Cool Sights in Mississippi
My parents are visiting me for five days in February, so I want to use this blog as an opportunity to share the cool places I intend to take them. Let me preface this by saying I am a little anxious about this visit, since neither of my parents have been in the Deep South before. Okay, here we go.
Saturday evening:
Parents fly in to Greenville Airport. A nice airport, famous for its free long term parking and incompetence in tracking of luggage. Amazing, since it only runs direct flights to Memphis.
After touching down I will take my parents and fiancee to Fermo's, a delightful Italian eatery on I-82 in Greenville. Their loaded, gooey pizzas are among the best I've ever tasted (plus there is a good chance of a John Zarandona sighting at this restaurant).
Sunday:
Church bells beckon us to Leland First Presbyterian. The minister, Ken Landry, is a former attorney from Texas. His sermons are like the knuckle puck from Mighty Ducks: they go all over the place, but 1 out of 5 of them are right on target and a joy to behold.
There's not much to do on Sunday afternoons, though Club Ebony in Indianola has good music playing. Maybe we'll catch a matinee at the Malco on Rt. 1 in Greenville. Sunday night we'll cook at home, and me and Jamie will take on my parents at Spades or a game of Hand and Foot. At night we'll drive around Deer Creek and see the floats all lit up. The water spraying fire truck is a personal favorite.
Monday:
I going to work today, and I think my dad will tag along for the afternoon. I'm not sure how I feel about exposing him to some of my kids, but I think they will get a kick out of meeting him. After school we'll get my mom and drive out to Warfield Point Park, a cute park off of 82 West in Greenville, MS. This park is nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River, and has a five-story observation deck. There's also a tree with large green nuts nearby. Bring up a few of the large unidentifiable nuts into the tower and drop them from the top. I love gravity.
Tuesday:
No school today! I'm going to wake up the folks early, get into the car, and drive down Highway 61 until we reach Natchez. At one point Natchez was home to more millionaires than any city in the world except New York. Then the Civil War happened (or as some Rebels call it, the War of Northern Aggression). Hopefully we can view some antebellum mansions and I can show off my Southern accent. On the way back to Leland we'll stop at Vicksburg National War Memorial. My father, a Civil War expert, will enjoy driving through the beautiful rolling hills of Vicksburg on the 16-mile loop. We'll stop at a few monuments, maybe talk extra loud in our Yankee accents, and compare Vicksburg to Gettysburg, PA, where my dad took me twice as a boy. The two battles were going on simultaneously and changed the tide of war. I love history.
Wednesday:
No school today either! Today is a relaxing day, so we head to Indianola's The Crown to enjoy the best lunch in the Delta. Afterwards I will drive them around the rougher neighborhoods of Indianola, pointing out the abandoned houses where people sell drugs and do other illicit activities. This is a day to show them real Mississippi: how the other half lives. When we get home we'll relax, maybe watch a Netflix movie (not technically a sight, but I don't know how I'd survive withouth Neflix in MS) and then have a quiet dinner at home.
Thursday:
Drop the parents off at Greenville Airport, and cry as I drive back to work at Simmons in time for Home Room. It was a great visit, and I am glad my parents got a chance to see the beauty that is Mississippi, as well as the sinister side of Mississippi's segregated past and present.
Saturday evening:
Parents fly in to Greenville Airport. A nice airport, famous for its free long term parking and incompetence in tracking of luggage. Amazing, since it only runs direct flights to Memphis.
After touching down I will take my parents and fiancee to Fermo's, a delightful Italian eatery on I-82 in Greenville. Their loaded, gooey pizzas are among the best I've ever tasted (plus there is a good chance of a John Zarandona sighting at this restaurant).
Sunday:
Church bells beckon us to Leland First Presbyterian. The minister, Ken Landry, is a former attorney from Texas. His sermons are like the knuckle puck from Mighty Ducks: they go all over the place, but 1 out of 5 of them are right on target and a joy to behold.
There's not much to do on Sunday afternoons, though Club Ebony in Indianola has good music playing. Maybe we'll catch a matinee at the Malco on Rt. 1 in Greenville. Sunday night we'll cook at home, and me and Jamie will take on my parents at Spades or a game of Hand and Foot. At night we'll drive around Deer Creek and see the floats all lit up. The water spraying fire truck is a personal favorite.
Monday:
I going to work today, and I think my dad will tag along for the afternoon. I'm not sure how I feel about exposing him to some of my kids, but I think they will get a kick out of meeting him. After school we'll get my mom and drive out to Warfield Point Park, a cute park off of 82 West in Greenville, MS. This park is nestled on the banks of the Mississippi River, and has a five-story observation deck. There's also a tree with large green nuts nearby. Bring up a few of the large unidentifiable nuts into the tower and drop them from the top. I love gravity.
Tuesday:
No school today! I'm going to wake up the folks early, get into the car, and drive down Highway 61 until we reach Natchez. At one point Natchez was home to more millionaires than any city in the world except New York. Then the Civil War happened (or as some Rebels call it, the War of Northern Aggression). Hopefully we can view some antebellum mansions and I can show off my Southern accent. On the way back to Leland we'll stop at Vicksburg National War Memorial. My father, a Civil War expert, will enjoy driving through the beautiful rolling hills of Vicksburg on the 16-mile loop. We'll stop at a few monuments, maybe talk extra loud in our Yankee accents, and compare Vicksburg to Gettysburg, PA, where my dad took me twice as a boy. The two battles were going on simultaneously and changed the tide of war. I love history.
Wednesday:
No school today either! Today is a relaxing day, so we head to Indianola's The Crown to enjoy the best lunch in the Delta. Afterwards I will drive them around the rougher neighborhoods of Indianola, pointing out the abandoned houses where people sell drugs and do other illicit activities. This is a day to show them real Mississippi: how the other half lives. When we get home we'll relax, maybe watch a Netflix movie (not technically a sight, but I don't know how I'd survive withouth Neflix in MS) and then have a quiet dinner at home.
Thursday:
Drop the parents off at Greenville Airport, and cry as I drive back to work at Simmons in time for Home Room. It was a great visit, and I am glad my parents got a chance to see the beauty that is Mississippi, as well as the sinister side of Mississippi's segregated past and present.
posted by Joel Hebert at 1:29 PM
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