A New Adventure

Day 1
138 nautical miles

Yes, we are "meandering" again!  But this time, we are doing our traveling on a boat, like the koozie says.  Maybe I should start from the beginning:
After several months of serious discussion with Mike's brother Greg and wife Karen, we decided to do what is called "The Great Loop" together, which means taking a boat on a 6,000 mile trip from Lake Michigan down inland rivers (including the Mississippi) to the Gulf of Mexico, around the tip of Florida, up the eastern seaboard, into New York and the Hudson river, then taking one of several routes to Lake Huron (either through Lake Erie, to Detroit to Lake St. Claire or through the Georgian Bay) and back to Lake Michigan.
(Please Google the Loop for a much better, more detailed description. I'll also explain more as I post about each leg of the trip).

The first thing to do was find and buy a boat capable of making the trip and accommodating the 4 of us (plus anticipated guests!).  The beginning of 2016 was spent on internet searches, talks with brokers, and attending boat shows.  In May, we found what we were looking for in Penetanguishene, Ontario- a used 53 ft. Egg Harbor boat.  Mike and Greg drove it back to Ludington, having calm, smooth water for the two day trip on Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.  Since then, there has been almost daily work, getting it ready for the journey.  Both physical work on the boat and spending hours studying charts and reading books and blogs on the Loop to be prepared as possible.  I'll admit to a little nervousness about the process of going through locks (we will navigate through over 40 of them) and will be glad to get the first one under our belt.

You may remember me complaining a little in my past posts about how often, and how thoroughly Mike washed the motorhome.  The boat takes washing to a whole different level.    I will say we have more help washing the boat as the "admission" to come aboard usually involves being handed a scrub brush!

In July, Mike and I sold our motorhome and moved onto the boat full-time. Another exercise in downsizing!  We will spend the fall getting it down to Florida and then live on it in the Florida Keys during the winter, with Greg and Karen dividing their time between Ludington and being on the boat.
So many great memories over the last 6 years in the motorhome, with the last two having it truly be our home.  Any sadness at seeing it leave was eased by the excitement of this new 2 year adventure.
Our niece Meghan put it best when,  after spending a week on the boat with us traveling around northern Michigan, she said, " Life is simply different on a boat."  We agree.

So this brings me to today - Wednesday, September 7.  The Great Loop Adventure began as we left the Ludington Harbor at 10:30 am under very cloudy skies, but little wind (a good thing), heading for Michigan City, Indiana.  It was Mike and Greg and I, with one meanderer missing.  Karen is going to join us in a few days.  We had lots of rain, and at one point ducked into the South Haven channel to  wait out an approaching storm.  We didn't tie up, just idled in the water and while I made lunch, the storm dissipated so we continued on and arrived in Michigan City at 6:00.  You can probably guess the first thing we did after docking:  washed the boat.  Michael was working in the area so came down to the marina to see us and was handed a brush as he walked on.

We named the boat "True North", which has multiple meanings for us.  Although we will be spending much of our time on it in the south, we know that north (Ludington) will always be home.  We also hope our moral compass always points true north.  But most importantly, we know who our true north is, our hope and our unquenchable light - Jesus.

I have to welcome some new people to the blog - our wonderful neighbors on the A dock and great staff at Harbor View Marina.   All have been excited for us and when I told them I was going to write a blog about our Loop travels, asked to be included.  Nice people - always willing to catch a line!

The official flag of the Loopers Association.

It gives a visual look at the Great Loop route

Getting ready to put the flag on the bow,

identifying us as "Loopers"

Leaving the marina.  Becky on bow, Mike in back

and Greg driving up top

The two captains

True North will not see the Ludington Lighthouse

until she "crosses her wake" and finishes the Loop

in two years! (it's only the boat that will be gone

for 2 years.  The crew will be back next spring)

Resting in Michigan City after washing the boat

Carter Library and MLK site

Our campground at Stone Mountain was 15 miles outside of Atlanta so we took the opportunity to cross off one more on our quest to visit all the presidential libraries.  (although we will have a hard time paying any money to go to the Clinton library, but we will cross that bridge when we ever get to Arkansas).
On Friday we drove two miles outside of downtown Atlanta, past some very older, elegant homes, to the Carter Center.  The Jimmy Carter Presidential Museum and Library is part of the Center's campus.  The Carter Center is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by Jimmy Carter, in partnership with Emory University, that seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health.  Former president Carter envisioned it as a Camp David for countries to work toward peace.

The Jimmy Carter Museum and Library is separate from the Center in that it is part of the Presidential Libraries System administered by the National Archives and Records Administration.  We both came away with the feeling that while it was nice, it was not as large as other presidential libraries we have been to, hence there were not as many exhibits and information to view.

We had visited his hometown of Plains several years ago so much of his boyhood and growing up years was review for us.  We did learn that Jimmy's father was a strict segregationist while his mother believed all people were equal.  He followed his mother's views.
 Carter was accepted to the Naval Academy in 1943.  A long career as a naval officer seemed to be his life path.  Shortly after graduating from the academy in 1946 he married Rosalynn Smith, a friend of his sister's, who also was from Plains.  He was personally chosen by Admiral Hyman Rickover, the "father of the nuclear Navy" for duty.
But his father's death in 1953 set Carter on a new path.  He returned to Plains to take over the family peanut farm.  (after living in Hawaii, California and New York, Rosalynn was less than enthusiastic about settling back in Plains).

His first political office held was Sumter County School Board, where he began to speak in favor of integration.   In 1962 he ran for the Georgia state senate, an election he won after proving voting fraud when he was initially declared the loser.  His first run at the governorship of Georgia in 1966 ended in defeat.  His run in 1970 was successful and he became the 76th governor of Georgia. He declared in his inaugural address that "the time of racial segregation was over.  No poor, rural, weal, or black person should ever again have to bear the additional burden of being deprived of the opportunity for an education, a job or simple justice."  This was not the prevailing culture in Georgia at the time.  And it was from this position that he launched his presidential campaign in 1975.

It was interesting to be reminded of his "come out of nowhere" victory in the 1976 election to become the 39th president of the United States.  "I remember that first reception we had in Des Moines.  Four people came."  His campaign was called The Peanut Brigade.  He was Jimmy, not James, and he appealed to the common man.  His smile was a caricature's delight.  He also benefited from the country's disgust with the Watergate scandal, and Gerald Ford's pardoning of Nixon when he took office.

The energy crisis of the late 70's was a main focus of Carter's presidency.  The library had a quote on the energy situation from The Ludington Daily News!  We are not sure if this is OUR Ludington but we smiled when we saw it.

Interesting areas in the museum were A Day in the Life of the President. a section on major social issues during the 4 years of his presidency and the exhibits on the energy crisis, Camp David and the hostage crisis.

Carter's presidency will probably be remembered for those last 2 things:  the Camp David Accords which brought a peace treaty between Israel and Egypt and the Americans taken hostage in Iran.  Carter worked tirelessly to secure the release of the 66 hostages, which occurred the day he left office.
Mike says he should also be given some credit for the economic recovery under Reagan as many of the policies were put into place by Carter's administration

It can be argued that Jimmy and Rosalynn have done more in their post-presidential years than when they occupied the White House.  Rosalynn continues her advocacy for mental health awareness and treatment.  They have embraced the work of Habitat for Humanity and spend a week every year helping to build a Habitat house. The couple from Plains travels the world on behalf of the work of the Carter Center: global health, monitoring elections, and supporting human rights.  Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.  It has been said that Jimmy and Rosalynn have done more good for more people around the world than any other couple.  And he still teaches Sunday School at his church in Plains 40 weeks a year.  Quite a legacy.

Since it was only 2 miles away, we went to the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site after leaving the Carter Library.  (we are retired so we like free, which this was.)  The building is near King's boyhood home and across the street from the Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he grew up under the preaching of his grandfather and father.  The visitor center had videos and exhibits which chronicled King's life and his rightful place in the Civil Rights Movement.  It is hard, having never experienced segregation, or living in the south, to comprehend the violence and treatment of blacks over the years.  The videos and still pictures were stark examples.  King's non-violent approach (based on Gandhi's life) of using boycotts and marches were highlighted.  The entire site went far deeper than the "I Have A Dream" speech on the Lincoln Memorial that we all associate with MLK.
In fact, I was struck by one of his challenges - "what are you doing to help others?"  A good question for us all.

After leaving here, I suggested we visit author Margaret Mitchell's house, a must-see for anyone who loves Gone With the Wind.  Obviously, the person driving the car (Mike) is not a GWTW buff because we didn't make it there.  Fiddle-dee-dee.

                     Every presidential library has a replica of the Oval office as it was in their term

            Margaret Truman gave Carter the "The buck stops here" sign that sat on her father's desk

                    A snapshot look at social issues and happenings each year of Carter's presidency

                                         The happenings of 1977 depicted with banners

                                           The 13 days at Camp David produced a peace agreement
                                           From left: Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, Menachem Begin

                                       A listing of accomplishments of Carter's administration

 The walkway leading to the entrance had the footprints of those in the International Civil Rights Hall of Fame

 A statue of the hero of the book "Roots" - Kunta Kinte raising his daughter to the sky while telling her - "Behold . . . the only thing greater than yourself."

 The original Ebenezer Baptist Church.  A new building was erected across the street that is used for worship today.

                                                   Gravesite of King and his wife, Loretta

Stone Mountain

When I booked the Army Corps of Engineers campground outside of Augusta, we had no idea if we would get any type of TV reception.  We knew it would be a wooded site and the satellite dish on top of our "home" does not like trees.  But our main criteria was proximity to Augusta, not watching TV.
Once the tournament started on Thursday, our focus shifted to needing to be in a spot where coverage was guaranteed so we could plant ourselves in front of the set every afternoon to watch the telecasts of the Masters.
So several months ago I began a search for a campground to move to after our Tuesday bucket list day that was either a) not wooded or b) had cable hookups.  From our visit to Mt. Rushmore in 2013, I remembered that we learned that Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of the president's faces had also done a Confederate carving at Stone Mountain, Georgia.  Enjoying all things related to the Civil War, we had talked the last few years of stopping to see the carving on our way to or from Florida.  This turned out to be the perfect opportunity to do so because Stone Mountain has a campground!  I checked online, and confirmed by telephone when making our reservation that the campground did, indeed, have cable hookups at every RV site.

As a side note - we were completely surprised when we arrived at the Corps campground and there was a slight gap between two trees that allowed our satellite to lock in and when we cranked up the antenna, we got local channels!  You have to be thankful for the little things . . .

The two of us (we said good-bye to Matt and Josh on Wednesday) left Petersburg campground on Thursday morning, planning our departure time to allow us the 2 hour drive east to Stone Mountain, get checked-in and set up before the 3:00 start time for televised coverage.

Little did we know that we were not just going to a campground, but to a destination park for families in the middle of spring break week!  We trading scampering squirrels for kids riding bikes and chirping birds for little ones squealing with laughter.  Stone Mountain Park is so much more than just the carving on the mountain.  Yes, there is the commercial aspect - a sky ride, scenic railroad high ropes course, mini-golf, duck boat tours - basically an amusement park without roller coasters.  (where were the grandkids when we needed them?) But the  land surrounding the granite was also home to walking, jogging, hiking and biking trails, along with scenic and plentiful picnic areas, all of which were getting lots of use.  I went to the night laser show that was quite entertaining (free) via a shuttle (free) that ran between the attraction area and our campground.  They shine the lights right on the carving area.  Of course the light show was accompanied by music.  One of my favorite parts was a soulful, moving rendition by Elvis of a medley consisting of Dixie, All My Trials, and The Battle Hymn of the Republic, while Civil War pictures flashed on the mountain.  (Is there anyone who can sing "Glory, glory hallelujah, His truth is marching on" like Elvis?)

Mike just looked at me and said, "How can you have so much to say about a rock?"   And I haven't even started describing the relief carving itself!  So here goes:

Through the always informative video in the visitor's center, I learned that Stone Mountain was created by a volcano over 300 million years ago.  It was entirely underground, but rain and erosion gradually revealed the rock at the rate of an inch every 1,000 years.  (Honestly, how do they figure these things out?)  It is 1,686 ft. high and dome shaped.  Granite from the quarry operation at the mountain can be found in the Lincoln Memorial, the Panama Canal and Fort Knox.  In 1915, the United Daughters of the Confederacy hired Gutzon Borglum to carve a memorial on the face of Stone Mountain.  World War I delayed the work and carving didn't begin until 1923.  Borglum's original design called for over 10 figures and their horses, with Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis and Stonewall Jackson as the central figures.  Lee's head was unveiled to the public in 1924, but a a month later Borglum was fired.  (he moved on to Mt. Rushmore)  Sculptor Augustus Lukeman took over the project and shrunk the design to only have the 3 central figures.  Lee's head was blasted off and carving started over.   Work was stopped in 1928 over a dispute and didn't begin again until the mountain was purchased by the state of Georgia in 1958.  Walter Hancock was announced as the new sculptor in 1963.  He followed Lukeman's design, adding his touch of having the legs of the horses fade into the mountain.  The finished product is the largest relief carving in the world, made possible through the hard work of the stone quarry tradesmen.  The entire carved surface is almost the size of two football fields, with the figures measuring 90 ft. tall and 190 ft. wide.

The only cost to view the carving or enjoy the natural areas of the park is a $15 per vehicle park admission fee or $40 annual pass.

Murphy's Law appeared with our campground stay.  Our site did indeed have cable, but ESPN wasn't part of their line-up and that was the network that covered the first 2 days of the Masters!

                                              Seating for the laser/light show is on the lawn

 From left: Confederate President Jefferson Davis, General Robert E. Lee and General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.  As is usually the case, this picture doesn't convey the artistry of the carving.  The figures are, at some points, 42 ft. deep into the face of the mountain.  Remember to click on the picture to enlarge it.

                                                    A photo in the visitor's center

We played golf on Sunday morning.  Most of the holes had a view of the mountain.  You can see the carving in the lower center of the mountain.

I saw these shrubs cut back all over Georgia. Most did not have any buds yet and looked like dead stumps.   Finally asked a clerk what they were.  Crepe Myrtle.
They are severely pruned in the fall and will flower in the summer.

The Masters

The Masters Golf Tournament.  It is difficult to begin this post as so many emotions are wrapped up in the experience of walking the grounds of The Augusta National Golf Club.  In November of 2004, through the kindness of a business acquaintance, Mike was able to play Augusta National with his brother Steve.  It would be Steve's last round of golf he ever played.  For the past 12 years, our family has watched The Masters on TV, with Mike narrating every hole - where he hit his ball and where Steve hit his.

When we learned that we would be able, through the lottery system, to purchase practice round tickets for this year, Mike was so excited for the opportunity to return to Augusta to walk the course again, this time with me, and Matt and Josh.  He was able to see so much more when he played there than we would have access to - the inside of the clubhouse, the locker room, he ate in the dining room and slept in the Cliff Roberts cabin- but he was happy that we would see the golf course. And that was our main goal - to see the course.  We would have went on a day when no golfers were playing.

The gates opened at 8 am on Tuesday and we scanned our tickets about 8:15.  We entered through the main spectator gate near the clubhouse.  We did not drive up Magnolia Lane.  The general public is not allowed to do so.  TV commentators will say that, when asked, most people's impression of the course is how green everything is.  Add me to that list.  At one point I bent down to touch the grass to make sure it was real.  It is so green and so perfect that it looks artificial.

Mike was our guide, pointing out nuances in fairways and greens that aren't apparent on TV.  You really can't appreciate the slope of some of the greens until you see them in person.  He recounted advice his caddie had given him on different holes - always spot on.   We saw familiar views - the promotional shots that CBS uses like Amen Corner, the Hogan Bridge, Rae's Creek and of course, the beautiful flowering shrubs.  We also saw the holes that don't get as much air time on TV.  We were surprised at how wide open some of the fairways are.  And what small targets some of the greens are.

Surprisingly, the course was peaceful, especially early in the morning before the crowds got really big and people were cheering good shots.  There are no cell phones allowed on the course, which I liked because I wasn't constantly taking pictures and texting them to others.  It adds to the serenity of the surroundings.  Cameras are allowed only on practice days.  Matt and I both had one.  And there is no running!

I mentioned the word "perfect" in describing the grass.  Actually, that is the term to describe the entire course and experience - perfect.  Sure, we have seen more scenic views - the holes that run along the Pacific at Pebble Beach or Banyan Dunes come to mind.  Ballybunion in Ireland.  Even Arcadia Bluffs, in our neck of the woods, with Lake Michigan along side.  Augusta National is carved out of the Georgia pines, but every single thing about it is perfect.  There is not one brown or yellow spot anywhere in any of the grass.  Those towering pine trees provide soft pine needle mulch.

While admiring the course, we saw plenty of golfers.  Current tour players on the course and retired golfers sitting under umbrellas on the clubhouse lawn, including Arnold Palmer, Fuzzy Zoeller, Ben Crenshaw and Nancy Lopez.

Perfect goes beyond the course itself.  It embodies the whole experience.  To begin with, the parking is free.  FREE.  Augusta National bought the land next to the course and it is used for parking.  They did not pave the land, you park on the grass.  Remember, this is only used one week every year.  Each employee we encountered was kind, helpful and genuinely courteous.  That includes temporary workers brought in just for the tournament week - security, merchandise shop, concessions and restrooms.  No porta johns at The Masters.  All the bathrooms are permanent structures.  As are the concessions and merchandise shops. At other tournaments, these would be in large tents.

And where else can you get an egg salad or pimento cheese sandwich for $1.50?  I did try the cheese sandwich - my "when in Rome" philosophy - and it was ok.  The young lady who was working as a cashier for the week said she never knew pimento cheese sandwiches were a Southern thing until she worked at the tournament.  She thought everybody ate them.  Or how about a Georgia peach ice cream sandwich for $2.00?  I had one for breakfast and another as we were leaving the grounds!

(We were given credit for Southern kindness but set the person straight.  While standing in line to enter the merchandise shop, Matt, Josh and I let a women join her group that was in front of us.  She said that "you Southerners are so nice.  I'm from New York and people there wouldn't do that."  We said "We are from Michigan so we'll just call it our Midwestern hospitality!")

 The consensus for us was the Masters is the best sporting event, period.  Not the Super Bowl, not the World Series.  There are so many ways they could gouge you for more money, but they don't.  The atmosphere is one of grace and beauty.
The spectator guide for the tournament says:
"The chief objective of the Masters is to stage a golf show that is enjoyable to all - our members, patrons, and player guests . . . In preparation for the Masters Tournament, the first consideration is to provide a first-class golf course in as beautiful and nearly perfect condition as effort can make it . . "
They have succeeded.

We stayed until the course closed at 6.  Mike had a smile on his face all day. Even when I took a LONG time in the merchandise shop trying to decide on gifts for grandkids.  Mike's sister Karen, after seeing some of our pictures, put it best:
"Looks like a wonderful day with gorgeous scenery, iconic views, legendary golfers old and new, and for Mike sweet memories."

              The Cliff Roberts cabin that Mike and Steve stayed in.  The first tee is right out front.

                  Hole #4 - a par 3 that Mike was inches away from making his first ever hole in one

Hole #16 - after teeing off, the players on a practice round day, drop a ball in front of the water and try to skip it across and up on to the green to the delight of the crowd

                                                             Look at these prices!

                   Amen Corner - Hogan Bridge on left, 12 green in middle and 13 tee back right

Paul Casey is on the left, standing on 12 tee.  This was taken right before we saw him hit a hole in one!

                                                               An example of perfect

The Road to Augusta

When signing in to write this new post, I noticed my last one was October, 2014.  We obviously haven't been doing much meandering in the past year and a half.  We've taken pretty straight routes between Zephyrhills, Florida in the winter and Ludington in the summer.   All that changed when we had a "You've Got Mail" moment.  For about 5 years, we have been entering, via email, the lottery drawing for tickets to The Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia.  Every year we received an email that politely informed us we were not chosen.  But this July, the Augusta National Golf Club emailed that we were randomly chosen to receive 4 tickets to the practice round on Tuesday, April 5, 2016.  We immediately made plans to go to Augusta on our way back to Michigan!

We left Zephyrhills on Thursday, March 31, driving 4 hours to Valdosta, GA.  With most snowbirds leaving Florida on April 1,  the traffic can be very heavy, so we chose to leave the day before, and Valdosta was about halfway to Augusta.  We stayed in there 2 nights and drove to Petersburg Campground in Appling, GA., about 25 miles west of Augusta.  

The GPS in our RV did a curious thing.  After getting off I-75 at Macon, it never took us on another freeway, all the way to Appling.  The saying goes that you have to get off the freeways to really see the U.S.A, but using the Eisenhower Interstate System is the easiest way to travel in an RV.  Especially when towing a vehicle like we do.  After setting up in a campground, we usually see the sights on the back roads in our car.  But not this time.  We traveled 2 lane roads in the motorhome, where the big windshield gave us a perfect view of rural Georgia, which was surprisingly hilly.  At one point, a sign said "Welcome to Hancock County - The Hidden Gem of Georgia".  We didn't think it looked any different from the other counties we had gone through since Macon.  We drove through Sparta, where we were encouraged by numerous yard signs to re-elect Terrell Primus as sheriff.

One town looked very inviting and I wish we could have stopped and walked around.  Milledgeville, GA is home to Georgia College and we drove right through the campus, where a large, family festival was going on.  (bouncy houses and large inflatable slides were our first clue).  Matt (who made the trip with us) said it was a good thing that there wasn't a parade coming as we would have had to be in it.  We were on a 2 lane street, and with angle parking on both sides, there was no possibility for us to get out of the way!

Petersburg Campground is an Army Corps of Engineer campground on J. Strom Thurmond Lake, which borders Georgia and South Carolina.  Wooded state and national park campgrounds are not always big rig friendly, but we couldn't have been more pleased with our site.  In fact, if it had sewer hook-ups, we would have stayed longer than 5 nights.  We had a view of the lake, and with the campsites spaced quite far apart, it was extremely peaceful.  We enjoy our RV park in Florida, but the units are close together and, while sitting inside,we often can hear our neighbor's conversation when they are outside.  The only sounds we heard here were the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves as squirrels scampered across the ground.

Josh drove 13 hours from his home in Illinois to join us and he arrived at the campground about 10:30 Saturday night.  On Sunday morning the four of us crossed the dam that created the Strom Thurmond Lake, entered South Carolina and drove a couple of hours to Clemson University.  We had a noon tee time at the Walker Course on the college campus.  We enjoyed our round as we never saw the group behind us and rarely saw the foursome in front of us.  Several holes were on the edge of a lake, which gave us some pretty views.  After golf we drove around the Clemson campus and had some refreshments at a local pub before heading back to the campground.

On Monday, Mike and the boys wiped down the outside of the motorhome.  Not a full wash, just going over the whole thing with wet cloths.  We then made a practice run into Augusta to see how long it would take (25 minutes on a 2 lane road), found the post office and a Great Clips for Mike and Josh.  We were all excited for Tuesday morning!

                                The view out our front window at the Petersburg campground
                       

                                                            Josh, Becky and Matt

                     The signature hole of the Clemson course.  The green and sand traps look like the paw print -their logo

All things Mississippi

The last post ended with our surprise at how big Tupelo is.   Because there is only one campground in the area, we didn't think the town would be much.  But they have a mall!  And a Best Buy!  You know, the things we gauge a population by.  Not that we see the inside of these places.  The only shopping we do while meandering is for groceries.
Mike guessed Tupelo to be the size of Muskegon or Bay City.   He was right.  Google told us Tupelo had over 38,000 people.  When Elvis lived here, it was half that.

On Friday we drove to Red Bay, Alabama (about an hour away) for some RV business.  On our way back, while following our route on our tablet, I noticed we were going to intersect with the Natchez Trace Parkway and I knew it ran through Tupelo so we got on it.  What a treasure!  Administered by the National Park Service, the 444 mile, two-lane road stretches from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee.  There is no fee or toll to drive it.  The word "scenic" should be in its name.  There are no billboards, few power lines, no McDonald's every couple of miles and no gas stations.  (you can find all those things in the towns the parkway goes by if you get off).  It is just nature, in all its beauty.  The signs are the kind made out of wood (as most are in our national parks) indicating a hiking trail, or overlook.  We stopped to look at some ancient Indian burial mounds.  This is a quote from the visitor center brochure:
"The Old Trace was first trod by buffalo, then American Indians.  In the early 1800's, it was the main return route for Ohio Valley traders, who, rather than fight the Mississippi currents, sold their flatboats for the value of their timber in Natchez and walked home via the Old Trace."  Think of that - walking over 400 miles!

Friday night we headed to downtown Tupelo.  When a city has all the commercial growth outside of downtown, it is always interesting to see if the actual town area is still vibrant and active or filled with vacant storefronts.  Plus when I asked a grocery store clerk for restaurant recommendations, all she gave me were the chain places by the mall (Applebee's, Chili's, Logan's, etc.)  And it seems a little snobbish to say, "We don't eat at chain restaurants" when you don't have the time to explain the whole "meandering" thing!
We walked right into a Chili Fest downtown.  For the price of admission, we got a bowl of chili, a pop, and two tickets to vote on the best chili at the numerous different booths that handed out samples. The usual service organizations had booths, along with schools, the library and the chamber, with many of them handing out freebies.  We got Memphis Grizzlies sunglasses from a radio station booth.  And there was . . . surprise, surprise . . . live music!  I cast my vote (with my ticket) for best chili to the booth that had white chicken chili.  Mike did not let his palate determine his vote.  Instead, he was taken with a little 5 or 6 year old girl.  She was wearing an Ole Miss cheerleading outfit, had "Ole Miss" painted on her cheek and her long brown hair tied up with red, white and blue ribbons.  She was manning a booth with her parents and half the booth was Ole Miss and half was Mississippi State.  Mike asked her which bucket should he put his ticket in and she handed him her Ole Miss bucket.  (nobody can say I am the only one who misses our grandchildren while we travel!)

Saturday was a total day off.  Except for laundry and preparing meals, I spent the day on the couch with my foot propped on pillows, with ice packs.  Mike watched college football from dawn until after dusk, sitting outside in shorts and a t-shirt.

Speaking of football, Tupelo is mid-way between the two main universities of Mississippi - Ole Miss in Oxford to the west and Mississippi State in Starkville to the south.  Both schools are big news right now as their football teams are having terrific seasons.  Sunday we took the west route and went to the University of Mississippi.  We enjoyed the drive around the tree-lined campus with stately brick buildings.  Downtown Oxford was charming.  The county courthouse sits in the center and the shops and restaurants and bookstores form a square around it.    We walked around the square and ate at Proud Larry's.  "Hotty Totty", the Ole Miss fight song, was on display everywhere.
The courthouse looked like the one in the movie, "A Time To Kill", based on the novel of the same name by native son,  John Grisham.  The other famous writer from Oxford is Nobel Prize winner William Faulkner.  His home is now owned by the university and is a museum, just several blocks from downtown.

We had put it off long enough, so we went to Elvis' birthplace after getting back from Oxford.  There is a visitor center and gift shop along with the house he was born in and the church he attended.  We didn't pay for tickets as we could walk right up to the house, just couldn't go in, which was OK with us.
Elvis came from very humble beginnings.  A true rags to riches story.  His family moved to Memphis when he was 13.  In 1956, two years after his first recording at Sun Studios, Elvis returned to Tupelo a huge star.  He performed a homecoming concert in front of 22,000.
Again, because we aren't big Elvis fans, we didn't go to the creek where he swam, or the drive-in diner he used to eat at, or the downtown hardware store where he got his first guitar - all things on the Elvis in Tupelo suggested self tour!

Monday we kept our eye on the weather and decided we had time for the southern drive to Mississippi State University in Starkville.  It was strange seeing signs for "MSU" as we so associate those initials with Michigan State University.  The campus was nice, more modern, not quite the character of Ole Miss.
Sometimes we find our local places to eat by asking someone.  Sometimes we are walking around and just stop in, as with Proud Larry's.  And sometimes we look online, which is how we found The Little Dooey - with the Around Me app on my phone.  It was a blind pick, a few blocks from campus, but what a treat!  They had a walk-up counter to place your order (BBQ pork is the specialty) and then we had a choice of inside booths or a covered outside deck.  We chose to sit outside.  At one end was a TV replaying the Miss State/Auburn game from Saturday.  We wondered if they would be replaying it if Miss State lost!  At our end, instrumental blues music was coming out of the speakers.  This place oozed atmosphere and the food was delicious.  We bought another bottle of BBQ sauce to add to our growing collection!

The Little Dooey had a sign up that said they were closing at 2:30 due to weather.  I asked if it was because of thunderstorms and the waitress said, "No, because of possible tornadoes".    We drove back to Tupelo under sunny skies, but 1/2 hour after battening down our hatches on the RV, (bringing in our slides, putting outdoor chairs away, closing vents and lowering antenna and satellite) the storm hit.  It wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be, but a tornado went through this area last April so they take the watches and warnings very seriously.

Another sighting of odd things - A restaurant in Tupelo advertised "Asian BBQ Tacos".  They should team up with the "Catfish Chicken Chinese" place in Memphis.  And the town of West Point, Mississippi proudly proclaimed that it was a "retirement community".  We said, "What is that, and would you want to aspire to be that?"

We said goodbye to Tupelo on Tuesday and drove 4 hours east to Talladega, Alabama.  I couldn't get a picture of the "Welcome to Alabama" sign when we crossed the state line because it was raining so hard.  I thought I could get it at the Welcome Center.  The people of Alabama must not think you need a welcome if you are coming from Mississippi as there was no welcome center.  In fact, we traveled 75 miles on the interstate and never even passed a rest stop.  We know this because we would have stopped!
We passed lots of cotton fields.  Some still had cotton on the branches, some the fields were cleared.  We have seen round rolls of hay, but now we were seeing rolls of cotton the same size.

I was working on a crossword puzzle while we were driving today (or I should say Mike was driving) and one of the clues was" a six-letter word for Elvis' hometown".  Hey - I would have gotten that even without having just left Tupelo!

I never get tired of having people say "Yes, Ma'am" or "No, Ma'am" or "Can I help ya'all?" or "Thank y'all" in that southern drawl.  And they really have it in Mississippi and Alabama.

I knew we were getting close to the Talladega Speedway when I started seeing pickup after pickup on the side of the road selling firewood.  I'm not talking about a plastic wrapped bundle you get at gas stations or campgrounds.  This is wheelbarrow loads and stacks as tall as I am.

We are here, camping right outside turn 3, until Monday.  It is dry camping - no water, sewer or electric hook-ups.  But before you feel sorry for us, we run the generator for power, filled our water holding tank in Tupelo and emptied our sewer holding tank there, too.  It's not quite roughing it!  We are looking forward to having Mike's Uncle John and Aunt Leslie join us for the weekend.

This ends our sightseeing for 2014.  From here we go to Florida where we have a rental spot in Zephyrhills for the winter.  As always, we are grateful for the blessing of being able to see more of our beautiful, interesting country.  As it says in Ecclesiastes, chapter 3 - "To everything there is a season. . "
We are thankful for this season in our lives.

                                                     The home where Elvis was born

                                                                         Elvis at 13

                               There is still much damage from the April 2013 tornado in Tupelo

                                   As their tag line says: "It's not just a race. . . It's Talladega"