May 11 – “Touring grass”

We did the big tour of Natchez, Mississippi yesterday.  It started out with our walk over to Fort Rosalie.  It was just a block or two from our hotel.  Generally speaking, forts are fun.  Embankments and cannons and walls and armories.  But not this one.  Fort Rosalie was … a big empty lot with some picnic tables.  That’s it.  Several sets of steps that led to grass.  Ho hum.  So we went next door to the lot and snuck into the back yard of the Rosalie Mansion.  It was also a big empty lot, but it had a great view of the Mississippi River.  We took one of our now-famous selfies there.  Oh, and no, we didn’t take the tour of the mansion.  Ten bucks each better spent elsewhere.

 

We did some driving around town as well.  One place we stopped at had been one of the largest slave dealing spots in the U.S.  Now it is … an empty lot.  At least this one had some placards detailing the history.  Oh, and on our drive through town we also saw THE TRUE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST.  I was really glad to know there is one in Mississippi.

 

The mansion we did want to tour was called the Melrose.  It was on the National Parks registry, so that meant a stamp for the book.  The house was built back in the early 1800’s by a rich lawyer from Pennsylvania.  It had lots of opulence and show-off grandeur (Those are the Ranger’s takes on it, not mine).  Pretty much all of the interior furnishings were original, having been sold along with the property at each transaction through the years.  My favorite was the dining room.  It had a huge paddle hanging from the ceiling over the table.  The paddle was connected to a rope.  The rope was pulled on by a slave called … an Oompa Loompa (well, it sounded like that).  The word means “fan boy.”  As the Oompa Loompa pulled on the rope, the paddle moved back and forth, cooling off the room. 

 

Next was the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians.  That one was a massive …  empty lot.  It was punctuated by four mounds of grass-covered dirt that used to be meeting houses of the Natchez Indians.  We were feeling frisky, so we took the nature hike they advertised.  It was supposed to be one mile.  We walked one mile through the woods and it led to … well, what else?  A huge vacant lot.  Well, OK.  A field, then.  But a field of nothing.  I mean, there was no further signage as to where the trail continued.  It was a trap!  We searched diligently for any sign of other trapped humans, or maybe of the aliens behind the subterfuge.  No luck anywhere.  Luckily, we were able to find the trail we came in on.  We re-traced our steps and made our way back to the car.  It was time to get out of Mississippi.

 

We headed west into Louisiana.  That didn’t take long.  Louisiana was just across the bridge that spans the Mississippi River.  Once across we continued west and then south toward Texas.  Oh, we stopped at a Dairy Queen.  Always a trip highlight.  Ice cream cone for Chris.  Chocolate chip blizzard for me.  Back on the road.

 

After a stop for lunch at a Whataburger in Orange (Welcome back to Texas!), we were stopped again, this time by a traffic jam.  Two fire engines and an ambulance plus an array of police were redirecting traffic around a pretty horrendous wreck.  One car had its entire top sheared off by something.  Perhaps the 18-wheeler stopped in front of it?  Definitely some prayer needed for the families involved there. 

 

We completed the six-hour journey from Mississippi to Galveston around 7:30 last night.  Good to be home in our own bed.  Now to replenish our pantry …

 

Matthew 6:19 says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.”

 

Father, thank you for our safe journey.  And thank you for our neighborly greeting from the Gerans when we got back and the face-licks from Freddy.  Amen.