Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind at work.

Since the riverboats have made their return to town, Monmouth plays host each Wednesday to the guests docking under the hill.

Each bus is greeted at the front door, given a history of the home, and led to the courtyard for a cocktail and garden tour.

We get a kick out of the busses pulling into the gravel drive, making their way up the hill, and the excited look of the people pictured on the side of the bus as if they are thrilled beyond words.

The thing is the guests on the bus are just as excited as those people frozen in happiness. They are happy to be in Natchez, happy to be able to stretch their legs, and happy to find a comfortable rocking chair to sit and sip their mint juleps.

On the first Wednesday, it rained the entire day, which left the guests stranded on the back galleries and in the Quitman Lounge.

However, they were still happy to be here — happy to be at Monmouth. I apologized to one lady on the porch, and she shared, “I’m on vacation, sitting in a rocking chair, having a Bloody Mary, and watching the rain. I’m happy.”

The following week when the weather decided to cooperate and the azaleas were in full bloom, we noticed another similarity in all of the guests.

As soon as the back door of the house was opened and they were invited into the courtyard, each gingerly walked through the door, into the sunshine, and were lost to the gardens. It was as if each was Dorothy stepping into a technicolor Oz.

It didn’t matter if we waved for them to come back for cocktails or tried to persuade them for more of the tour, the gardens were calling. They had to go.

It was nice to see the courtyard filled with guests enjoying each other, enjoying the gardens in full bloom, and enjoying a little piece of Natchez.

Each time I see our town through a tourist I am reminded not to take this town for granted. The poppies are starting their show on the bluff. Downtown is filled with shopping that is calling my name. The restaurants are up and running. Natchez is open and waiting!

It’s been a beautiful spring, and I’m just happy to be here.

Jennie Guido writes a weekly column for The Natchez Democrat. You can reach her at guido.jennie@gmail.com.