Travel Q&A: On the road to some grand Southern homes.

Publication: South Florida Sun-Sentinel (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service)

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COPYRIGHT 2001 South Florida Sun-Sentinal

Byline: Jean Allen

Q. My husband and I decided at the last minute to go to Mardi Gras in New Orleans. We're driving, and the nearest room we could reserve is at a motel in Kenner. I don't know how near to the French Quarter we can find parking, but we'll get to the big bash on Tuesday, somehow.

We're staying for the rest of the week, and we'd like to drive along the Mississippi River to see some of the old plantation houses I've heard so much about. What can you tell us about them? _ Melanie F., Huntsville, Ala.

A. Grand old houses stretch along the Great River Road from New Orleans west to Baton Rouge, an area the state calls Plantation Country. It's actually two roads, one on each bank of the Mississippi.

This is a great way to spend a few days. Intrigue and mystery are draped like Spanish moss over these mansions that were built before...

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