Angels on the Bluff

I hope you all had a great week. I did too, busy as usual! Anyway, it's time to relax for a little bit now and go sightseeing. You might not think the cemetery is not exactly the best place to visit but our cemetery is one of the most famous ones in the country with so many intersting people buried there. Besides, there was a special annual event that went on that we did not want to miss. I want to share it with you. The event sells out every year and this time, I made sure I reserved the tickets early.

I am also linking with Linda for Junkin Finds at http://ljm-alacarte.blogspot.com/

Beverly for Pink Saturday at http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Laurie for Favorites Saturday at http://bargainhuntingwithlaurie.blogspot.com/

The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday at http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Before we go to the cemetery (we are not really in a hurry to get there, are we?) , let me show you my pink junkin' find and favorite for today. I bought these 2 vases from another vendor at the store. The one on the left was $1 and the one on the right was $2. Now, tell me, who can resist prices like that! I could just turn around and sell them for more in my booth but let me use them first on one of my vignettes or tablescapes. Aren't they just the cutest? They are pretty tall too!

Ok, now to the cemetery. The Angels on the Bluff is an annual event here in Natchez, usually around Halloween, where reenactment of the lives of the one who is buried there is portrayed, usually by their descendants wearing period costumes.

They really do a lot of preparations for this that is why people come from all over to watch.

Even Carol of The Writer's Porch, came all the way from Hattiesburg with her husband. She said she tries to get a ticket every year but they are always sold out by the time she reserves, so this year, she placed a note on her computer terminal reminding herself to buy tickets the first day they go for sale. It worked! I was so happy to meet her and her hubby. They are such sweet people.

This is the first act that we saw. The tomb is empty because the one who was supposed to be buried here, a HS student, fell from a ferry and drowned and was never found. The actor was so good that I had to ask John if he was the real father. I mean he was even tearful telling us how he did not know that the person he tried to help by throwing him a life saver, was his son. John laughed cause all these happened a long time ago, some of them in 1800's.

Ginny Benoist, as Madame Marguerite Justine Belhomme Marchand Benoist Mezeix “The milliner of Natchez,” stood before her grave and gave an account of her life. The Milliner of Natchez is known for her hats that appear in the Henry Norman photographs.

Next, we were treated to the story of Vaughn, portrayed by Doug Broome of the First Baptist Church. Vaughn edited the first Baptist newspaper in Mississippi and served as pastor at First Baptist Church. He was one of the founding members of the Mississippi Baptist Convention.

This was a total surprise. We were walking towards the next stop when we heard "Amazing Grace" being sang by a young lady, on top of a hill.

It was a pleasant surprise indeed. Isn't that a pretty oak tree?

Owen was the president at Natchez College for many years. The university was first supported by black Baptists of Mississippi and flourished under Owen’s leadership

While on our way towards our next destination, we passed by the graves of the unknown civil war soldiers.

This was one of my favorites, I think because the setting was very elegant. This is about the Fleming Family and their story of love and tragedy was told. The family owns one of the antebellum mansions in Natchez called the Towers.

This guy had the funniest story. He is actually a local attorney and he is a great great nephew of the deceased buried here. He portrayed himself as the deceased and gave us stories about things that happened mostly while he was drunk. Evidently, the deceased loved to drink.

Diana Glaze portrayed jazz singer Marian Montgomery. Yep, she was performing in the cemetery by Marian's family grave.

That was the last show and I cannot wait for next year's Angels on the Bluff. They portray different people's lives every year. It is never the same.

Carol and Eric really enjoyed it and I am sure they will be back.

After the cemetery, the bus took us back to the visitor center where we parked our vehicles.

We headed to a restaurant called Magnolia Grill which was located right across the Mississippi River, and had dinner there.

I had a redfish topped with crab, some veggies and a baked sweet potato. Uhmmm, yummy! Actually, all of us except for John had this red fish. It was so good!

My friend Debjani, joined us. I had originally purchased a ticket for my mom too but after finding out that we had to walk, I knew she could not do it. Debjani tried to buy a ticket but they were sold out so I gave her my mom's ticket.

Thank you so much for joining me on another interesting trip.

And thank you to all our gracious hostesses!