Saturday, May 29, 2010

Memorial weekend ;)

I hope you have a safe and happy Memorial Weekend. Don't forget to honor all of those that have and still are fighting and defending our freedoms.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

My trip to Vicksburg, MS.... and oh what fun!

 We have been planning on taking a little getaway. Our original plan was to jump in the car and drive to the coast. Well as you know the Gulf coast is under a little distress now so we had to rethink. Then we were going to run off to Hot Springs, Arkansas. So instead of just running off and heading in that direction we decided to check the weather. Well storms were scheduled!
ARGH!!!!!!!
So I started looking thru a vacation get away guide that is in the weekend paper. I had been hanging onto a few of them just in case. As I was checking out the places listed I seen an ad for Vicksburg, Mississippi. Well living in Memphis and seeing what little bit of MS that I had I didn't have high hopes. But hey I have been to places that were supposed to be great and they were not so what the heck. Let's go and check out a piece of history.
So I googled Vicksburg and came up with this link http://www.vicksburgcvb.org/ . Well of course that link was very helpful and informative. After checking out the site I then clicked on the link for B&B's. We have never stayed at one before so I was really excited to get the opportunity. As I read thru them all they sounded wonderful. I ended up chosing this one http://www.anchuca.com/ because of it's proximity to the downtown. When I called to check prices and availability I was informed that while I could afford the price they didn't have accommodations for 2 nights. Not their fault as I was calling very last minute! Thanks to technology and caller ID they called me back as I was getting ready to look at other B&B's. They did have an opening for the 2 nights....YEAH!!!!!! We took it and started to get ready to leave.
According to Ms British Garmin and her intelligence she suggested (rather pushy too) we take Hwy 61 from Memphis all the way to Vicksburg. Ok fine Ms Pushy Garmin we will follow your lead!
So if you seen my Twitter of FB status then you know there is absolutely nothing to see on Hwy 61 southbound. We ran into a lot of dust as we passed thru Tunica. Kind of reminded me of the sand storms in Vegas. However in Tunica the casino's are spaced out and not close together like Vegas.
As we continued south on Hwy 61 we kept seeing the little markers that said Mississippi Blues Trail site. We had no idea what they were and we tried to find one but had no luck. Well as soon as I got home I googled it and it led me to this site http://www.msbluestrail.org/. Apparently there are tons all over MS with events happening at them.  And of course while traveling thru we talked about looking for "The Crossroads". You know the ones where Robert Johnson traded his soul? Well we found it and was not super impressed since city living took over. I'm not sure what I was expecting but oh well I can say I went and I saw! Here's the story on that http://www.houstonculture.org/terra/delta.html
Ok enough about Hwy 61.....
We made our way into town and let me tell you it's pretty cute and quaint! You can tell there is major attempts to keep the town clean and current while preserving the past. It sits up on a hill overlooking the Yazoo and Mississippi Rivers. Very cool looking and picturesque!
We made our way to the B&B we were staying at..... VERY IMMPRESSIVE! We went in to check in and was given a very warm and friendly greeting. They were just beginning the dinner hour there so we went and checked out our room in the carriage house. CUTE CUTE CUTE! Well we were starving so we decided to eat there and then check out the house and gardens afterwards. We had the most wonderful meal that night. I am still having flashbacks to that meal. It was called Black and Bleu Salad. It was a salad with the most tender tenderloins, a rice pasta pilaf server over a bed of lettuce and fruit with an island vinagerette and homemade croutons. AMAZING and DELISH! The house itself was pretty cool and the host/co owner made us feel very welcomed to look around. I probably could have spent hours looking at every detail. The grounds itself was pretty nice too and gave me some ideas for my own backyard. My poor hubz..... We also took a walk thru the surrounding neighborhood and enjoyed the brick pavered streets as we looked at all the homes
Saturday we started out with breakfast served at the B&B....not your usual continental breakfast for sure. But one that was so good and so filling it was hours before I could eat again. We also went to the downtown area and walked the streets checking out all the stores. We did go into the Coco Cola museum ( had to since I'm a coke fan). Very interesting stuff in there and how it began. We also checked out another B&B called Cedar Grove Mansion http://www.cedargroveinn.com/. Very cool and beautiful house. The grounds and the history was pretty interesting too.
We were going to go to the National Cemetary there but decided to take a drive out in the area instead. We found a few places off the beaten path. Rosswood Plantation http://www.rosswood.net/history.html, the site of a fort on the river, Windsor Plantation ruins http://www.yoyita.com/Windsor_Ruins_Mississippi.php, nuclear plant, homes on stilts, natchez trail parkway, and just some beautiful landscape.
We then headed back to the B&B to freshen up and decide our next move. We decided to have dinner again at Anchuca which was once again very impressive. Then we were going to go hang out in a sports bar to watch the Red Wings vs Sharks. They lost sadly but enjoyed listening to the band that played while we watched the game.
Sunday morning came and we went in for breakfast..... did I mention how good their coffee is? I think I could have sat there forever drinking coffee and just enjoying the gardens. I did buy their cookbook. It is loaded with the rich history of the house and recipes. And it is sitting on my ottoman in the living room since I am constantly looking through it.
We strolled thru the house and gardens one more time before taking off. My stay here has made me decide that B&B's are the only way to go. I just hope they all live up to the standard that Anchuca has set for us. And we are thinking of going back for our anniversary on New Years Eve.

We decided to take I-55 back home hoping there would be markers along the way for us to check out. Nothing! Oh well...  we still had the best weekend and really enjoyed ourselves.