A significant part of my travel is about looking for great places to take pictures. As I left New Orleans, my next stop was Oak Alley Plantation, which was commonly featured for it It began as a sugar plantation in 1820, when it was purchased by Valcour Aime. It was sold to Jaques Roman in 1836. Roman built the mansion that stands there now. It was constructed and operated on the backs of slave labor.
Today, this plantation is known for the Live Oak trees that line the entrance in the front of the manor house, as well as the back. It is these trees that give the house is notoriety today. The house has been carefully preserved and restored to reflect the period between 1850 and the 1870s, when the house was thriving as an ongoing sugar plantation. The last person to live at Oak Alley died in 1972, and the house became a National Historic Landmark in 1978.
I spent a few hours touring the plantation and taking photos, looking for that perfect shot of the trees lining the entrance before leaving. I was intent on making up lost time from my New Orleans stop and was focused on getting across Texas as quickly as possible.
I-10 goes past Beumont, and the home of the world’s largest fire hydrant.
Then I proceeded across I-10 to Houston, where I had not been since 1969. The skyline had changed a little since I last saw it.
One of the fun things about retiring and traveling is that you can go where you want to go and get there when you want to get there. This trip is also an opportunity for me to catch up with old friends. When I was a student at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee, I pledged a service sorority called Omega Phi Alpha (OPhiA). I got involved not just with the local chapter, but also with the national organization. I have made lifelong friends through that. The sorority’s motto, “Today’s friends, tomorrow’s leaders, forever in service,” belies the fact that some of us have become sisters forever. A great example of this was my stop in Katy, Texas, where I had the opportunity to meet up with Cindy Viktorin, who had served with me on OPhiA’s national board. She was from our chapter at Texas A&M University. We hadn’t seen each other in years, but like most good family and friends, our meeting seemed like we had ever been apart. We had a great long lunch, and I committed to say hello the next time I was back through the Houston area.
I toured West Texas in 2023, and the photos below are more from that trip than my recent pass through. Texas is 880 miles across on I-10 from Louisiana to New Mexico. The drive is long and desolute with moments of beautiful scenery. One of the things that caused me consternation was that at 8 miles to the gallon and a 16-gallon tank and extremely expensive gas.
The drive is long and desolate with moments of beautiful scenery. It is a windy environment, and the trailer was a challenge pulling against the wind.
