Jefferson Davis – Towing Silver: Kim Davison's Travels

Next Stop: Montgomery (April 2019)

After taking my leave of Scott and Lesley in Phenix City I headed west to Montgomery, Alabama. It was an easy drive, less than two hours down the road. I had planned a couple days in the city. My first day’s exploration took me to the State Capitol.

I found a place to park and started up.

“UP” being the operative word. What is with all the steps at state capitols?

Along the way, I passed the state flower, the camellia.

I thought it was interesting that the first flower that had been designated as the state flower was the goldenrod. If you read the sign, you can see that the goldenrod was chosen in 1927. In 1959, the camellia growers of Butler County convinced a state representative to introduce a bill naming their product as the official state flower. It was adopted and the camellia became the state flower and the oak-leaf hydrangea became the state wildflower.

Poor goldenrod was left out altogether.

At the top of the stairs is the Confederate Memorial Monument, to honor the sacrifice of the state’s more than 122.000 veterans of the Civil War.

I always try to find out when memorials and such were set up. This one had been in the planning stage as far back as November 1865. According to my preferred source, (Wikipedia) “funding for the monument included $20,000 in the form of two grants from the state legislature, $10,000 contributed by the Ladies Memorial Association of Alabama, $6,755 from the Historical and Monumental Association of Alabama… and $5,000 from politicians.”

The monument was established in 1898.

It used to have flagpoles with the flags of the Confederate States of America, along with the Confederate Battle flag. These were removed on the morning of June 24, 2015, in the wake of the Charleston Church shooting of June 17, 2015.

I found this sign confusing. Actually, I still wonder about it. At first, I assumed that it referred to General Sherman, but I couldn’t locate any information that indicated that he was ever in Montgomery.

Do you suppose Mr. Peabody was looking for his boy, Sherman?

Here’s another view of the Memorial.

On to the Capitol.

The current capitol building was built 1850-1851 on the site of a previous capitol that had burned down.

I thought this little “truth window” was interesting. It reminded me of how George Washington’s Mount Vernon was actually a faux stone. It was wood that was stuccoed or plastered to look like stone.

I took this photo when I visited Mount Vernon, back in 2015.

I happened upon a field trip in progress, and kind of hovered nearby. If I’m not in the way, and things are going well, sometimes I stick with groups. If not, I peal off and do my own thing.

Many state capitols have extensive memorials to all the people who have served as governor. This is the only one I remember seeing inside the capitol. Lurleen Wallace became governor after her husband, George. She was the first female governor of the state. Kay Ivey, who took office inn 2017, is the second female governor of Alabama.

In my opinion, this cantilevered staircase is worth the visit.

Its swoops and swirls are breathtaking.

It was the creation of Horace King, architect, engineer and bridge builder.

I found his story to be inspirational.

While born into slavery, his natural abilities convinced his owners to educate him and give him increasing responsibility and opportunity. He learned to read and write and became a proficient carpenter and mechanic by the time he was a teenager.

He partnered with his second owner to build many construction projects, including houses, bridges and cotton warehouses, and eventually began designing and directing construction on his own.

Despite his enslavement, he was allowed to keep a large portion of the income from his work. In 1846, he purchased his freedom. Under the Alabama law of the time, a freed slave was allowed to remain in the state for only year after manumission. One of the men he had built bridges for was a state senator, as well as a mill owner and businessman. He arranged for the state legislature to pass a special law giving King his freedom and exempting him from the manumission law.

It helps to have sought after skills and to have friends in high places.

I didn’t expect to find this, but King was also a slaveholder. In the 1850s, he purchased a slave who eventually became known as celebrated abolitionist J. Sella Martin. When King attempted to subdue Martin by flogging him, he was disappointed by the man’s resistance and sold him to a slave trader. (Click on the link for more information about his life.)

People are certainly complex.

Back to the capitol building. Here is a look up into the dome.

This is the House of Representatives chamber. In case you might think that this is where they currently meet, it isn’t.

This building served as home to the Alabama Legislature until 1985, when it moved to the new Alabama State House. Officially, this move was temporary, since the Alabama Constitution requires that the Legislature meet in the capitol.

In 1984, a constitutional amendment was passed that allowed the Legislature to move to another building if the capitol were to be renovated. The renovation started in 1985 and was completed in 1992 by the architecture group Holmes and Holmes. When the capitol was reopened, the Governor of Alabama and numerous other state offices moved back into the building, but the legislature remained at the State House.

This 1904 stove made by the Art Stove Company, with plants in Detroit and Chicago. Apparently this was a top of the line stove. A 1904 catalog described it as “…surpassing all other base burners in appearance, in heating capacity and economy of fuel.”

This particular stove came from a private residence in Wisconsin, and was donated to the Alabama Historical Society inn 1994 by Mrs. Dorothy Rapaich Echols of Montgomery in honor of her son, Thomas Rapaich. It was installed in the Old House Chamber after extensive restoration and cleaning by technician William Missildine.

I took this photo in the Old Senate Chamber. I’d like to know why Senators always seem to get desks while Representatives have to make do with chairs. These desks are recreations of the originals.

On to the recreation of the Old Supreme Court, where Jefferson Davis’ body lay in state in the first capitol of the Confederacy.

Then it was time to find an exit.

I went down a hall and ended up outside.

Apparently, he’s down there somewhere in the crowd.

I set off to see what I could see around the building.

Nicely maintained walks.

I came across a “Moon Tree”

I wonder how large the tree was when they planted it in 1976? It’s grown well since then. It was probably about 45 years old when I took this photo.

I came across this rather stiff looking statue of Albert L. Patterson, who was Attorney General – elect when he was assassinated in Phenix City in 1954. I remembered reading something about a Patterson being governor, but the plaque didn’t mention that, so I had to look up some information about him.

It turns out that it was his son who was governor, and when Albert ran for Attorney General, he ran on a platform of “reforming the rife corruption and vice in Phenix City.” He was well aware that his life was inn danger, as he commented to a church group one night earlier, “I have only a 100-to-1 chance of ever being sworn in as attorney general.”

Phenix City must have been quite the place, as the special grand jury handed down 734 indictments against local law enforcement officials and local business owners connected to organized crime. Chief Deputy Sheriff Albert Fuller was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

I continued on my walk.

Around the building I went.

Jefferson Davis.

This statue was presented to the State of Alabama in 1940. That late date surprises me. It seems that most of the statue I’ve seen honoring Confederates were erected closer to the turn of the 20th century.

The columns give the building a stately air.

I came across another statue to another Confederate. I didn’t see a date on this statue, though.

On to another statue.

What is it with all these statues to the medical profession?

I wanted to know more, so of course I had to look. I kind of wish I hadn’t.

It turns out that J. Marion Simms developed his surgical techniques by operating without anesthesia on enslaved black women. The father of modern gynecology – oh, and a Confederate spy. Of course there is a statue honoring him on the capitol grounds,

I guess I’m “glad” I didn’t know more when I was visiting.

There is a copy of the Liberty Bell in front of the south portico near the Avenue of Flags.

There are flags from all fifty states with a native stone from each state, engraved with its name, set at the base of each flagpole

I had to look for Michigan’s flag.

I wish I knew what stones they used for each state. Michigan’s looks like it might be limestone.

New Jersey’s looks like granite, but I don’t know if they have granite in that state. (I’m not going to look it up.)

Wyoming’s is cool.

I continued down the Avenue of Flags and came to this rather comfortable looking house.

I’ll let you read the plaque to learn more about it.

And with that, my trip to the Alabama State Capitol is complete.

Another State – Another Capitol

I have a lot of different kinds of things on “The List.” One group of things I want to be sure to hit is campgrounds people have recommended. Many People I met during my Airstreaming days were extremely enthusiastic about Kentucky Horse Park Campground. If you are a lover of all things equine, and you want to camp, this is the place for you. It was a good campground with plenty of trees, level, paved sites and enough space between the sites so that you didn’t feel crowded. Who could ask for more?

The campground is part of the Kentucky Horse Park. Not only is it close to the horses and the horse museums, it is close to Lexington. I didn’t have too much time to spend in the area, so I didn’t visit the museums or Lexington. I spent a couple of days in Lexington during my first year on the road, so I didn’t feel bad about skipping it on this trip.

No, my goal was to visit Frankfort, the capital of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It was only about 25 miles to the Northwest.

I arrived in Frankfort. It wasn’t too hard to pick out the capitol. Although it is the capitol of Kentucky, it has a small-town feel to it. I looked up the population and discovered that an estimated 28,000 people live there. It is classified as a home-rule class city.

In Kentucky, there are currently two classes of cities: First class and home rule. There used to be many more different categories, but they switched things around a few years ago. There are 419 cities in Kentucky. Two of them are first class cities – Lexington and Louisville – and the rest are home rule.

On to the capitol!

This stately building was inaugurated in 1910. Designed by Frank Mills Andrews, he used the Beaux-Arts style.

Now, this capitol has a dome and a rotunda. I entered and walked in to see what I could see.

In the center of the rotunda, I was greeted by native son, Abraham Lincoln. He was born in a log cabin in Kentucky near Sinking Spring. You can still see the spring if you visit Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, which is about an hour and a half from Frankfort. I visited in 2014, and I’d say it’s worth a visit.

Surrounding Lincoln are other statues honoring other significant Kentuckians.

Alben W. Barkley, who was elected to the U.S. House and Senate and served as Vice President with Harry S Truman.

Then there is Ephraim McDowell, who was a pioneer surgeon. He was the “Father of the Ovariotomy.” If you remember your suffixes, you’ll remember -otomy means “the removal of” and it comes from the Greek “ectomy.”

Okay, this ‘pioneer surgeon” was removing ovaries with, apparently, morpheine the only option for anesthesia and before Joseph Lister got antiseptic surgical procedures to be accepted. It boggles the mind. Well, my mind is boggled.

Henry Clay was born in Virginia in 1777, but moved to Kentucky before the end of the century. He served in the U.S. House and Senate as well as serving as Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams. He died while he was serving as Senator.

Then, there is Jefferson Davis. Born in Fairview, Kentucky, he moved at an early age to Mississippi. He is honored for two things: being born in Kentucky and being the only president of the Confederacy. Seems like just maybe they could have found a woman to honor somewhere in Kentucky’s history.

The dome is something to behold – but more about that later.

Just another look around before I head off to explore.

Up the marble stairs.

My goodness! What a lot of stairs! My Preferred Source says that the staircases are replicas of those of the Opera Garner in Paris.

On to the House, which seems like a calm venue to do the people’s business.

This map would help you be able to pick out your Representative.

Next, the Senate. This chamber seems a little more imposing.

They, too, provide a guide to help you identify your Senator.

Ah! The Governor’s office.

Well, this was 2018, after all. Governor Bevin was replaced by Andy Beshear in the 2019 election.

I saw this sign posted in a window as I walked around the building. I wonder if there is a connection to Bevin’s ouster and public employees?

I guess it’s a good idea not to push teachers past their breaking points.

Even though I wasn’t a constituent, they let me have a souvenir.

One thing they do have that I’ve never seen in any other capitol is a collection of first lady dolls.

This is the 1st First Lady, Susannah Hart Shelby.

And the First Lady at the time I visited, Glenna R. Bevin.

I guess the doll collection makes up for the lack of female representation in the statuary.

It was just after Halloween when I visited, and the library was still decorated for the season, with cob webs galore.

They also made a coffin out of the law books.

Just in case you are curious, this is the book that is open on the end of the coffin.

Although this library is modest in comparison with Tennessee’s capitol library, there was this hint of metallic grace. I wonder why the frame is empty?

And, who do you suppose this woman is?

The State Reception room was open for viewing.

It was quite an elegant venue for a soiree.

They made extensive use of stone. It was quite grand.

Okay, back to the rotunda and the dome.

The Kentucky Capitol Centennial Commission selected the rotunda pendentive murals as the legacy project for the 100th anniversary of the capitol. Just in case you are wondering about the word “pendentive,” it refers to those triangular shapes that permit placing a circular dome over a square room.

They are quite elegant.

You can see Kentuckians’ points of pride: horses and agriculture…

industry…

planning for the future.

This photo shows how the pendentives help transition the circular shape of the dome to the square room below.

This dome does something I have never seen in any of the other state capitols – it has a light show!

It changes from the yellow to green…

to pink…

to blue…

and finally to purple.

Isn’t that unique?

I am just about done with my visit to the capitol. Before I leave, I want to share a few photos I snapped of things that interested me.

The seal of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. I got to wondering about the difference between a state and a commonwealth, so I went looking. Essentially, there is no difference. There are four states that identify themselves as commonwealths. (If you want to check your knowledge, you can click on the link and see if you were right.)

Oh, all right…the four commonwealths are Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia were members of the original 13 colonies. Kentucky was originally a part of Virginia. It split from Virginia in 1792 and became the 15th state to join the union. I guess it just made sense to use the title “commonwealth” – or maybe they were trying to stake a claim to being part of the original 13 by keeping the designation Virginia uses.

I rather liked this pink drinking fountain. It reminded me of my house with the pink porcelain bathroom fixtures I had before I left for my Airstream adventures.

I liked this ornamental door plate.

You know, it’s a little ironic that their state motto is “United we stand, divided we fall.” I mean, they divided themselves from Virginia and they honor the president of the Confederacy in their rotunda…

Before I left, I asked if they had a brochure for the self-guided tour. There was a guide, but it had to be returned to the desk. I have no cause for complaint – Wikipedia can give me the information that I can’t remember and I did get a sticker from the governor’s office. Besides, the visit was free.

There was quite a view from the entrance.

I turned around to look back at the entrance.

That is quite a sculpture on the pediment above the entrance!

I wondered if there might be a better photo that showed the sculptures in better detail. I found one here, on the Frankfort Public Art website. I also learned that it was the work of David Henry Niehaus and is made of Indiana Limestone.

This historic photo, from the same source, gives you an idea of the monumental scale of the sculptures.

A short ways away from the capitol is the Executive Mansion. According to the marker in front, it was built just after they finished the capitol. The two year construction project cost $95,000, which would be equal to $2,516,755 in today’s money. The 25-room limestone mansion is patterned after Marie Antoinette’s villa. I wonder if they might have been able to find a building to copy of someone who wasn’t removed from prominence so…permanently.

I headed over to the older section of town. There were banners celebrating “Frankfort Faces”

Huh! I didn’t know that Johnny Depp was from Frankfort!

Well…he isn’t, although he is from Kentucky. He was born in Owensboro, about 150 miles away. His bio says that his family moved frequently, so maybe he lived here. Or maybe he went shopping here. Or maybe he rode the train through town.

I mean, he could have ridden the train through town, as the tracks run right down the middle of what would have been the main street at one time.

My next stop was the Old State Capitol.

This is actually the third capitol building. From 1792-1830, two other buildings were used as the seat of the government, but both of them burned down completely. This building was in use from 1830 until the new capitol opened in 1910.

This building was designed in the Greek Revival style by 25-year-old Gideon Shyrock of Lexington, and it was his first building. His chose the Greek Revival style to symbolically link the relatively young republic of Kentucky with ancient Greece, the prototype of popular democratic government.

The front of the building is modeled after the Temple of Minerva Polias at Priene. Since Greek temples had no windows, he chose not to have windows in the front.

It is now a museum. I can’t remember if I was there on a day when it wasn’t open or if I didn’t feel like paying to visit.

This statue is of William Goebel, who was elected in the 1899 governor race.

By Acdixon – Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14390488

He was assassinated at the Capitol on his way to be inaugurated.

Do you remember my last post where I commented on the transience of trees as memorials? Apparently, inaugurations were carried out beneath an elm tree for more than a century. It is no longer here, but the tree carries on in trees grown from cuttings.

This elm is at the Stanley-Case home in Shelbyville, Kentucky. It’s only about 20 miles away, if you care to go take a look. (I didn’t. I borrowed the photo from the above website.) The oldest part of the building dates from the early 1800s. It is now the headquarters of the Shelby County Historical Society.

Now, I’m not 100% certain, but I think this is the keystone of the arch at the entrance to the Old Kentucky State Prison. According to a plaque nearby, the “penitentiary house” was erected in 1799, and the keystone was place in 1837. The prison was abandoned in 1937 and the towers and the arch were razed in 1950. The State Office Building in Frankfort now stands on the site it once occupied.

I was starting to feel peckish and I went looking for some lunch.

Along the way, I saw this banner.

Ah! Pizza would be good for lunch.

I got a slice so big they needed two plates.

Thus restored, I headed out for a bit more exploration.

I crossed the tracks that ran right through town and over to the historic shopping area.

I thought this planters were interesting. I liked the decorative cabbage that was planted in them and this Buffalo Gal can’t resist a buffalo!

I’ll bet that this is a cute part of town to explore when the weather is nice. But, I had another objective for my visit to Frankfort. I wanted to see where Daniel Boone was buried. I headed over to the Frankfort Cemetery.

I liked how they made it easy to find this grave. Here’s the first sign.

Here’s the second sign.

Judging why the number of cars parked nearby, I think this last sign was pointing to the gravesite.

While I was there, I met a man who claimed to be related to Daniel Boone. It was right around Daniel Boone’s birthday, which is November 2.He had come to pay his respects.

I walked around the monument and looked at the carvings depicting scenes from Daniel’s life.

Rebecca got a panel, too. Here she is, milking a cow, which is a practical skill to have.

The monument was erected in 1860 and the marble panels were added in 1862. The panels were vandalized during the Civil War and restored in 1906 and again in the 1940s.

There is some interesting information about the cemetery and the Boones at this phone number.

Apparently, they established this new cemetery in the 1840s and thought that it would help make if more popular if there were famous people buried in there. they convinced Daniel Boone’s son to permit his parents’ to be dug up in from where they were buried in Missouri and reinterred here.

While there is no dispute that Rebecca’s remains are here, there is a question as to whether they dug up Daniel’s remains. Rebecca predeceased Daniel by seven years. When they were ready to bury Daniel, the spot next to Rebecca had someone else in it, so they buried him at her feet. So, they aren’t quite certain is Daniel is here or if he got left behind in Marthasville, Missouri. If you are in the St. Louis area, and you want to go looking for where Daniel Boone’s remains might…remain, just go to Google Maps and put in Old Bryan Farm Cemetery, and it will take you right there.

Just in case you can’t wait, here is a photo of the original gravesite in Missouri.

The cemetery is a great place for a view of the capitol and the Kentucky River.

With that, it was time to head back to the campground.

It was getting toward dusk, so I imagine that they would be turning on the horse lights soon. I had to get packed up and ready to roll in the morning, so I didn’t wait around to see them illuminated.

Next stop: Cincinnati!

In Which I Make Some New Airstream Friends

I hadn’t planned to stay at the Davis Bayou Campground of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, but it was fairly close to Gulfport, Mississippi and the RV Center that was holding the window for me.

I pulled in to the campground and got situated in my site just before the storm hit. Wow! What a storm! We were under a tornado watch most of the night. It was pouring and thundering and the wind was howling. Luckily, it never got any worse than that. I did figure out which way I would have to go to get to the concrete block bath house, if they sounded an alarm.

I have to admit that I missed the insulating property of the window. The plastic that my friends at JD Sanders in Florida had put on held up to the weather, but the cold came seeping through.

The next morning, the storm had passed. I got hitched up easily, but the jack wouldn’t retract completely, and it was hung up on the wood that I put under it. It gave me trouble when I was in Arkansas in June 2014. They had to do a bit of work on it at that time, and I kind of had the feeling that the jack would need to be replaced at some time.

Well, this was the time.

I put the truck in gear and pulled it off the wood. It was almost completely retracted, so it didn’t take too much effort. I was pretty sure that there would be someone at the shop who could help me with it.

I got to Foley RV Center and Airstream of Mississippi, about 25 miles away, and they were ready for me. The woman who had taken my order last Friday saw the plastic over the window and got my paperwork out right away. I told her about the jack issue, and they just happened to have the exact jack I needed.

After a couple hours, several cups of their coffee and their guest wifi, I was ready to roll again.

Back at the campground, I met my neighbors, who were also full time Airstreamers. After several attempts to get it backed in, Jim offered to do it for me. I never refuse an offer like that.

He got Flo backed in and encouraged me to use my chocks, which I had kind of stopped using, and showed me how to remove that enormous hitch from the back of my truck. I was thrilled to get some good advice on such things. There should be an Airstream bootcamp.

I went into the trailer and finished making the chili I had started back in Florida. Since I use dried beans and cook them in the crock pot, I start a day or two before I intend to actually put the whole thing together. I was enjoying a bowl of it when Deb, Jim’s wife came over to invite me to a happy hour with two other Airstreamers in the campground.

That was a lot of fun – and they convince me to join the Wally Byam Caravan Club International, which is the Airstream club. Wally Byam was founder of Airstream in the 1930s and lead it until his death in 1962. He used to lead caravans of Airstreamers to exotic locales. I think the lower 48 will suffice for me, but you never know.

I enjoyed the evening and making new Airstream friends. They recommended many cool things in the area that I might want to do before I head to Louisiana. What great folks!

But, I swear, if it’s not one thing, it’s another. I pulled out of the campground and I got a brake warning light. I also got a “trailer brake not attached warning”. I got out and looked. The trailer hook up seems okay and I was still stopping. So, I figured I’d head out to the main drag. There was a listing for a repair shop about 2 miles away.

About a mile after I started, I pull over to let a car pass, and the driver gestured at the truck. Uh-oh. The international “check it out” sign.

I pulled off the road a little farther, and at least one of the brakes was smoking. That is not a good sign. I called AAA and they sent a wrecker. I found a brake shop that was open until 6:00. I figured that if they couldn’t do it that day, I’d have to rent a car or call a cab.

If the repair shop couldn’t get the job done that day, the campground would have to figure out where to put the occupants who were going to arrive on Sunday. I wouldn’t be able to move the trailer without the truck. I kept my fingers crossed that everything would work out, but I was sure I would not be the first person who wasn’t able to leave their site due to a problem.

While I waited, I got out to stretch my legs. I found a brand new pencil just lying there in the road!

There are treasures everywhere!

Poor Bart! He looked so sad sitting there by the side of the road.

Before too long, Jacob rolled up with his wrecker.

He tipped the back of the truck bed down and drove Bart up. He fastened him down and then we were ready to roll.

I chatted with Jacob and his girlfriend, who was riding along with him. They were pleasant and I enjoyed being able to really look out the window. This “eyes on the road and hands on the wheel” stuff does impede sightseeing.

Jacob asked me if I had put my emergency brake on. Uh, no, I hadn’t. Then I figured it out! Jim might have done it when he was done backing Flo into the camp site.

That left me feeling kind of foolish in a couple of ways.

I had forgotten that I even had a parking brake – so of course I didn’t check it when the light came on.

I got myself into this situation by being too willing to have someone back my trailer in. I have got to get my backing in mojo fine-tuned.

But by the time we got to the Firestone dealer, I was feeling hopeful that maybe – just maybe – I didn’t need any work done.

They checked everything out, and my brakes were fine! What a relief!

Just so I could get a feel for how much I would have to spend when it was time to replace the tires, I had the guy at the desk get me a price. It’s probably going to run me more than $1000 when the time comes. Oh, well. It’s the cost of doing business, and good tires are a non-negotiable item.

By the time I got Bart back, I checked my HISTORY Here app to see what I might be able to get do with the rest of the day.

So, my app sent me to Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis’ last home.

In 1877, Davis was looking for a quiet place on the Mississippi Gulf Coast to write his books and papers. He called on the owner of Beauvoir, Mrs. Dorsey, who was a family friend. She invited him to stay in one of the two pavilions in front of the main house. He agreed, but only if she would accept $50 a month for room and board.

After two years, Davis decided that he wanted to buy Beauvoir, and he and Mrs. Dorsey agreed on a selling price of $5,500, to be paid in three installments. Mrs. Dorsey died after one payment was made. At that time, Davis discovered that he was her sole heir and he eventually inherited the house along with other property.

The house was originally built around 1850 by James Brown, a wealthy plantation owner from Madison county. It was intended to be his summer house for his wife and his 13 children.

The porch and front steps are currently being rebuilt for the second time since Hurricane Catrina. The informative guide told me that they failed to use pressure treated wood when they rebuilt them the first time and they rotted out.

Luckily, the rear entrance was still useable.

Interestingly enough, the women you see on the left side of the photo are carrying equipment in for an evening fundraiser. They will be measuring paranormal activity. They kept loading in equipment while I waited for my tour to start.

The guide in period garb was knowledgeable, informative and enthusiastic, and I was the only person on the last tour of the day. The first thing he pointed out was the wall treatment in the main reception hall that ran from the front door to the back door. There were 120 distinct colors of paint used in the house!

This is a close up of the wall. The guide told me that all of this was painted free-hand. No straight edges or masking methods were used. Of course, all of this is restored artwork, based on archeological evidence.

This set of furniture was a wedding gift to one of the daughters. Unfortunately, I couldn’t keep all of the information straight.

On the nightstand, is a picture of four generations. The oldest woman is Varina Davis, Jefferson Davis’ widow. The baby is her namesake.

Varina Davis was Jefferson Davis’ second wife. He and his first wife contracted either yellow fever or malaria. Although he recovered, she died after about six months of marriage.

When they married, he was 37 and she was 19. Due to the difference in their ages, she outlived him by a number of years. He passed on in 1889; she lived until 1906.

I am always surprised when I see how close we are to the past.

This bedroom was another daughter’s room. That is her portrait above the fireplace. It was painted when she was the Mardi Gras queen for a krewe.

This is the parlor. There is a massive piano to the right of the door, that is like the one that was in the house. The guide said that the daughters were musical. I asked if one of them played the harp. He said that they didn’t, but that the harp was left to him by Mrs. Dorsey.

A portrait of Jefferson Davis hangs over the fireplace. It shows him at age 80, shortly before his passing in 1889.

The harp wasn’t the only thing that came with the house. This sideboard dates back to the first owner, James Brown. The guide told me that it was so heavy that the only time it left the building was for restoration after Hurricane Katrina.

Davis had the book cases in the drawing room built to resemble the ones in the Library of Congress. He served in the House of Representatives and the Senate as well as Secretary of War for Franklin Pierce.

This partner desk was also in the drawing room. The guide told me that when Mr. and Mrs. Davis were eating alone, they often at at this desk rather than use the dining room.

On the back porch, there are two cupboards that were made for the Davis family in 1879. They are made of cypress and you can see the water mark left behind by Hurricane Catrina. The water was 18 inches deep inside the house. Since the house is elevated 8 feet off the ground, it drove home how much water came ashore.

It will be interesting to learn more about the hurricane when I get to New Orleans.

When my tour was over, I came across another photo shoot! I sure do stumble across a number of them in historical sites.

Clearly, I will have to plan a repeat visit to Biloxi. But, since it is on I-10, I am sure I’ll be passing through again next year.

I headed back to the parking area, and paused to take a look at the Library and museum.

The sun was sinking in the west, and I wanted to get a photo. The air was cold and clear.

The day had started out kind of rough, but it ended nicely.

As I was heading east, I was smacked in the eye by a full moon rising over the trees. It was beautiful! I wish I had a good camera that could have captured the magical silver disk. The air was so clear, I bet I could have seen the flag that Armstrong and Aldrin planted in 1969.

I stopped for a loaf of bread before I turned in to the park. In the grocery store, there was a display of King Cakes. I decided to buy one and see what all the fuss is about.

I think I’m in love!