11 Oct 2025
This was a very worthwhile trip, as there are not many plantation tours available across the country. Having an opportunity to get an up close perspective of how this country was created off of slave labor and a fairly benign POV of the country's original sin - yeah, it was interesting. I'm not sure I would highly recommend it, but if there is time and curiosity, place it on your list. If someone wanted a more impactful view of those times, see the series ROOTS. That said:
The property was immaculately maintained across the entire footprint. The team inside the visitor's area is awesome, very knowledgeable, and helpful.
The wall with the names of the slaves was the most impactful to me. There are individual statements inscribed that were from some of the slaves - reading them was a gut check, painful, shameful, and eye-opening. We shed tears here.
The statues within the church and the wall of statues representing the enslaved brought the experience home. You have to come to 'center' and imagine you're actually looking at these 15-25 year olds in person. If you can do that, you're both a good human being, and you'll also have a new appreciation for that 'sin'.
The shuttle driver (5 Stars): I believe his name is Edward. Ed had deep knowledge of New Orleans, which he shared throughout the journey to the plantation. We learned a tremendous amount from him. He was very close to the highlight of the trip, but I'd have to give a slight nudge to Whitney; Ed was a close second - this guy has great knowledge of the history of the area. We totally enjoyed him.