Headin' North on the Trace

Make tracks north - going through the State Capital, so we need to see something.

We picked the Old State Capital Museum. Got there with an hour and a half before closing, so we rolled through. Neat old building with lots of history. Admission - FREE!

Canton's not far off the Trace, so we took a detour to see the little town that Hollywood likes for it's classic town square. Films shot here include "My Dog Skip" (classic dog movie, but some kind of tear jerker, if you're a dog person), "A Time to Kill", and "O Brother, Where Art Thou".

Finally we hit the swamp trail along the Trace. This was one of the trails I had been looking forward to. Wife, not so much. Gators and snakes behind every tree you know. Worth a walk.

Time to put the steel steed to bed and Kosciusko looked like a good place. Kosciusko's claim to fame I suppose is Oprah (grew up here). Kosciusko was a bit of a surprise. Nice little square (like Canton) with shops, etc. We picked the Maple Terrace Inn B&B.

Like in Natchez, we had the whole place to ourselves. Great house built in 1912 (?). One of those you could picture yourself living in in small town America. Screened in porch with swing. What more do you need?

Breakfast was a little non-standard, but nice. Go a couple of blocks to the Rib Alley Restaurant, pick your food and enjoy.

Nice breakfast to keep my aortic plaque buildup going.

On the Natchez Trace

On the Trace (almost) - Night 1 supper was Fat Mamma's Tamales in Natchez. We're this close to Louisiana and they tend to do tamales in LA so we might as well have some. Half dozen 'bout $6.

Now we're hitting the road: Natchez Trace MILE ZERO! 442 to go! Animals and people WAY back in the day traveled the Trace. Read about it at http://www.nps.gov/natr/index.htm.

Here's a shot of the Old Trace. Wagons, etc wore down the ruts.

No trucks.

No mailboxes.

No fences.

Little traffic.

50 mph.

1 gas station (closed).

Historical/information markers/pull-offs/trails every other mile (seemed like).

Flocks of turkeys. Flocks. With an s.

You really wonder where you are. No cell phone coverage for me until North Mississippi. Perfect.

Well, we were a good 60 miles outside of Natchez and had stopped at roughly 325 historical/informational markers and the 'ol stomach started rumbling, so we needed chow. Hey, why not the Old Country Store in Lorman, MS? Looks like our kind of place...

Built in 1875. Buffet $9.95. Old hardware store I reckon. GOOD-COOKIN'. Fried chicken done right. Collard greens were unreal. Seriously, I couldn't stop talking about them. Some kind of mac/cheese/something that was great. Proper sweet tea.

The owner came out and sang "My Grandma was a Cornbread Cookin' Queen" right in the middle of eating. I was as happy as a boll weevil in cotton right about then.

Feast your eyes on this feed:

If you're within 50 miles of this place, you have got to go.

Next stop: Jackson.

Natchez Trace Road Trip Night 1

The Briars Bed & Breakfast, Natchez, MS. $99. For a little more than a Holiday Inn Express, we were sitting on the highest bluff between the mouth of the Mississippi and St. Louis. Watching the barges make the slow trip up and down the river. It was a weekday and we had the WHOLE HOUSE to ourselves. Oh yeah, Jefferson Davis' 2nd wife grew up here. Built in 1814. He married her in the parlor in 1845. Grab a book, sit in the parlor and read his letters. Sit on the porch, listen to the cicada. Walk to the overlook and watch the river go by.

Sit by the frog pond and listen to 'em croaking. Natchez under the Hill is a couple hundred yards away.

Breakfast (it is a bed and Breakfast) overlooked the river. Henry served grits, orange juice, coffee, muscadine jelly, biscuits, grilled apricots, fig muffins, and sausage/egg casserole. I was concerned about it's ownership by a casino, but I never would have known it.

Great overnight stay!

http://www.thebriarsinn.com/

Lead in to Natchez Trace Road Trip '09

Thus begins THE BLOG:

Road Trip '09: Drive the Natchez Trace from Natchez, MS till it ends just South of Nashville, TN. I've been on parts, but never drove the whole thing in one shot. Figured after the first 30 miles of pine trees, I'd be screaming to get off, but the exact opposite occurred. When we got off the Trace, we were ready to get back on. As the end came close, we didn't want it to end.

First night in Natchez was planned, but after that it we were winging it and it worked out well. We had all day to get nowhere in particular. Rules of engagement allowed no major chain restaurants. We went 3rd week in September and there was no one along the whole route. We had the waterfalls all to ourselves. Another 3 weeks, and I think the tree colors would be beginning to look good. Sometimes I'll take green trees with no people.

Enroute to the Trace Meals:

Ebro Cafe - Ebro, FL. Location - Dont' worry, if you're in Ebro, you'll see it. Figured we'd go ahead and get a good coating on the aorta so it wouldn't be in shock when we hit the Trace, so we dove right in. A classic meat and 3 for lunch at a price of $5.95. I went with fried mullet. Not everybody does good mullet, but they do. Pork chops, etc., all nicely fried. Good veggies stewed in appropriate amounts of meat. They have wildlife managment area maps on the wall and fish mounted on the wall, so it's my kind of place.

Next stop enroute to the Trace was the Southern Fried Rabbit in Columbia, MS. Wow, what a find. This set the bar high for the rest of the trip. (Columbia is also home to Pioneer Aerospace, maker of most of the parachutes for the military and NASA. If you ask nicely, they might give you a tour.)

3 picnic tables provides your choice of seating outside. And it's not just a cutsie name. THEY

HAVE RABBIT! Beautiful rabbit. I naturally went for the rabbit plate. Great rabbit. Wife went for the Chili-cheese burger (top 5 ever - her rating). Feast your eyes...

Other options include frog legs, rabbit with gravy po-boy, and bbq rabbit po-boy. See if that's on the menu at your chain restaurant.

I couldn't be much happier at this point. My dilemma was how could I top this on the Trace.

Read on (as soon as I write it)...