Blogs from Mississippi, United States, North America - page 26

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After a few days visiting family in Atlanta, Georgia, Alan and I head to Memphis, Tennessee, by way of Vicksburg, Mississippi. No, it is not on the way. But, the chance to see something new while driving on country back roads is an irresistible lure, especially to Alan. So, we make our way across Georgia and Alabama mostly on secondary roads. After crossing into Mississippi, the real adventure begins when we pick up the Natchez Trace at Mathison, Mississippi. The Trace is a combination road and national park. The long, green corridor winds through Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi following a route first used by Native Americans and, later, by the early settlers. Once on the Trace, we stop at a pullout to read an historical marker. Off to the left is the “Old Trace,” a footpath ... read more
The Old Natchez Trace
Our room at the Baer House Bed and Breakfast
A sign points the way


Thursday Word of the Day: FINISHED!!!!! We are finished with our brick patio!! No minute today was wasted as we raced to finish the patio before the end of our final work day. The morning was a little chilly, but we got to work as soon as we arrived. There were bricks to be laid, bricks to be found and cleaned, and a flower bed to be built. At the far edge of our patio, we used landscaping timber to create a flower bed, so eventually flower and shrubs could be planted to block the view of the parking lot beyond. Zan and Susan became master brick layers while they worked diligently to finish the brick laying and Kelly learned how to run a tamper. Morgan and Asel worked inside the house cleaning windows. We took ... read more
On the Patio
The House we Worked On
Susan


Wednesday March 19th Word of the Day: Precipitation!!! Yes… Precipitation, not snow like we hear home got this week but good old rain. Because of the rain we decided to wait to head out to our job site until after it stopped raining. So after breakfast at 6:00 a.m. we had about an hour and a half of free time. What better to do with free time but sleep! Morgan and Matt helped out in the kitchen cleaning up from breakfast while the rest of us took a nap. We arrive at our work site about 9:00 a.m. ready for work, but unfortunately the rain wasn’t ready to stop. It started raining soon after we got back to work cleaning out the brick pile. While Scott ran to go order some wood to finish the end ... read more
Ho-o-heave-ho
Morgan and Asel
Down the hatch


Day 1: Monday : Word of the Day: Dirt Our first workday started when the lights in our sleeping rooms came on at 6:00 am. After the initial shock of the early hour, we went to breakfast (Biscuits and Gravy plus scrambled eggs) and got prepared for our day. We then drove to our worksite in Biloxi. The quickest way to get from Ocean Springs to Biloxi is across a bridge that was rebuilt after the hurricane. The bridge has a great view that we have yet to become tired of. The house we are working at is just a few blocks from the main coast and the casinos in Biloxi. After a brief tour of the building, we got our assignments and started working. One group consisting of Morgan, Scott, Kelly, Susan and some AmeriCorps ... read more
The brick mining crew
Cleaning Bricks
The Martins

North America » United States » Mississippi March 17th 2008

Once again we pay homage to the annual St Paddy's Day/Mardi Gras parade in downtown Jackson, MS... read more
View of the parade from a tree
Parade route on State St.
Erin Go Bragh flag at the loft

North America » United States » Mississippi » Waveland March 17th 2008

So my first week in Waveland, MS is over and boy has it been a long week. Not that it was all too challenging but I just alreayd kinda feel like I have been here for a long time! The ride wasn't too bad at all... it was long but I managed to sleep a good portion of it. I also did get to drive for a couple hours which was quite a relaxing time although the van was pretty heavy and a bit scary to drive. The hotel we stayed at in Knoxville, TN was kinda scetchy our room was pretty beat up but it was crazy being able to watch TV. I had forgotten it has been so long... in the getting close to two months I have been in AmeriCorps I have watched ... read more


After being bitten hard by spring fever and my recent camping trip in the Tombigbee National Forest, I decided to go for a day hike after work. I finally settled on Owens Creek Falls which is at mile marker on the Natchez Trace Parkway. ... read more
Along the trail
Stopping for a break
Trail Map

North America » United States » Mississippi March 10th 2008

Preparation and planning As i'm sitting at work on Friday morning, I check weather.com and realize it's going to snow that night. After that sunk in , I did what any rational outdoorsman would do - I called my girlfriend and told her that we were going camping. It might be worth mentioning at this point that snow in Mississippi is exceptionally rare during the winter, but in March it's almost unheard of. After kicking it around we decided to go and started making preparations. I had a Eureka backpacking tent that I purchased in Colorado and a good mummy bag but not much else; I rushed off to Academy to fill the void and about 110 dollars later, we were set for a good winter camping trip. The camping spot we selected was Choctaw Lake ... read more
Snow!
No footsteps
Stopping for a pic

North America » United States » Mississippi » Biloxi February 1st 2008

So the time has come for another chapter in my life to end and a new one to begin. Today is the day that we leave Bethel, the day that we leave Biloxi and move on…It’s hard to believe that we have been here for 2 months already and our first project is done. Where has the time gone? It has been a great experience all around and I will leave with many happy memories, life skills and new friends. This has been a great learning and growing experience for me as an individual and for me as part of a team. I have learned many construction skills, something that I previously hadn’t had much experience with. I have learned how to spend every waking hour with 12 other people, eating, working, and living together in ... read more
Hockey Game
sawing
Surfing

North America » United States » Mississippi » Biloxi January 15th 2008

So it’s been an exciting couple of days... Well, I made it back to Biloxi after spending some time at home for the holidays. It was great to come back to a place that we were familiar with and to see my team after our time apart. Since we’ve been back I’ve been doing numerous tasks at work the past couple weeks. I have tyveked a house, fire blocked, installed doors, windows and a floor and made window frames. Construction is very hard work and I admire people who do this for a living. I don’t know if I could last more than 8 weeks. Heck, if I wasn’t a volunteer, I probably would have been fired a while ago. Its not that I don’t try, I try very hard; I just don’t have the perfection/patience/skill ... read more
in the rafters
Flooring
Plane




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