Blogs from Mississippi, United States, North America - page 12

So it’s up early, farewell to downtown Memphis and off to the Hertz office to pick up our car. I was slightly bracing myself for a bit of a heated discussion as we’d booked through an internet site as it was so cheap and most importantly we didn’t get charged a ‘one way’ fee for picking up in Memphis and dropping off in Nashville which seemed unusual but there it was in black and white on the paperwork ‘no one way fee for this rental’. Can’t say it plainer than that. But I was still half expecting a bit of a kerfuffle about it. However, good old Hertz were as good as gold and we even got a bigger car than we’d booked so the other worry about the size of our cases fitting in the ... read more

Some very nice time in the Great Smoky Mountains meant that we needed a decent drive to make Charleston that night. As a drive it doesn't really rate against many we have done previously but we did leave ourselves with a trip of a little over 350 miles late in the day. The rain that turned up after we came through the mountains into North Carolina developed into a substantial downpour as we moved south. We decided to stay on the inter-States. Less interesting but, with the weather as it was and darkness upon us for a lot of the trip, it really didn't matter. There may be more of these sorts of trips over the next month as the need to set priorities and keep more closely to a timetable hots up. Just a month ... read more

Day 2 of our trip down to Louisiana and no music today - but lots of history. Driving through more farming country we saw lots of mainly uninhabited sharecroppers’ shacks. Sharecroppers were really only one step up from slavery and life was tough. Mechanisation eventually took the place of manual labour and I guess people migrated to the cities to find work. We also saw some places where original sharecropper shacks have been updated slightly (air-conditioning installed etc) and people are flocking to rent them for a holiday. One place near Clarksdale called the Shackup Inn holds regular Blues festivals there so it’s very lively but others are in the middle of nowhere and have nothing to do but relax or fish. First stop today, Vicksburg which has lots of Civil War history. The old court ... read more

5 of the Sullivan siblings got together yesterday but this morning Robert arrived at Gwen & Larry's house, so all 6 managed to be in the same room at the same time. Many photos were taken to mark this significant (if somewhat formidable!) gathering, and there was a great deal of laughter to be heard. All except Darlene headed up to Raleigh, Mississippi (a 3-hour drive) in separate cars for an equally amazing gathering of descendants of the previous generation of the Sullivan clan, i.e. Pat's father and his 6 siblings. The event was hosted by Eileen, a local cousin of Pat's. A total of 58 people attended, including 16 out of the 22 living first cousins - an amazing turnout. We stayed overnight at cousin Susan & Bruce's house 9 miles from Raleigh, where they ... read more

Picked up the car at the Marriott and left Memphis around midday. In our trusty Nissan we left Tennessee on Highway 61 and went on through the green cottonfields of mississippi! We stopped over for lunch in Helena , Arkansas - a short hop across the Big Muddy. Had a great cajun lunch: blackened catfish and seafood gumbo. Then to Delta Blues museum with all the history of residents Robert Johnson and Sonnyboy Williamson. Crossed back into MS and 'revisited' Highway 61! half an hour later we reached Clarksdale and the famous crosroads of 61 and 49 where Robert Johnson got down on his knees and sold his soul to the devil. Powered on to Jackson and after enduring a massive traffic jam, came to see that although Jackson has a beautiful downtown, on a Friday ... read more