One of the main problems for the traveling Parkinson’s patient is keeping track of the large number of medications and dietary supplements some of us are on. At home, I have divided my meds into two groups: daytime and bedtime. Daytime meds are lined up along a stretch of the kitchen counter, while bedtime meds are lined up in the master bathroom. I see both of these places several times a day, which helps me remember to take the stupid meds. So, when I’m travelling, I like to set up similar ‘medication stations’ in my hotel room. Sometimes, though, I go to bed without unpacking my bags. This means no medication station, which means I forget to take my bedtime pills. Last night, I forgot to take my GoCovri (along with a couple less-important pills). And it showed.

And now for something completely different: A mansion with eight sides. I have mentioned in previous posts that I seem to be getting tired of historic mansion tours, possibly (in part) because I feel like they each show similar stuff and I’ve seen it all before. Longwood, in Natchez, Mississippi, promised to be unique for multiple reasons: (1) The house is octagonal, (2) it was never finished, and (3) it sounds like it was named by Beavis and Butt-Head. Longwood delivered on its promise – this was indeed a most interesting and unique mansion tour. Construction started in 1860. Most of the construction materials and the vast majority of the many master craftsmen employed in the construction were brought in from Pennsylvania. When the Civil War began, the master craftsmen left for home, and the shipments of additional construction materials were halted by Union blockades. At this point, the external walls and roof of the house were completed, but the interior rooms and the upper floors (this was intended to be a SIX-story house) had not been filled in. The “basement” was the only inhabitable part of the house. But, the basement by itself had over 10,000 square feet of floor space. BUT but, they had 11 children. So, maybe 10,000 ft² actually wasn’t enough space. In any event, the family moved into the basement. And stayed there. The war caused the family to fall into financial ruin, so construction on the house was never resumed.

When I arrived at Longwood for my tour, I noticed that I was hunched over. I tried my damnedest to stand up straight, but staying that way took a lot of effort and concentration. Now, eighty percent of the furnishings in Longwood are the originals so, naturally, they don’t want everybody sittin’ on ’em. Happily, they have added a public-sittin’ chair in each room, which makes this place unusually Parkie-friendly. Ironically, though, I toughed it out and didn’t use any of the chairs.

As is usual for me, I didn’t take any pictures inside of Longwood, but I hung around for a while after my tour had ended, photographing the exterior and the grounds…

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If you ever find yourself in Natchez, Mississippi, you’d probably be better off to avoid this place:

When I walked into La Fiesta Grande Restaurante Mexicano, I proceeded to wait to be seated. And then proceeded to wait longer. Y’see, the hostess was on the phone with someone, trying to figure out why their POS system was charging a customer $126 for what should have been a $53 meal. Why I didn’t take this as a sign to leave immediately, I’ll never know. Once I was seated, a young lady was taking my order when another young lady came over and abruptly said to her, “This is my table!” She allowed the first girl to complete the order-taking, but there continued to be noticeable (albeit minor) bickering between the various employees for a while. I ordered a ground beef chimichanga in a cheesy sauce. What I got was actually quite yummy, but tiny by chimichanga standards. And when I got the bill, the system hadn’t charged me any unexpected amounts. In the end, the experience wasn’t too awful, but there are other Mexican restaurants in town that get good reviews. Try one of those instead.

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All right, time to explore the city of Natchez! While researching this trip in advance, I found the National Park Service’s web site has a historic driving tour of Natchez. They call it a driving tour, as they note you never need to get out of your car for this tour. But, being a Cedric, I decided to stop at each of the first few stops and walk around with my camera. Check out the stuff I done seent:

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Unfortunately, I was still feeling the ill effects of missing my GoCovri the night before. Not only was I still hunched, I was also having a hard time walking. Feet were shuffling, taking tiny steps, and my hips really started hurting. So, I decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel. I will finish the driving tour tomorrow, then see how I feel at that point.