Monday, September 8, 2014

Our adventure has come to an end! We had a wonderful time and I could have stayed away longer, but Bill was ready to come home. He did very well on the trip, didn't get overly tired, and was game to try almost anything I suggested we do.

Our ride through the country was a good time for us to just talk as there wasn't much to see except for cotton fields. We laughed at some of the strange town names we came across, such as Dub, MS. The big advantage to this route was lighter traffic. We only got on the interstate right before Memphis, to get around the city, and in Vicksburg, MS for a very short time to get around the city.

Our hotel was right on the Mississippi River, and although we were told it had a riverview, we only got a glimpse of the river, if we stood right by the window. But, it was a nice room and easy access on and off the road.

We did a driving tour of downtown Natchez and saw some of the historic mansions. We didn't try to actually tour any of them because it was a lot of walking and stair climbing. Stairs are a challenge for Bill, so we thought that just looking at them from the car would be fine. We also drove through the City Cemetery and the National Cemetery. I would love to go back and spend a lot of time in the City Cemetery. There are some Civil War graves there, from both sides. We also saw the Turning Angel. If any of you are Greg Iles fans, he featured this monument in his book Turning Angel, and it features in most of his novels about Natchez.

We had dinner at the Magnolia Grill which is located at the "Under the Hill" site. This was where bandits hid. Lunch one day was at Mammy's Cupboard. This is a small place that is built to look like a woman and the restaurant is in her skirt. They are only open for lunch and feature soups, salads and sandwiches. They do have a daily plate lunch and the day we were there was chicken pot pie day. It was really good, and the lemon meringue pie had meringue 4" high!

We drove most of the Natchez Trace back. It is 444.0 miles long, from Natchez to Nashville. It is a lovely 2 lane road, with a 50 mph speed limit. There were some who thought that was too slow and went flying by us. There were several bicyclists and walkers on the route. My dad would have been proud of me because I spotted 2 pheasant, a deer, several wild turkey, and another critter that ran across the road. It was so fast we couldn't tell just what it was, only that it was tan. We stopped for lunch at French Camp, MS which is the current site of a Christian boarding school, mainly for troubled teens. They serve lunch, soup and sandwiches, on home baked bread and all the proceeds benefit the school.

We got off the Trace just north of Tupelo, MS. No, we didn't go see Elvis's birthplace. We had seen it before since Tupelo is only about 2 1/2 hours from home. We then drove to Pickwick Dam which is a favorite park of ours. We weren't able to get a room on the river as there was a motorcycle convention and another large banquet, so we stayed at another place. It wasn't quite as nice as it used to be, so we only spent 1 night.

I could have stayed gone longer, and wandered more, but Bill was ready to come home. For me, the journey itself is the adventure. I get that honestly from my mother, just get in the car and drive.

The bags are unpacked, Bill is out cleaning the car, and I've taken stock of the kitchen. The laundry is not sorted, except for the clean things being put up and the others in the hampers. Laundry will wait until tomorrow!

So, there you go. You've been on our adventure with us. Until next time, enjoy this nice fall weather, if you are having it, stay dry if it's raining where you are, and cool if it's still hot! Ours is very pleasant, only 59 when we got up this morning!

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