I got to travel with some great people. We got to see some wonderful sites. We flew into San Francisco then drove down the coast into Los Angeles. We had stops in Big Sur, Sunnydale, Santa Cruz and more fantastic stops. I'll try to post pictures soon.

I got to read some great Homesteading-type magazines on the plan though and that was inspiring for me.

My all time favorite magazine is Hobby Home Farm, followed closely by Mother Earth News, Organic Gardening and Natural Home.