Grin 'n' Bare It

Our excursion starts where the Delta begins: Vicksburg

Kay Grafe

"There’s our house up yonder! And look how the grass has grown. Thank you, Lord, for a safe trip."
    Folks in Mississippi like to travel—and the proof is in the puddin’. My readers write by Postal Deliveries and Email Rocket Express; that keeps me clued in to their druthers.
    I’m downright happy to receive suggestions, dear readers, regarding your favorite topics. Travel and pets are in the top five. Therefore, madams and sirs, I aim to please. As you know, my stories come straight from the horse’s mouth, and I’m the horse!
    Last summer I wrote that high fuel prices influenced Pops and me to stay fairly close to home. We parked the motor home in our favorite RV campground in Tupelo. Our youngest daughter’s family has a home in Saltillo, only eight miles away. We hung out with them, inspected our granddaughter Lealand’s college, UNA, and went to the Shiloh National Military Park and the Amish community in Ethridge, just across the line in Tennessee.
    We’re intensely partial to Mississippi’s precious gems scattered throughout our state. So this year we chose Vicksburg, Greenwood and Indianola. It had only been 40 years since our last visit to the Vicksburg National Military Park. Mr. Roy is a Civil War buff and has read tons of books on that period of history. So when he began planning our trip, he reread Winston Groom’s book, “Vicksburg, 1863.”
    He tutored me on the battle strategies as we drove. Even though I taught high school American history six years (speech therapy for the last 22), his tutoring prepared me for battle; it made the tour more enjoyable. The Military Park has more monuments and works of art than any battlefield in the country. More than 1,300 monuments pay tribute to the brave soldiers, both Confederate and Union, who fought there.
    If you go, my suggestion is to arrange for a guide at the park’s Visitors Center. He’ll drive your car or either ride with you for three hours and explain the battle sites, plus drive you around town. We had an awesome experience and the cost was very reasonable.
    Mr. Roy and I completed a perfect day by toddling (Australian for “walking”) through the Old Court House Museum, the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum and the old downtown area.
    The next day we rolled off toward the Delta and Greenwood. What a treat! Much better than we had hoped. Greenwood is the home of the famous Alluvian Hotel and Spa, and Viking Corp. (cookware, kitchen appliances and cooking school). Many of the scenes of the recent hit movie “The Help” were filmed in Greenwood, so I took that tour while Mr. Roy toured a large catfish farm. Both are a must-see.
     Another highlight of our trip was visiting Indianola, just a few miles from Greenwood, and the new B.B. King Museum. The facility includes an old cotton warehouse that was renovated. If you are a blues fan as I am, you would agree this is a great museum and a fine tribute to this Mississippi legend. We purchased B.B.’s “Greatest Hits Album” and also Robert Johnson’s “King of the Delta Blues Singers.” Johnson played authentic Delta Blues in the 1930s. 
    Back home in Lucedale I’m in the kitchen frying okra and squash, cooking fresh corn that I cut off the cob, cooking green butterbeans and tomato pie, and chopping green onions for a cucumber salad—while buttering cornbread and slicing watermelon for dessert. No meat needed. Sweet tea is optional. Aren’t you glad we live in rural Mississippi? If you’re coming for supper let me know, ‘cause it’s almost ready.
    Traveling is like Sweet ‘n’ Low, but home is bona fide sugar.

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