Levee time

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We had a fun chill-out day at our campsite in Vidalia. We unstrapped the bikes from the trailer and took a nice ride along the concrete path atop the lower levee by the campground. It is mind boggling to think of the volume of water that can pass by here on the Mississippi. I would guess that the first levee was between 30 and 40 feet above the water level as it is now. Behind the campground there is another one that is almost the same height again. Even with all that, that there still can be flooding there is amazing.

After that we unhitched from the trailer and took a ride back over to Natchez. We parked on a side street and just started to wander around. We chanced upon the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture. We were about the only folks there, so we got a personal tour, and it was great, we enjoyed it very much. Afterwords, we went searching for a brew pub for a libation, and perhaps a little snack. We asked a guy on the street if he knew where we could find one, and were told (to our not very great surprise) that brew pubs were not allowed in Mississippi -- such is the bible belt. He did suggest though, that we go down Silver St to the "Under the Hill" section, near the river. Apparently, this used to be the wild and woolly part of town, with all sorts of low-down shenanigans on offer. We headed over that way along a beautiful walkway high above the river. There are some wonderful antebellum homes there as well. Those houses are always marvelous to see, at least if you don't dwell on where the money came from to pay for them. Once we got down the hill, we found a bar called "The Camp" with some nice hefewizen on tap, and some killer Natchez Nachos. Corn chips, salsa, cheese, sour cream, PULLED PORK (brilliant!), and jalapenos on the side. We both thought they might be the best we've ever had, but to be certain, we had to have a second order. The guy's recommendation was spot on, the food was great, as was the beer, but I was a bit disappointed to see no sign of any type of low-down shenanigans at all.

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