St. Joseph's Plantation

We had to delay our day at the National Seashore due to some incredible storms that rolled in over night. With more storms forecast for today we decided our time might be better spent touring the St. Joseph Plantation and Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve. We arrived at St. Joseph's at around 11 and were greeted by an older man and woman, descendents of the Waguespack family who have own the property for over 138 years. Our guide, who stayed at the house as a child when it was inhabited by her grandmother lovingly told the story of the homes' original inhabitants in the 1830s leading up to the last century when it was owned by members of her own family. The antebellum creole house sits on a fully-functioning sugar plantation that has been the background for many shows and movies including 12 Years a Slave which was filmed primarily at the sister plantation Felicity which sits about a half mile to the east of St. Joseph's. After a quick lunch under the moss and fern covered trees, we headed southwest to Jean Lafitte. We were hoping to spot some alligators but another heavy storm rushed our visit. Before we left, we were able to scramble along the quick 1.5 mile loop through the bayou at Barataria Preserve. There were beautiful cypress trees, roots stretching skyward, and enormous silk spiders but not an alligator in sight!