Tuesday, September 30 - Day 13

Panama City Beach, Florida

You know you are in the South when there is a radio station devoted to broadcasting and discussing the scores of High School football games throughout the State.

A few more odd names of towns:  Kiln, AL; Niceville, MS; Pascagoula, MS

We decided to drive on, having wrung the juice out of New Orleans or vice versa. We drove thru Mobile and Pensacola and took 90 thru Destin to Panama City Beach, bit of a slow slog but not too bad. We found our hotel and headed for an early dinner as we have most of the time since we eat very little lunch. Another reason is that we were warned that if you arrive after 3:30 at Hunt's Oyster Bar, plan on an hour's wait for a seat. We got there about 4pm and it was just starting to fill up. It is the off season after all. Also following the advice, we sat at the bar. We were told that the shuckers, who work right behind the bar and facing each customer, pay attention to the bar customers. We also tipped well and talked with our shucker and received extra oysters. Lisa and I each downed 2 ½ dozen raw, then a ½ dozen baked with Parmesan cheese and ½ dozen baked with a three cheese mix, like an oyster pizza. Damn good. We then split a broiled shrimp po-boy with excellent cole slaw. The oysters and shrimp were right out of the Gulf and were wonderful as was the price: $50. The oysters were $8 a dozen. What a deal. Even Lisa was full.  We then drove back along the coast, parked and walked to the Gulf for a view of the sea. Sat a while, Lisa walked, I did some Tai Chi. Back to the hotel for a swim in the outdoor pool. We will hit the beach tomorrow and probably back to Hunt's sometime during the day. Maybe stay here another night. The livin' is easy. 

Lisa here - the oysters were delicious and meaty.  Like Dave said we were able to get more than 2 dozen because the shucker was standing right in front of us and kept putting them on our plates.

Photos 1 - Route 11 sign - same one that goes through Canton; 2 - starting easy; 3 - Dave enjoying large meaty oyster; 4 - 2 1/2 dozen empty shells; 5 - 1/2 dozen 3 cheese blend and 1/2 dozen baked parmesan; 6 - shrimp Po-Boy; 7 - Panama City Beach, Floria

 

Monday, September 29 - Day 12

NOLA  Day 2

What a great day. Dave here. After breakfast at the hotel we headed downtown. Parking is always an issue here and the closer to the Quarter the more expensive. We decided to beat the system and found a parking lot for $6 all day off Tulane on Elk St. Walked two blocks and caught the Canal trolley all the way to the riverfront. We found the Creole Queen (not the one from last night) an actual stern paddle wheeler and got tickets (an early birthday present from Lisa, thank you, Dear) for a later river cruise. We took another trolley to Cafe Du Monde and had beignets and the best coffee, really exceptional. Maybe it's the chickory they add. We walked to Jackson Square and went into the Cathedral for photos and a quick hello. (That's probably one of the few places down here where people are praying. Reminds me of a T shirt we spotted on Bourbon St: Picture of the devil with these words: “God is busy. May I help you?”) Trolley back to Canal St and the boat. Sam A's mom and friends joined us for this cruise to the Chalmette Battlefield where the final battle of the War of 1812 was fought, the Battle of New Orleans. “We fired our guns and the British kept a comin' “ Yep, that battle. Actually the war had been over for 6 weeks but the combatants along the Gulf did not know that. In December 1815, the Brits wanted to seize NOLA to control the M River. American Navy blocked the river a few miles downstream (the battlefield is actually NORTH of NOLA because of the bend of the river). This forced the 10,000 British onto the land on both sides of the river. There were various small skirmishes. (History recalls them as “small” but if you were in it, it wasn't small.) Under Andrew Jackson 5,000 Americans of vastly mixed ethnic background deepened a small canal and used the dirt to build up the rear of the ditch. They got a few cannon, some from the ships, and faced the British infantry which was still considered the finest in the world. They had just come from defeating Napoleon. The left side of the battlefield was swamp and right was the M River so the Brits could not flank the feba and had to charge straight into the line which they finally did in January 1816. They lost 2000 in a matter of a few hours. The Americans lost 13 KIA. The British actually broke the line on the other side of the M River but it was too little too late and they left the country.

We said our goodbyes to our friends and trolleyed back up Canal to get our car then drove to Deanie's for a seafood dinner. Crawfish gumbo, corn and crab chowder and shrimp etoufee for appetizer followed by an enormous mound of softshell crab (a first for me and not to Lisa's liking), wonderful shrimp, pretty good catfish and oysters and some other stuff. Even with Lisa there we could not eat it all. We were only a block from Bourbon St so Lisa insisted and dragged me along and I found myself clutching a Hand Grenade (a fine ending to a great meal and full of memories besides). In case you did not know, New Orleans has an open container law: You must walk around with an open container of booze. I sipped and enjoyed the scenery while Lisa accumulated beads. She actually bought a huge bag of them but we did end up with some around our necks from a friendly stranger.

Trying to figure out what we are going to do on Day 13, stay or continue. I did not get my Willie May's fried chicken. I wonder if I can find fried chicken anywhere else in the South? We need a day of down time, lying on a sandy beach on the Gulf and Panama City sounds pretty good. We will see where the wind blows us!

Photos 1 - authentic fossil; 2 - Cafe Du Monde - beignets; 3 - Jackson Square The Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis King of France; 4 - St. Louis Cathedral; 5 - line of donkey drawn carriages; 6 - Sam's mom along with Sandy, Carol and Cheryl; 7 - Chalmette Battlefield; 8 - Deanie's Seafood; 9 - Soup of the day - Whiskey; 10 - Bourbon Street at night

 

Sunday, September 28 - Day 11

NOLA

We added another odd name to our list of locations: Tickfaw, LA

You know you are in the South when you say “thank you” and people say “you're welcome” instead of “no problem.”

We would like to know who is following our journey. If you read our blog, we would appreciate hearing from you either in the comments area in the blog or email one of us: lisaguccione11@gmail.com or guccione@canton.edu .

 We arrived in NOLA about 2pm today in a bit of rain, first we have had on the trip. We have driven more than 2000 miles now. The Big Easy beckons and we were in the Quarter by 3pm. Bourbon Street was beginning to liven. Pat O'Briens was our first stop after a trolley ride. Two Hurricanes please and keep 'em coming. We were both hungry so had very early bird specials. Lisa had a muffaletta and said that she like the way I make them better. She's a good wife. I had a delicious giant hamburger. I know that's pedestrian but I wanted something filling. We then went out to sit by the fountain under a patio umbrella since it was threatening rain. Decided to stroll the Quarter. We walked toward the riverside of Bourbon St. and saw a guy with no shirt on dancing on a bar, then noticed that the bar was populated by all men. Next to that place a person came out of doorway wearing a dress with a very short hemline, high heels and a matching little hat. Everything worked pretty good except for the strong cleft chin and the bass voice. Lisa got a surreptitious photo.  We are kinda far from the North Country I guess. We got a phone call from Sam Anagnostopoulos' mother, Linda, who happened to be in NOLA with three friends. These middle aged ladies came into PO's carrying Hand Grenades (alleged to be the strongest drink in the Quarter) and they had to drink them down before they were allowed to enter. They were a happy bunch before they even sat down with us. Another round, please. Two of the ladies were former soldiers so we spoke Army and had a fine time. We sat and chatted and laughed for a couple hours and told them our plans. We may meet up with them tomorrow.

The plan is beignets and coffee at Cafe DuMond in the morning, write out some postcards, stroll the Riverfront, maybe a muffaletta from Central Grocery, riverboat to the site of the Battle of New Orleans, dinner at Willie Mays for fried chicken or find some oysters.

Photo 1 - Dave and Hurricane; 2 - Lisa and Hurricane; 3 - Pat O'Brien's patio; 4 - Bourbon Street; 5 - transvestite; 6 - Royal Street balcony; 7 - Sam's Mom, Linda on the left, Sandy, Carol, Dave, Cheryl, Lisa; 8 - Dave getting the marichino cherry from the Hurricane

 

Saturday, September 27 - Day 10

The Civil War at Vicksburg

You know you are in the South when you can get grits with your meal at McDonalds. Really!

Before heading to the battlefield, we went to the Military Museum on the riverfront where a retired Navy officer is an expert on the battle. He showed us a diorama he made of 2500 toy soldiers arranged on a mockup of the battlefield. It really made the battle more understandable when we reached the park.

When I visit historical battlefields I see them with two minds; the mind of a soldier and the mind of a student of history. The valleys where the Union soldiers were are green and lush now but I know they were barren and muddy clay then in May and June 1863. Looking up to the imposing redoubts, I think of the heat and thirst of the soldiers. The steep hills ringing Vicksburg became the best natural defenses the South could have wished for and they had 18 months to make them even better. Looking down from the top of the defenses, one would question why any sane person would think you could fight your way up that hill. When I was a soldier I was always afraid that some medal happy superior officer would order us to “take that hill.” I don't know about the medal happy part but that is exactly what the orders were to the Union infantry, time after time, until thousands were dead or mangled and Grant finally realized that siege and starvation were better weapons. Even then attempts by individual units were made. Charging into massed rifle fire is not my idea of a smart way to fight a war. It took the Civil War officers too long to figure that out. The men had figured it out long before the officers. But as Shelby Foote says it took great courage for the soldiers to make Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg in the face of the Union line but to refuse to charge? Nobody's got that much courage.

As a history student I was thrilled to be on the scene of one of the pivot points of our nation's history. July 4, 1863 was the day that Gen. Pemberton surrendered to Grant and Gen. Lee withdrew the southern forces from Gettysburg. The beginning of the end of the Civil War.

We went to Mass at a very nice church, St. Michael's, concealed in the woods south of town. The priest had a deep Irish accent, hard to understand him and hard to understand why an Irish priest would be there. Hiding out?

Dinner at a local place, Goldie's Trail BBQ. Great bbq pork sandwich for me and bbq beef for Lisa with ice cream for dessert.

We have reservations for two nights in New Orleans beginning tomorrow.

Friday, September 26 - Day 9

Funny names, Downtown Memphis, to Vicksburg – 250 miles

We are 1600 miles into the trip and have come across some funny place names: Festus, Cahokia, Herculaneum, Pocahontas, Lithium, Braggadocio and Yazoo.

At Mud Island in the Miss R at Memphis we crossed to the island on the monorail slung under a long walkway. Great view of the tugs working up and down the river. They have laid an intricate half mile long replica of the Mississippi from Cairo to NOLA. You walk along it and read explanations of the various intricacies and towns along the river. Very interesting.

We caught a bus to Beale Street and we both had the impression that it was trying (unsuccessfully) to duplicate the French Quarter in NOLA. Of course it was about 11am but still there were very few people on the street and the bars were sort of sad. The best place was A. Schwab (If you can't find it at A. Schwab, you're better off without it.) We sat at the old time soda fountain and had chocolate malts for lunch. The store reminded me of an old time five and dime store full of trinkets and odd stuff: whiskey flasks, leather pouches, funny hats of all kinds, jams, jellies, spices, all kinds of toy guns. We went to the Peabody Hotel, famous for its ducks. There are four hens and one drake who live on the roof of the hotel and are daily escorted by the Duck Master (really) down an elevator to the ornate hotel lobby where they spend the day in the indoor fountain. At five o'clock daily the Duck Master (really) cajoles them back to the elevator and returns them to the roof. What a job. We then went to St. Jude Children's Hospital, founded by Danny Thomas. Lisa wanted to visit it and get some photos since she is a supporter. Then off to the races.

The drive to Vicksburg was not on a round about super highway but was a direct route on a state road which was slower and a bit more tedious. We took it on the advice of a woman at the info desk in Memphis. The flatness of the cotton fields of Mississippi reminds me of Utah with trees. If it were not for the trees and a few buildings, a human would be the tallest thing standing. The cotton was in various stages of maturity, some snow white tops and some sparse.

Got to Vicksburg and had our first ever Chick-fil-A sandwiches for dinner with our left over bbq beans and coleslaw from last nights meal. We both agreed that it was a top rate sandwich and would go again.

Tomorrow we head to the Civil War battlefield at Vicksburg, a crucial point in the war and in Grant's career.

Thursday, September 25 - Day 8

Elvis, Cairo and Memphis BBQ

What a great day! I apologize for that hamfisted account last night. I was tired. Still tired but maybe better tonight. I want to recount some prominent people who were born in or closely associated with MO aside from the usuals: TS Elliot, Langston Hughes, Eugene Field, Dale Carnegie, Linda Godwin (look it up) Gen Black Jack Pershing and Gen Omar Bradley, August Bush, George Washington Carver, Calamity Jane, Jesse and Frank James, Marlin Perkins, Walter Cronkite. Surprise!! Another surprise was the speed of the current in the Mississippi. Much faster than the St. Lawrence.

Visited Cairo, Illinois, and the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi. Could not drive down the road so had to take a look from a bridge. The photo shows a barge chain headed down the Mississippi. An important place in the formation of our country and I have always wanted to see it. Cairo is a run down, poverty filled village. Very depressing to just drive thru it. Imagine Heuvelton, twice as big and twice as hot with half the buildings vacant. It was 87 today.

The drive to Memphis was uneventful until we got there. Terrible traffic, road construction, spaghetti highways, minimal signs. We drove right past the exit for Graceland and had a devil of a time getting back to it. Even the GPS lady got lost looking for a recommended restaurant. Finally found it: The Germantown Commissary. Excellent BBQ ribs and sausage. We both ate all the ribs and meat and kept the bbq beans and coleslaw for lunch tomorrow.

I know nobody cares about Graceland but I might as well include a sentence or so. It is opulent in the style of the 50's. Deep shag rugs throughout, lots of color, extravagance (340 yards of paisley cloth, pleated, as wall and ceiling covering in the billiard room). The grounds are large and so there was room for stables and pastures for the horses; a building for a handball court; a trophy building. The King had money and did not mind spending it (as we later found out he spent a lot on other people who needed help). I am not going to describe every room. Youtube has a lot of tours and here is one for those interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4QkkpYf0_I.

Lisa here.  I have a new appreciation of Elvis since touring his mansion and grave site.  We couldn't use the video camera or flash photography but got photos of the rooms.  Will post a few.

 

Going to Beale Street tomorrow as well as Mud Island River Park, where we can walk along the Mississippi, and then we will head down to Vicksburg.