Good-bye Mississippi - Hello Alabama

It was a beautiful day when we pulled out of Lake Cheniere’s county park in Monroe, LA.  Our destination was Vicksburg, MS.  First, we  had to cross over the mighty Mississippi River. 

Then, we had to locate the Vicksburg Elks.  It wasn’t hard to find.  It was in a great location and we were the only two “residents” while there.  The weather was mostly decent. Out came the chairs, the awning and even Lily’s tether ball.

It didn’t take long to organize our rigs, plug in to electricity and pay the $15 per night fee.  After that we were decide to head out and scout the area.  First we wanted to eat.  Not far from the Elks was Goldie’s Trail BBQ.  All four of us now can say we’ve had the worst barbecue and side dishes ever served at a barbecue place. 

Is this really BBQ brisket & pork?  Really?

After that we spent the rest of the day complaining about what they called Texas BBQ and checking out the town of Vicksburg.   The old churches in the town were beautiful and so was the Vicksburg Court House that still sits above the city.

It’s now a museum and we loved looking at what was on display.  We just about closed the museum down before heading to a local casino.  An old riverboat was the home of the casino.  We didn’t stay long but only long enough to play on the first-timer’s bonus they gave us.   Janice was a big winner.  Terry and I lost $16 between us.  Now you know that’s a lie.  I lost about $8 and I lost $8 for Terry too.  He doesn’t gamble.  He calls it a stupid tax.  I don’t gamble either.  I donate.

One of the things we saw at the Court House Museum was this iron.  We still carry with us almost an identical one we used as Duchess’ stake.

Since the next day wasn’t a travel day, it was the day we visited the Vicksburg Military National Park.  This place is huge.  It was the location of a major Civil War battlefield.

We saw it all!

The Vicksburg National Cemetery is huge at 116 acres.  Buried there are the remains of 17,000 Civil War Union soldiers and 5,000 Confederates.  This number is unmatched by any other national cemetery.

The Hyders ended up heading out earlier than we did the next morning.    They were heading back to Monroe to get their air conditioner fixed.  In this area, an air conditioner is an absolute must.  They went west and we went east with a plan to meet up later in Alabama. 

The word “severe” is not something we like to hear but that’s the word the weathermen were using about the storms in the direction we were heading.    Thunderstorms ripped across where we were in Vicksburg that morning but the large hail and strong winds didn’t materialize.   We hung around a bit and then went for it.  We’d much rather be behind the storms than in front of them.  It worked.  We missed it all once on the road.

Once we arrived at Newton, we left the freeway and took US 80 through the towns of Decatur, Hickory and Chunky.  My ancestors lived in this area during the time that Sherman and his troops marched through and totally   destroyed the towns around.  When he was done, not much was left.  Even Meridian right down the road (where more family members lived) had to endure the wrath of Sherman. 

After a little bit of sightseeing, checking out the archives and seeing what we could see, we went on to the Bonita Lake RV Park in Meridian.  We were pretty limited on what we could see though as many places had closed up just prior to our arrival. 

For the first time in quite a while, we finally had full hookups!  Yippee we thought but we weren’t ready to sit around and do nothing.  We had some exploring to do. 

 

Dinner was at Dickey’s Barbecue.  We had seen this chain in Texas but never visited one.  However, after the last barbecue we had sampled, we were hungry for real barbecue.  Thus, we thought we’d give Dickey’s a try.  The barbecue and the sides were fabulous.  It was close to perfect with great seasoned bark.  We were happy.

We had pretty much accomplished what we came for around Meridian but not all the things we had in mind.  The weather was nasty and we figured it was better to get on the road towards Alabama.  Later in the afternoon the clouds cleared for a short time.  It was a good drive and we only had 175 miles to go.  The trip was mostly on a four-lane highway until we hit the Alabama border.  At the border the highway turned into a two-lane road. 

Mississippi is definitely a beautiful state. 

Good-bye Mississippi!  Hello Alabama. 

‘Tis life on the road.