The traveling sisters - day 5 and 6 and 7, too

Day 5

Hattiesburg, Mississippi

Drive time:  none really

Church day.  

I have never been so glad to go to church.  And not just because the drive was only a couple of minutes away, but I will be honest, that was most of it.  One thing about the LDS church, it's the same everywhere you go, the only difference is the people.  A cute little black lady taught our Relief Society lesson.  I took notes and hope I still remember what she said when I get to teach Relief Society in September.  Notice I said "get" to, not "have" to.  I am trying to consider it a blessing and not a curse, although I'm pretty sure it is still a curse.  

After church, my sister served us some Cheeseburger Salad and homemade gluten free bread, both of which were rather tasty.  We napped and chatted and that evening she took us on the grand tour of the city of Hattiesburg.  There isn't much to see.  She taught Grammar at the University of Southern Mississippi, so she took us up to campus to see what it was all about.  

 Because she was a grammar teacher, and therefore taught the grammar police, they had to fix this "mistake" in the parking lot.  The little apostrophe reads:  "Correction courtesy of the USM Apostrophe Protection Society."   There were several times I wanted to correct her grammar for the blatant misuse of "was" and "were" and "fishes", which I teach to K-5th graders in school.  But, I kept that to myself.  ;)

 A petrified log on campus

 A train at the train depot.

 We drove through the ghetto neighborhoods, she pointed out where some of the members of her ward live, where she likes to go for walks, introduced us to one of her neighbors and showed us this massively huge plant - which I can't remember the name of.  It was crazy big.  I wonder if they grow in Idaho?  I want one.

After our little tour through town, we went back to her house, indulged on root beer floats and leftover Leatha's BBQ.  While we were eating, the missionaries came to pay a visit.  I asked them if they knew of an Elder in their mission.   They didn't know him personally, but they knew who he was.  I told them he was my next door neighbor from back home, so they immediately got on their cell phone and started texting him.  He was shocked to hear I was there and excited to hear I had moved there - little mis-communication there.  Anyway, this Elder passed along his number and told me to call him when I was in Gulfport.  I opted not to, though.  

Day 6

Biloxi, Mississippi

Drive time

90 minutes each way

This was our shortest drive all week, thank goodness.  I couldn't have taken another long one.  We drove to Gulfport and down the beach to Biloxi.  This was where Hurricane Katrina hit the hardest.  It's been long enough that the only memories that remain are the vacant lots and a few bare foundations here and there.  Most of the houses were brand new and beautiful.  We went to D'Iberville looking for a restaurant my sister had eaten at before, and it was nowhere to be found.  Instead we stopped at "Whataburger".  We have a rule when we travel, we can't go to any place we have at home and we haven't a "Whataburger".  It wasn't very good.  In fact, my sisters complained and we got free coupons to use next time we're at a Whataburger, which will probably be never.  We told my sister to give the coupons to the missionaries.

After lunch, we drove to the Jefferson Davis home.  He was the president of the confederates.  The homestead had 7 homes (if I remember correctly, my brain was pretty much mushy by this time) and all but one were completely destroyed by the hurricane.  The main house had it's roof and front porch ripped off, water a foot above the bottom of the front doors.  Some of the furniture in the house was thrown across the rooms, while other pieces, such as some mirrors on the wall, were never touched.  All the furniture had finally been restored and returned.  A couple of the outbuildings had been rebuilt.  This one is used as a guest house, I'm told you can rent it out if you are interested, probably for a small fortune.  I could have sat on the front porch and felt that cool breeze forever.  No wonders he built his house there.

The front gate was originally made of marble and it was completely destroyed in the hurricane.

We said goodbye to the Jefferson Davis house and went up the beach to the Biloxi lighthouse where we could sit on the beach for awhile.

I was tired.  And worried about getting my camera wet, so I didn't wander too far out into the ocean.  I did take a picture of my sisters all facing me, but well, it just didn't turn out well and I didn't want to offend my sister by posting it.  ;)

I was so tired I didn't even take a picture of the ocean other than this one.  

That afternoon, we drove back to Hattiesburg, stopped at "Raising Cane" for some good old southern fried chicken (strips) and more coleslaw (it is clearly a staple in these parts).  We repacked our suitcases, reminisced about the good old days and went to bed early so we could drive back to Gulfport at the crack of early.  

Day 7

Home

Flying time - one hour from Gulfport to Atlanta

2 hour layover

4 hour flight from Atlanta to SLC

3 1/2 hour drive home

I hate flying.

And I'm super glad to be home.

The traveling sisters - Day 4

Day 4

Natchez, Mississippi

Driving time:  3 hours each way

This was our longest drive, and my favorite part.  Natchez is a quaint old town along the Mississippi river.  It was the kind of town you imagined the south to be full of... southern belles.  And plantations.  

We did a three home tour.  Our first stop was "Longmore".  Just a little shack of roughly 30,000 square feet (10,000 each floor).  It was built on the side of a hill, so the "basement" was ground level in the back, but underground in the front, just like a basement.  They were only able to finish the basement before the Civil war started, and never had the money even well into the 1900's to finish any other part of the house.  Pictures weren't allowed in the basement, and we couldn't go into the upper levels, so this is the main level, or "principal floor" of the house as it sits, unfinished.  If I recall correctly, this family had somewhere around 300 slaves on their plantation.  

 The round spots in the floor were skylights into the basement.   Those boxes with panes were mirrors so it would reflect the light coming in from above.

 Yeah, I think I could live there.

 From here we went to "Magnolia Hall."  It was my least favorite of the three, and some of that was the tour guide who wasn't exactly oozing with personality.  She was from Pennsylvania, however.  Again, no pictures were allowed inside.  On one of the tours, we learned that most houses had a ladies room and a gentlemans room.  They figured the ladies room was most often on the back of the house so that people walking by the street wouldn't see an unattended lady in the window and come calling.  Made sense to me.  The house had lots of examples of dresses that young ladies wear in the local pageant... expensive and elaborate with 25 foot trains, all handmade, so expensive that some girls have to turn down the title of queen in the end because they can't afford the expenses that come along with the title.

Our tour guide recommended we eat lunch at a local place called Beaurds.  It served up Po Boys and Muffeletta, which were just okay, but it came with some darn tasty sweet potato fries.  Not my favorite meal of the trip, that was for sure, but not too bad.

"Rosalie" was my favorite home, although I'm pretty sure it was because of the southern belle that was our tour guide.  She was a sweetheart, just oozing with southern charm!  It was a stunning home with a view from the veranda that made you realize just why the confederate army took over the house during the civil war.

 We drove across the bridge into Louisiana for a few minutes, just to say we'd crossed the mighty Mississippi.  

It was a long drive home and dinner consisted of... I don't really remember, it was that memorable.  Probably toast.  We ate a lot of toast.  My sister is allergic to gluten but had bought us a loaf of regular bread so of course we had to eat it for her.  That and we were too tired to eat anything else.  

We did, however, stop on the way to Natchez and buy some BlueBell Icecream.  I'd heard how wonderful this icecream was from all my southern friends and it did not disappoint.  

The traveling sisters - Day 3

Day 3

New Orleans, Louisiana

Drive time:  2 1/2 hours each way

We got up at the butt crack of early, sent my brother and his wife home to Detroit and we jumped in the van and drove to New Orleans, a three hour drive.  I had never been there and I couldn't WAIT to see what was so intriguing and exciting about this great locale. 

Not much.

We parked in a hotel parking garage, then walked down to the Riverfront where we hopped aboard the Natchez Riverboat.  It took us on a 90 minute cruise of the riverfront, which was mostly industrial.  Most of the damage caused here was during Hurricane Katrina was water damage, which was obvious in a lot of places, but all in all, it didn't look too bad.  There were a lot of big cargo ships and tugboats on the river as well.  

We had lunch on the boat, which was 

Red beans and rice

Jambalaya

Catfish

Coleslaw

and bread pudding.

I loved it all.  

 The infamous 9th ward that was flooded quite badly in the hurricane.

 I called this one the "Mary Kay" boat...
For obvious reasons...

 After the boat tour, we walked through the French Quarter.  It looks just like it does on TV.  Lots of people, voodoo, and beautiful architecture.  Street painters, creepers wanting to read your palm, and tourists.

 The St. Louis Catholic Cathedral - what a beautiful building.  The paintings and stained glass were stunning. I could have even lit a prayer candle for the low low price of just $3.  No thanks.

 Mules giving tours of the city via carriage were everywhere.

 We hit the flea market so I could bring home a few souvenirs for the kidlets.   There were signs everywhere telling us not to take pictures, or pay a dollar for a picture.  I don't think we were violating anything here, though.

 Of course a trip to New Orleans wouldn't be complete without a walk down Bourbon Street.  Yeah, BTDT, and I don't care to do it again.  I might appreciate it more if I was a drinker or was into loud music.  Alas, I am not.  A couple of blocks and I was ready to get back to the more quiet side of the French Quarter.

Another requirement is a Beignet from Cafe Du Monde.  Delicious!

 All the streets were the same, it seemed.  Very few looked different from any other.  This part of town wasn't flooded during the hurricane.

 After we left the French Quarter, we drove to the Garden District to the Lafayette cemetery.  I have this phobia of dead bodies, can't hardly make myself go to a funeral, but there is just something about a really neat looking cemetery.  I so wanted to see one when I was down there.  Unfortunately, it was closed, but we could stand at the gate and peer in.  It was kind of creepy, but fascinating.  My sister told us the bodies are placed in the crypts one at a time, always at least a year and a day apart.

We drove back to Hattiesburg, picked up my sisters husband and went to Leatha's BBQ for dinner.  My oh my, now this was the place to go and eat.  The food, the atmosphere, the service.  True southern eating, folks.  The only problem was that Bonnie, Leatha's daughter, who served us, refused to share her secret potato salad recipe.  Come on, baby, I won't tell nobody.  Nope.

All in all, the trip to New Orleans was a once in a lifetime experience, meaning, I've been there done that, don't really care to go again.  But it's a place you have to see at least once to know that.  The riverboat ride, though, I would definitely do again.

The traveling sisters - day 1 & 2

My oldest sister is adventurous.   She's in her late 50's and a couple of years ago, decided to go back to school and get her doctorate degree (something to do with journalism) at Southern Mississippi State University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. 

She has now finished school, is working on her dissertation, and applying for jobs teaching on a college level.  With any luck, she will be moving soon.  My sisters and I decided that before she left, we needed to pay her a visit. 

This is the account of that visit.   

Day one

Travel day.  We flew out of Salt Lake City to Atlanta, Georgia, and then hopped another plane to Gulfport, Mississippi which is about 90 minutes from where she lives.  We got there pretty late, just in time to go to bed.

Day two.

Mobile Alabama

Drive Time

Around two hours each way.

My oldest brother, Boyd, and his wife Nancy (who live in Detroit) were visiting my sister as well for a couple of days.  While he was there, we hopped in her mini-van and drove to Mobile, Alabama, about 2 hours away.  My dad's youngest brother lives a couple of hours away from there and agreed to meet us at the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Park.  Uncle Ray served in Vietnam, flew a helicopter and spent his career training our military to fly them.   He doesn't get to Idaho often, so I hadn't seen him in about 20 years.   He was a GREAT tour guide and told us all kinds of stories from his military days, including the time his buddy's mother was moving so they borrowed a helicopter and moved her.  His response when we asked him if he got in trouble, he said, "What were they going to do?  Send me back to Vietnam?" 

The battleship was HUGE and HOT.  

The submarine was SMALL and HOT.

I gained a lot of respect for our military who lived, fought, and died on these vessels.

 Mississippi is very green and lush.  The highways are lined with trees so thick you can't see past the first few feet, even down the middle of the highways (this is the closest I came to taking a picture of it... driving made me SO tired).  We'd drive along and see nothing but driveways and small roads for miles and then out of nowhere would be a dollar store.  Every time I stepped out of the car, I was taken back by the humidity.  Every time.

 The humidity wasn't actually too bad in Mobile, nor was the heat, but that's probably because it was blowing so hard.  Reminded me of home.

Uncle Ray wanted to take us to lunch, but he ran out of time and had to head back home, so we went without him - to the place he wanted to take us.  Lunch was at a most fabulous seafood restaurant next to the Memorial called "Felix's".   I had the crab cakes with fried green tomatoes, hush puppies, and crab soup (thanks dad - he paid for our meal, even though he wasn't there).  My second favorite meal of the whole trip.  So yummy!

 After lunch, we drove to the Bellingrath Gardens in Theodore, Alabama.  It had the most beautiful lush gardens, elegant water features, and flowers I never knew existed.  We were hoping to see an alligator in the swamp, but the best we could do was a turtle, darn it.  If it wasn't for the 700 mosquito bites, I think I could have moved right in.

We arrived back in Hattiesburg just in time to go to bed.  Right after a quick trip to the local Walmart... this is one southern delicacy I will not be tasting, thankyouverymuch.

Click here to see all the photos from our grand adventure...