Road Trip 2012 - Day 18

Wednesday, May 2nd - Natchez, MS 


We enjoyed the hot, complimentary breakfast at Natchez Manor. It was delicious. Scrambled eggs, bacon, cheesy grits and butter biscuits. Mmmm good. A great start to a day of adventure in Natchez.

We decided our first destination would be Natchez Under the Hill. We drove under the hill and then up top to see the might Mississippi.

The bridge behind me takes you to Louisiana. Remember that.

After strolling a bit on the river front, we took a driving tour of two cemeteries.

First was the Natchez National Cemetery.

Second, was the Natchez City Cemetery.

One example of the ornate ironwork that can be found in the cemetery. This gate has ears of corn incorporated in the design.

After leaving the cemeteries, we made our way to Stanton Hall for the house tour. It was the epitome of gracious living in it's heyday. Heck, it's the epitome of gracious living today.

Here we are pretending we own the property.

"Welcome to our home."

On the grounds of Stanton Hall, the carriage house has been converted to The Carriage House Restaurant. Of course, we had to have lunch there. Their buttery, silver dollar size biscuits were delicious, as were their chicken livers (I know!) and pimento cheese dip. I drank my first Mint Julep. It was tasty and strong and I had to go back to the room for a nap immediately after consuming it.

After the nap, we took a stroll around the historic district and ended up at The Eola Hotel. We walked into the Peacock Bar & Grill and made the acquaintance of Julie, the friendliest bartender in Natchez. We talked a bit about the historic mansions in the town that are open for tours. Julie told me about the mansion Christmas tours, in particular the Jeweled Christmas at The Towers. I would love to see this display. It is now on my "bucket" list.

Julie also introduced us to Paul, who is a Coast Guard buoy tender on the Mississippi River. It was interesting to hear his story of how an English Major from Chicago ended up in the Coast Guard in Natchez, MS. It was all about gainful employment!

We chatted with a couple of other folks before leaving the Peacock and touring the hotel lobby, where we found these on display.

As much as we liked the Natchez Manor, next time we visit Natchez we will probably give The Eola Hotel a try.

Ending odometer = 37,392

Note to one "complaining" reader of this blog: One more vacation post to go and then I will return to real-time posting of all the important details of our lives!

Road Trip 2012 - Day 17

Tuesday, May 1st - Montgomery, AL to Natchez, MS

We had breakfast at the hotel and departed at 10:11 am (precisely!)

Beginning odometer = 37,029

We drove through Selma, AL, but did not stop. We agreed this historic city will be on the agenda for our next Southern road trip.

We made it to Mississippi.

Upon arriving in Natchez, we drove around checking out the historic area. The Husband had found Natchez Manor on-line and when we saw it in person we both said, "Yes, let's stay here if they have a vacancy."

The staff was welcoming and helpful. We were assigned a ground floor room and were happily unpacking when The Husband determined the air conditioner was not working. Lynnette (Front Desk) and Judy (Housekeeping) transferred us to another room quick as a wink and helped relocate our bags.

After we settled in, we wandered into the hotel bar and met Calvin (Chef) and Rebecca (Bartender). Both were very friendly. Calvin was so friendly, when we decided not to eat at the hotel, he took a short break and walked us over to Breaud's Seafood & Steak. How's that for service? 

Beverly was our waitress at Breaud's and she took great care of us while we enjoyed a satisfying meal. 

We were in bed at 9:35 p.m. that evening and fell into a sound sleep!

End of day odometer = 37,382

Road Trip 2012 - Day 3

Tuesday, April 17th - Corinth, MS to Chattanooga, TN

Monday night's sleep was deep and restful. So restful, in fact, I woke up at 6:15 a.m. and popped out of bed at 6:45 a.m. On vacation, mind you!

The Husband and I sat down for breakfast on the front porch at 8:30 a.m. We look eager, don't we?

Breakfast was served and while it was good, it was not what we expected from a B&B that advertises itself as one of the top 10 B&B's in the state of Mississippi. Our breakfast was 2 biscuits, butter, strawberry jelly, scrambled eggs, a preformed sausage patty and orange slices; a solid breakfast to be sure. It was not, however, a breakfast that compares with ones we have enjoyed at top notch B&B's in our previous travels.

After the meal, we took a short walk in the rain to photograph some of the historic houses we saw on our neighborhood stroll the previous evening.

Did I tell you it was raining? It was raining.

I loved this garden, which was one block from the B&B. The symmetry appeals to me.

Me with the B&B in the background.

We packed up our belongings and drove away from the B&B at 9:30 a.m. The odometer reading was 35,510.

Our next stop was the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center, which is part of the U.S. National Park Service. We enjoyed the center, watching two films and viewing the exhibits. It was a good stop to set the stage before visiting the Shiloh Battlefield. Plus, I got to stamp our National Park Service Passport! Do you have a NPS Passport?

After leaving Corinth, we drove approximately 20 miles to the Shiloh National Military Park.

The park is very, very impressive. One of the park rangers told us that the battlefield is one of the best preserved in the US. They have worked hard to ensure the landscape closely mimics the landscape as it was 150 years ago. The biggest difference is 150 years ago there was less underbrush in the treed areas because the landowners grazed cattle there prior to the war.

This is a picture of a treed area today. Beautiful, isn't it?

We drove the 13 mile battlefield tour during a steady rain. We were simultaneously impressed by the courage and fortitude displayed during the battle and horrified by the resulting carnage that ended with 23,746 killed, wounded or missing over 2 days.

The National Park Service has done an outstanding job of placing signage at key locations on the battlefield to explain what was happening where. This sign explains their system.

We ended the battlefield tour with scenes from the cemetary. Words do not express the appropriate feelings.

We left the battlefield at approximately 1:30 p.m. and headed toward Chattanooga, which involved a winding road, 2 lanes in many places, and rain the entire time.

The Tennessee landscape is beautiful. Lush and treed. Plains and mountains. Beautiful lakes. And, did I mention lush and green?

We entered the Eastern Time Zone at 4:34 p.m Central Time. There was a sign on the highway, but it took us by surprise and we didn't have time to pull over for a photo.

We arrived in Chattanooga at our Best Western at 6:30 p.m. Checked in, settled in the room and started searching for a dinner spot. Luckily, we found great reviews on Yelp for the Fireside Grille/Lounge. Let me just say that the Yelp reviews were spot on! We can absolutely recommend the Fireside if you are ever in Chattanooga.

We are now tucked safe and sound in the hotel room.

End of day odometer reading = 35,753

Road Trip 2012 - Day 2

Monday, April 16th - Conway, AR to Corinth, MS

We slept well on Sunday night as storms moved through Conway, AR. The next morning was cloudy and cool, but there was no rain. We breakfasted at Waffle House, which was mere steps from our hotel room.

We like to go to Waffle Houses and listen to the waitresses shout the orders to the grill cook and the grill cook confirm back what he heard. They talk in mysterious Waffle House lingo and we've yet to see an incorrect order come off the grill.

After breakfast, we loaded the car and drove away. Time was 9:49 a.m. and the odometer read 35,234.

Within the first 5 minutes of driving, we saw a large antique mall. Oh, joy! Oh, no! It was closed on Mondays. What? Were the antique shopping gods against me?

We ended up stopping at Carrie's Flea Market. My, my. It was very flea like and entertaining. There was a man with a small toy dog in his shopping cart and he was telling everyone who would listen that the dog's name was Timex and he was a watch dog. Get it? A watch dog! Har de har har!

One of the ladies working at the flea market had a few $1 bills pinned to her shirt. I asked, of course, about them and was informed that it was her birthday money. She said the last time someone did that at the flea market, they collected $100 for their birthday. I wished her luck, but did not contribute.

We got back on the road and headed toward Memphis. We crossed into Tennessee for a short time, but could not get a photo of the "Welcome to Tennessee" sign. Traffic and such, you know. Safety first! We will be able to get a shot of the sign on Tuesday (fingers crossed).

We had to stop for gas and decided to pick up a couple of healthy snacks. Salty for me. Sweet for him.

In the course of our travels along the state lines, we crossed into Mississippi and were able to snap a photo.

We stopped at a antique/junque shop on US 72, but I failed to get the name. (bad blogger) The owner's residence was attached to the shop, so when we entered and the bell rang he came over from the house. He had a lot of cast iron and several pieces of Pyrex. Prices weren't good enough for me as a reseller, but it's nice that they were so reasonable for individual collectors.

Shortly after we left his shop, we saw a sign for the National Bird Dog Museum. We did not detour to visit. We agreed next time we were in the area, we would make time! Hee hee.

We pulled into Corinth, MS at around 3:30 p.m. We checked into The General's Quarters, which is a very nice B&B. We got settled into the room and rested for a bit, then took a short walk downtown. Everyone is very nice here. Even their graffiti is polite!

We had dinner at Russell's Beef House, a locally owned place. Excellent meal, friendly staff and friendly customers. Be sure to check out the food photos on their website. They grill over an open pit in the dining room. And, let me just say their grilled garlic bread is to die for!

They have a unique set-up. The guy who grills your steak is also the guy who runs the cash register. :-)  If you are ever in Corinth, MS we recommend you go to Russell's for dinner.

We are now back at The General's Quarters, ready to retire for the night. After the Yankees finish their game, of course!

End of day odometer reading = 35,510.