Alabama and Mississippi Trip, Part 2

The Bridges at Vicksburg

And now onto the second half of our trip...

Next up was Vicksburg.  Going into it, I was so excited to see Vicksburg.  It has a National Military Park, the two beautiful bridges, and signs that help you navigate a driving tour through the city.  Now, before I go into my disappointment, let me just say, Vicksburg was a beautiful city!  I am so glad we went there.  But, if planning a visit, here is what you should know.  The driving tour signs are spaced too far apart, which makes it difficult navigating (using their route) through the city.  We spent 2 hours driving through the Military Park, and it is beautiful.  We almost got tickled, though, after seeing sign after sign after sign for the Union.  I swear on a stack of Bibles, I only saw three markers for the Confederates through the entire park…and those were as we were driving into Vicksburg from the Park (Also, please note, there was no real exit…you kind of just drove into Vicksburg).  This led my mama to decide that she knew how the Confederates had lost the war.  To hear her tell it, the great battle of Vicksburg had been between thousands and thousands of soldiers in the Union Army.  Only a handful of Johnny Rebs showed up to the battle, because the rest were in Vicksburg in the tavern.  To anyone slightly offended by that, I can only say that you just would have to know my mama and her sass.   Also, the very best place to take pictures of the bridges is at the hill adjacent to the Welcome Center.

Rowan Oak

We left Vicksburg and headed to Oxford.  To be perfectly honest here, this was the moment I had been waiting for, for YEARS.  This was the town I had been so desperate to see.  Why, you ask?  No…it is not because I am a die-hard Ole Miss fan.  It is because I am a literary nerd down to my core, and I had been itching to see Rowan Oak, William Faulkner’s home, for years.  Not to mention, in my studies/planning of this trip, I had also found that there was a wonderful, independently-owned bookstore, Square Books.  Let me set the scene…Oxford, at Christmas, is everything that you could imagine a Southern city looking like.  The streets were aglow with Christmas lights and decorations.  There were streets where the trees formed canopies overhead.  It was beautiful to behold.   I don’t think I’ve ever been so in love with a Southern city at Christmastime.  “The Square” was exquisite.  All of the hustle and bustle and little shops…I loved it. 

We toured Rowan Oak, and y’all the property did not disappoint.  There was even writing on the walls in Faulkner’s study.  I felt as if I was walking through history, as if the property had been frozen in time.  Later, we went to Square Books…and let me tell y’all, I could have contently stayed there for hours and hours.  It purely made my heart race to see so many autographed copies.  I could have spent a fortune.  Along with Square Books, there is a Square Books Jr. which has children’s books, and Off the Square Books, which has a nice selection of used books.  We ate at Old Venice Pizza, which was excellent.  Their Buffalo Pizza was to die for.  On our way out of town, we visited William Faulkner’s graveside.  To say that I loved this town would be putting it mildly.

As a true Southern girl, I have a deep respect for The King.  “The King” being Elvis Presley, of course.  We had to make a pitstop through Tupelo, his birthplace.  Now, I hope to not sound chinchy here, but, I believe it was like $8/each for us to just tour his home.  And Lord help, don’t try to snap a picture of the front of the house without getting that $8 ticket.  They’ll about run you off, color me embarrassed. 

Here’s why I’m saying the $8 was truly not worth it, in my opinion…it’s a two-room house.  There is literally a bedroom and a kitchen.  And while this might strike a chord of nostalgia for women of a certain age, I was left feeling as if I could have spent that $8 a little better. 

 I will say, one cool thing to note while driving through Tupelo was the guitars alongside the road, all painted differently.  That was so neat to me.

Also, the park by City Hall, where there was a massive Christmas tree, a fountain, and a statue of Elvis, was worth a stop.   My mom and sister got downright tickled watching the fountain as I was snapping my pictures. 

Our final Mississippi stop was in Columbus.  Columbus would not be on the list for just everyone to visit.  In studying up on Mississippi, I found out a cool little fact, though.  Columbus, Mississippi…Friendship Cemetery, in fact, was where Memorial Day first started.  After the Civil War, some of the women of the town went out and put flowers on the graves of both the Confederate and Union soldiers.  This tradition then spiraled into Memorial Day, a day to honor all servicemen and women who had given the ultimate sacrifice. 

A lump formed in my throat as I walked through the rows and rows of gravestones marked “Unknown Confederate Soldier.”  (The Union Soldiers were moved to Shiloh). 

I kept thinking about the mothers and fathers and wives and brothers and sisters of those men lost, never knowing where their sons were or what fate had befallen them.  This was only a short stop, but well worth the visit.

The last stop on our trip was Dothan, Alabama.  We have stopped at Dothan several times on different trips, and it’s one of our favorite places.  While we love to shop there, there was a special reason for our visit.  My sister graduated with her RN the day before we left on vacation.  She will soon begin her classes for her BSN, but she is striving for even more.  One day, she hopes to attend at the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine.  We stopped by and saw the school.  It is a beautiful campus, and I could not be more proud of her.

We had a wonderful, whirlwind trip…and we came back to Watsonville with more culture and knowledge than we had left with.