Romancing the Roads Read Online Free Page B

that I didn’t want to finish it too quickly.
    The entrée was a sample of two: a shrimp specialty and trout crisped just right, resulting in one of the best trout dishes I have ever tasted. Dessert was a sampling of several decadent delights. My notes do not seem to include a description of them. I must have been so plied with the outrageous selections that I was too weak to write. With a cup of “guaranteed” decaf coffee, I rate this meal as pretty darn perfect. Thank you!
    Randolph Hall is now for meetings and special events. There is the Mansion Restaurant on the main level of the plantation. Chef Daniel Thompson is at the helm. There is Le Café in the original warming kitchen. Here you can find a collection of decadent delights, creative drinks, and more. Although I have not seen the latest additions, I would not hesitate to say that from all my investigations, everything is only first-rate and done with care and talent.
    Two special features:
Overnight guest are allowed to go into the big house, walk around, look, and enjoy. I decided to do that, but I confess I was a smidgeon hesitant as I opened the large heavy door and entered the main hall. I felt dwarfed by the largeness of all that surrounded me. What an experience to walk around, alone, in this magnificent, huge plantation. I didn’t meet any ghosts, but I think I did sense a spirit or two. I wondered what it would have been like to be a child on this plantation or the mistress of the manor. You can imagine life in a different time and play mind games as you take your private tour.
    The spacious rooms are truly grand, and feeling dwarfed is to be expected. The interior design and furnishings are perfection to the max. The dining room table is set. The bedrooms are readied. The living room is inviting.
Four rooms at the plantation can be reserved to spend the night.
    Suggestion: Visit Nottoway Plantation on the Internet (www.nottoway.com). Even via the computer screen you will be in awe.
    FYI: When the draperies hang full and long to the floor, it is called “puddling” and denotes wealth.
    Nottoway History
    Virginian John Hampden Randolph designed and built Nottoway for his wife, Emily Jane, and their (ultimately) ten children. How did he get to Louisiana? His father had been appointed a federal court judge in Mississippi, and the family had moved from Virginia. Randolph married Emily Liddell from a family of wealth. The young couple and children eventually moved to Forest Home, a beautiful plantation. John Randolph decided to change from raising cotton to planting sugar cane. He was extremely successful and decided to build a home befitting his prosperity and station in life. In 1855, he purchased 400 acres and 620 acres of swamp. Part of the property faced the Mississippi, which allowed for watching the steamboats and showboats. Not a penny was spared on the construction of his new home.
    The main house has 3 floors, 64 rooms, 6 interior staircases, 165 doors, 200 windows, 15.5-foot ceilings, 11-foot doors, and a total of 53,000 square feet of living space. John Randolph’s favorite room was the semicircular ballroom, which was white to show off the natural beauty of women. He put a mirror in the ballroom so that women could see if their hoops or their ankles were showing.
    This gives just an idea of what went into this palatial plantation. Many of the original furniture positions are what you see as you visit each room. When the Civil War erupted, John Randolph went with many slaves to Texas and grew cotton to keep solvent. Emily maintained Nottoway as the surrounding area was ravaged. We learn of the events, struggles, and happenings that the family at Nottoway endured from daughter Cornelia’s diary. I reiterate that it was a woman, Emily Jane, who kept and preserved the property. After her husband’s death, she sold this magnificent home. It has had several owners since, but today its owner is doing it proud and pleasing the Randolphs. Visit and,