Nottoway Plantation

Kenny and I decided months ago that we wanted to do something special for our anniversary since it was our five year, so we booked a room at Nottoway Plantation in White Castle, LA for an overnight stay. We left Friday afternoon and got back to the city on Saturday around lunch.

The house and grounds looked so pretty all decorated for Christmas. Since neither of us had been before, we walked around right when we got there to get the lay of the land before the sun set. We of course saw the big house, as well as many huge (and old) oak trees, a little pond with cottages surrounding it, and the overseer’s quarters, which is where we stayed.

Last weekend was actually Nottoway’s annual Christmas Tree Lighting Festival, so there were lots of events going on around the grounds all night. As the sun set, we wandered around a big tent of local craft vendors, took a peek at the side of the house all lit up, and then walked back over to the overseer’s quarters. We had dinner reservations at Ramsay’s Mansion Restaurant (located on the ground floor of the main house) at 7pm, so we ducked into our room to freshen up.

Before dinner we went to one of the ballrooms to hear a hand bell choir play some Christmas music and then went to eat. Our meal was very good, and I think we both agreed the appetizer course was our favorite: smoked duck breast for me and crawfish arancini for Ken. Delicious. I really wanted to try their chocolate bourbon pecan pie for dessert, but we just didn’t have any more room. We walked around for a bit after dinner but soon went back to our room. We both enjoyed our uninterrupted night of sleep, as well as getting to sleep later than usual. Huge thanks to Nola and Nopsi for watching the boy while we were gone!

The next morning we went back to the restaurant for their breakfast buffet and then took a very interesting and informative tour of the mansion itself before getting on the road for home. (See below for my favorite room we saw in the house: the White Ballroom. Stunning. The other picture is the view of the overseer’s quarters from the second floor of the main house.) Even though the plantation was fairly crowded because of the festival, we both enjoyed ourselves and were glad we went. It was a very nice celebratory getaway.

So, in honor of our five years of marriage, here are five pictures of the two of us at Nottoway: on the walkway leading to the house right after we checked in; in front of the gorgeous huge house, which faces River Road; in our third floor loft room in the overseer’s quarters; at our dinner in the Mansion restaurant; and at the restaurant again for breakfast.

Happy happy five year anniversary, Baby. I love you!