Vicksburg, MS

The topography of Vicksburg surprised us after we had driven for so many miles through the flat terrain of the Mississippi Delta region.  Vicksburg sits high on a bluff looking out over the river which is what made it so difficult for Grant to capture the city during the Civil War.

We arrived in Vicksburg on Saturday afternoon.  There had been an ice storm the previous day so some of the steepest streets were closed.  Walking on the sidewalks was tricky too. The Main Street in town looked like something out of a movie lot from old Western days.  Not much traffic for a Saturday.

 It was too early to check in to the Baer House Bed and Breakfast so we went to the Biedenharn Museum on Coca-Cola.

I'll do another post on that fascinating bit of history.

We considered going to the Old Court House but it was locked up tight early.  Probably because of the ice.

We checked into Baer House and like the night before were the only guests.

This Bed and Breakfast was more like an inn than our previous nights' stay at Magnolia Grove.

The house was built in the 1890s for a wealthy merchant.  It went through several owners including a law practice before being restored as a Bed and Breakfast.

Sunday morning dawned bright and cold so before leaving Vicksburg for points south we spent the morning at the Vicksburg National Military Park taking the driving tour using our cell phone for the narration.  We had tried to do this on Saturday but the roads were closed due to the ice.  There were still ice patches but not a problem for us.

Like Gettysburg and other battlefields the place is filled with memorials.

I'll share more in another post.

We came upon this tent structure and were pleased to discover the S.S. Cario Memorial.

It was an iron clad!

More on the Cairo in the future.

A view of the Mississippi from the battlefield.

Our next stop over was Baton Rouge, Louisiana but before I post on that I promise to share more about the places in Vicksburg.

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Mississippi

In our southern travels we drove through Greenwood, Mississippi on our way to Vicksburg.  This town is in the heart of the Mississippi Delta and has quite a history in the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th Century.

The downtown was deserted.

This delta region is incredibly flat.  We drove west from Greenwood to Greenville hoping to stop at a famous hole in the wall restaurant famous for tamales and with the claim to fame that Elvis and President Clinton ate there.

We found it in a very poor neighborhood and discovered it wasn't open for lunch.  I wasn't comfortable taking any photos.  Here is one from their website.

We did manage to find the Indian mounds outside of town but that park was closed too on a Saturday.

Our trip continued to Vicksburg where we had reserved accommodations at a Bed and Breakfast using the internet.  More on that in the next posting.

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Wakulla Springs - Alligators

If  you have been reading my blog you'll know that Dan and I took a road trip early in January.  Here's the overview.

I have been posting in chronological order about the trip but today I want to skip ahead and share photos of alligators.

Thirty minutes south of Tallahassee is Wakulla Springs State Park.  As the brochure states its "a 6000 acre wildlife sanctuary quietly hidden in Spanish moss-draped Florida woodlands ... The heart of the park is the world famous Wakulla Springs.  Cool water flows from majestic springs to create the Wakulla River, one of the last pristine rivers in Florida."

A boat tour is operated 365 days a year.  Three miles in a 40 minute cruise to see alligators, native birds, turtles and if you're lucky manatee.  We were not lucky in that regard.

We took the boat ride on a lovely morning.  We saw lots of birds.

Our first alligator sighting was this one swimming.

All the others in many sizes were just sunning themselves.

Inside the lodge (more about that in another post) there was this stuffed alligator, Old Joe.  He had been the largest alligator in the springs until he was "murdered".

It's an unsolved murder too.

Wakulla Springs was a wonderful find for us outside of Tallahassee.  Watch for more posts on the day we spent there.

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Magnolia Grove Bed and Breakfast

This B & B in Hernando, MS was wonderful for our stay.  Our hosts Tom & Ellen Mulligan welcomed us to their home all decorated for Christmas.  Ellen apologized for the decorations still being up but they were lovely and added to the homeyness of the place.

Tom gave us a tour after our first 4 course breakfast: poached pears, sausage and hash browns, quiche lorraine and french toast with strawberries.

The house was built in 1890 by a local businessman who had three children.  Only his daughter, Ladye survived and she never married.  

She lived a very long life and willed the house to her church upon her death.  It was purchased in 1988 for a B & B.  Tom & Ellen are the second B & B owners.

In the 1890s style ceilings are immense.

The B & B has 4 suites.  Ours had a wedding dress on display.  I didn't think to take a photo until the next morning and we'd made a bit of a mess.  Here are two others suites.

Tom went to high school with Elvis Presley who was two years ahead of Tom in school.  Here's his signed yearbook.

If you find yourself headed to Memphis, consider staying at Magnolia Grove B & B.

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