Rain, Rain, Rain!

Yes, I rained on us most of the way from Vicksburg to Shreveport yesterday and ever since.

Crossing the Mississippi River.

 

 

We pulled into the Elks Club at 12:45 in the rain and decided that the RV spots were not usable because of the soft ground. We got permission to park in the parking lot. Budd parked as close to the power and water as possible and I parked out side of him.

We partook of the clubs hospitality before dinner.

It rained all night long and this morning we decided to stay put for the day as the roads would be a mess and we did not need to be out there. In the meantime another RV came in parked in front of us. This morning we got him power and also us power by using all of the extension cords we had.

Rear window view.

 

 Side window view.

We bought groceries and fuel and that was about it for the day.

We again went into the club this evening for Happy Hour.

 

Clyda playing slots (legal in Louisiana).

Clyda made soup for dinner which went well with the cool, damp weather.

And it is still raining.

Too pass the time we played Mexican Train and planned the remainder of our trip west.

Vicksburg, MS.

Vicksburg, MS, site of the last major Civil War battle to gain control of the Mississippi River, a vital link for the Union Army.

Today we toured the Vicksburg National Military Park which surrounds the city of Vicksburg on the east. We started with a 20 minute movie about the battle and continued with a 16 mile driving tour of the battlefield. There are numerous monuments and signs along the way to explain what elements of each army occupied the site during the battle.

Driving along the Union Road, puts you among all the Union forces while on the Confederate Road puts you in the Confederate trenches.

Entrance arch to the driving tour.

 

 

General Grant had his headquarters near the lines but behind a small hill. His opponent, General Pemberton occupied the high ground of Vicksburg.

Statue of Grant near his headquarters.

Grant couldn't defeat Pemberton by an all out attack so began a siege by surrounding the city and cutting off it's supplies. The siege lasted 47 days before Pemberton surrendered.

To understand history, you need to live it. Touring this battlefield comes as close to living it as we can get.

Attached to the park is a National Cemetery which has over 17,000 graves. This is the largest National Cemetery in the U.S.

As part of the park, a museum with the remains of the Ironclad Cairo are displayed. This ship was sunk during the battle and raised 102 years later and restored. It is displayed under a white canvas tent like structure. Visitors can walk aboard and view the partially reconstructed vessel. Nearby in the museum are other artifacts on display which were raised with the ship.

 

We ate lunch at the one place recommended by everyone in town, Rusty's Bar and Grill. It was worth the 30 minute wait. Brenda had fried green tomatoes with a crab infused hollandaise sauce over them. Clyda had deep fried pickles. Ed had a shrimp Po'boy sandwich while Budd had an oyster Po'boy. All very good. No dinner tonight.

 

We toured the Coka Cola museum where Coke was first made for sale to soda fountains.

We ended our tour with a stop on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River and watched the barges going down river.

 

Too darn cold to be camping!

Wednesday late afternoon the temperature was 80 degrees in Laurel, MS where we camped for the night. It was hot and muggy until late at night when the temp dropped into the 30's. Thursday morning it was cold and rainy when we left for Brookhaven, MS with the temp hovering just above freezing.

It was a calculated chance we were taking that the rain wouldn't turn to sleet while we drove. With one eye on the weather and one on the thermometer we drove the 90 miles to Lincoln Civic Center RV Park which is an equestrian park in Brookhaven.

Many of the sites were taken but several in the center were available. We hastily parked and leveled and got inside as the sleet came down. Shortly, everything was covered in ice. The temp was 29 degrees when we arrived. It dropped to 23 overnight.

Ice on the trucks.

 

 Ice on the slides.

Icicles on the RV.

 Think they will survive?

We were very lucky to get off the road when we did as it got very nasty later.

Today we drove 85 miles to Vicksburg, MS. It was a pleasant drive but the wind was biting. Temps are supposed to creep up in the next few days.

Who knew?

Who knew that Alabama had hills. Lots of hills. We drove all day in hill country which plays havoc on the fuel mileage.

Lots of log trucks on the road so one must be aware at all times. All the pine logs are used in the paper mills. Logging trucks just love to come up behind us when I am struggling up a hill at 45 mph.

Another long day of 241 miles. Tonight we are in Laurel, MS.

Clyda took photos of road signs today. This is but a small sample. Easy to get lost or make a wrong turn. Try to pick out your sign at highway speeds.

 

 Lunch stop at the back of a Love's parking lot.

Moving on.

We hated to leave Laura Walker St Park this morning as it was so peaceful and quiet with not a ripple on the lake waters. But, leave we must.

We drove about 220 miles today to Dothan, AL.

It has a ring road going completely around the city which is nice as you can bypass the inner city. There are stop lights on the ring road.

We are camped south of town about 3 miles.

We planned the rest of our trip west today. Weather permitting of course.

Another day of over 200 miles tomorrow.

Westward Ho!

Yes, we are on our way west today, only not very far west yet. It is 1034 miles to Dallas by the route we chose and we will take it in stages. If all goes well we should be in Greenville, TX on Sunday.

We drove through fog this morning until about 10:30 AM. We are traveling secondary roads from Savannah to Waycross, GA. Waycross is where some of my lost relatives lived. We are looking for their headstones in the local cemetery.

A lot of what our scenery was today.

Moss covered oak tree.

Our stop for the day was at Laura S Walker St Park. What a jewel! Not a lot of campsites but oh so nice. We are parked on the lake front with the lake at our back.

There be alligators here.

The weather has improved also. Temps in the low 70's today.

After lunch we drove to Okefenokee Swamp. The first thing we saw was a black alligator sunning itself. A short distance away was this big fellow whose weight is estimated to be 1000 lbs. His daddy weighed 1400 lbs.

Clyda pointing to big alligator.

From the swamp we drove into Waycross, found the cemetery but couldn't find the plot as some of the markers were missing. We eventually went back to the maintenance office and asked for help. The guy asked me what names I was looking for and I told him. He said “follow me” and jumped in his truck. We followed and he drove to a plot some distance from where we were looking, got out and there were the headstones I was looking for. I asked him how he knew where to look and he said “31 years of experience”.

Anyway, I took photos of the 5 headstones. I was only expecting 4 but I did recognize who the 5^th one was so that was a bonus. A great day!

We drove around town as Waycross was a railroad cross point and repair yards in bygone days. I did look for 2 houses my relatives lived in but both have been replaced with other buildings. Some of my relatives worked in the repair yards on Pullman Cars. You gotta love railroads to live here as trains come from all directions and whistle are sounding all the time.

Train depot.

 

 

To clear up something I was asked about. Spanish moss is neither Spanish nor moss. It is an air plant that survives on moisture in the air and is related to pineapple. It also harbors a mean little bug which causes itching and a rash. Early settlers stuffed their mattress' with this moss from which came the rhyme "sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite". Henry Ford used the moss as stuffing in his early Model "T's". Hence the saying "Just itchin to buy a Ford". You're trivia for the day.

 

A tour of downtown Savannah.

At 9:15 AM this morning a trolly picked us up at the campground and drove us in to Savannah where we purchased tickets for the Hop-on-Hop-off trolly tour of downtown. The full round trip tour is about 90 minutes.

About the time we got on the trolly it started to rain, not hard but rainy. Also, it was cold. Temps in the low 40's. Of course the trolly has roll up plastic windows which were down because of the rain and the immediately fogged up so we could barely see out. We got some photos but not many.

We hopped off the trolly and went to Lady and Sons restaurant for lunch. Lady and Sons is Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah.

The restaurant is a 3 story old brick building with seating on floors one and three and the second floor is the kitchen. We ate on the third floor which is accessible by elevator. They can seat a lot of people and they move them through very efficiently. Service is very good.

Paula Deen's Restaurant.

The store is to the left of the canopy.

Today being Sunday they only serve a buffet lunch. We had about a 20 minute wait which wasn't bad without reservations. The waiting area is Paula's store of course, Can't forget the marketing.

The main item of course was fried chicken. And it was good. As was everything else. There was baked chicken, rice, pulled pork dried cat fish, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, black eyed peas, lima beans with ham, collard greens with ham, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and a salad bar. When we got back to the table there was a small plate at each place with a 4 inch hoe cake and a biscuit on it.

Desert was a choice of peach cobbler, banana cream, and a gooey chocolate bar. Out standing!

We waddled out of the restaurant.

From the restaurant we walked to River Street which is one level down from the main part of town and along the Savannah River. The streets down to it were all cobble stone and slippery with the rain so we did find an elevator. We walked to the Peanut shop where every kind of peanut was available to sample. Unfortunately, after that lunch, nothing even looked good.

Cobble stone street going down to the river.

River Street.

We caught the trolly back to the visitor center, watched a movie on savannah history, and then rode the trolly back to the RV Park.

A may not have been a perfect day for site seeing but we did enjoy it.