4/11 Simmesport to St. Francisville

I drove Mike & Russ back across the ferry to Simmesport so they could complete the ride to St. Francisville, riding thru Innis and Morganza on the way. While waiting for the ferry there was a tug pushing 19 barges lashed together up the Mississippi River. It was quite a site. While I was gone, Denise rode her bike down the road a mile to the Oakley Plantation and when I returned from dropping the guys off, I did the same. There was a resident turkey named Gus. He seemed to greet everyone as they arrived. I toured the grounds while I waited for the 3 p.m. tour. The home was built in 1806 and sat on 3,200 acres on which they grew cotton and had 250 slaves. The Perrie family hired John Audubon to tutor their 16 year-old daughter and it was here that he painted 32 of his "Birds of America" paintings. As I finished my tour, I looked outside and there were 2 very bright jerseys in the parking lot. It was Russ and Mike. They stayed and did the 4 p.m. tour.