Author: li***********@*****il.com

Well, we’re back at it!

We had a lovely holiday visit in Michigan and spent lots of quality time with friends and family!

We left Michigan on Tuesday. It was a day later than expected because of bad weather. And actually Tuesday wasn’t great conditions either, but we made it.

We drove to Cincinnati to visit our friends, Kenneth and Katie (who actually live in Newport, KY). We delivered the flask we had purchased for Kenneth in PA (which was also a great deal – like the socks! See post on October 7 for context).

We enjoyed trying Cincinnati chili at Skyline Chili, meeting their corgi – Chloe, and seeing the neat row type house they are living in. It’s been fun to see the different types of architecture around the country!

Wednesday we went to the the Cincinnati Museum Center and visited the Natural History and Science, Children’s, and City History museums. It was a very enjoyable and educational day!

After the museums, Matt wanted to be sure we experienced Jungle Jim’s – A crazy Cincinnati superstore complete with – EVERYTHING! We enjoyed dinner there at one of their several restaurants in store and picked up a few treats.

The next morning we hung out with Kenneth and Katie while having goetta – a breakfast meat famous in Cincinnati originating from German immigrants who were trying to stretch their meat. My Dutch blood understands and applauds this! 🙂

We hit the road early afternoon and made it to Cave City, KY (right near Mammoth Cave). We enjoyed dinner at a nearby local Mexican food place – very tasty.

The next morning we went to Mammoth Cave Visitor Center and then took the Grand Avenue tour of the cave. It was about 4 hours and 4 miles long. It was fun to traverse that long underground and walk through slot canyons and up and down ‘mountains’ as the guide called them. We even climbed ‘Mt. McKinley’!

Then after grabbing some lunch and completing Jr. Ranger books, we were on the road to Nashville to meet our friends for dinner. We enjoyed dinner for their school fundraiser at Waldo’s Chicken and then had to hit the road. The big winter storm that was taking over the eastern half of the nation was bearing down and we had to get to Birmingham!

We spent the night in Birmingham at an Avid hotel where there were extremely hospitable staff and a whole crew of Southern States Utilities setting up to respond to issues the storm caused.

We got out of there the next morning to continue to avoid the storm and made it to Picayune, MS. We reunited with our camper and everything seems to be as expected – no rodents or bugs infested, nothing broken into or stolen, etc.! Yay!

In the process of trying to navigate around/through this storm, we decided the Baton Rouge area made the most sense – as did a number of other people at this campground! So here we wait out the cold temps before heading west. Those of us who have lived in the north in the winter are confused as to why freezing temperatures mean we can’t drive, but locals who know the roads aren’t treated and many roads are elevated over bayous are warning to stay put. So, we’ll be careful and make the most informed decisions possible! Hopefully anyone else affected by this storm is staying safe, warm, and dry!

Next post will be from the west side of the Mississippi River! We’re looking forward to heading west.

After dropping the camper off, we drove to Birmingham, AL. On the way, it turned out that Matt had to go to Springfield, MO for work. So the next day we dropped him off at the airport in Birmingham.

Then the kids and I went to the Civil Rights National Monument which is comprised of several sites. We went to the Kelly Ingram Park where there is a walking tour with a timeline of the Civil Rights movement in Birmingham. This park is where the Children’s March/Crusade happened in May 1963 and it is kitty corner to the 16th Street Baptist Church that was bombed in September 1963. We also walked by the A.G. Gaston Motel (closed on Tuesdays) and got hot beverages at the coffee shop on site. The discipline and strength it took to peacefully protest in the face of all the hatred and violence is truly inspiring. (And unfortunate that it was needed. Why do we treat other humans that way? Why do we vilify whole groups of humans?)

We enjoyed BBQ pork sandwiches at SAW’S BBQ in Birmingham before hitting the road to Tupelo, MS. I didn’t realize that northern AL and even northern MS are the foothills to the Appalachian Mountains. It was another beautiful drive.

When we arrived in Tupelo we went to Elvis’s birthplace. We walked the grounds and learned a bit more about his life. There were a couple neat statues and a reflection pond – not at all the crazy opulence that I’ve heard Graceland is. And Reece shares a birthday with Elvis, so that was part of the draw of this stop.

After a night at the hotel with Christmas movies and swimming, we went to the Natchez Trace Parkway Visitor Center. It had a great video and displays about the history of the parkway. The Natchez Trace is a scenic drive from Natchez, MS to Nashville, TN (444 miles) that is run by the National Park Service. We picked it up in Tupelo and took it to Nashville. It was a beautiful day and nice change of pace to drive 50 mph on a scenic drive without a gas station or store in sight. We stopped several places along the way to see some historic/significant spots.

We ended at Loveless Cafe and met our friend, Sarah, there for some southern dinner which they are known for – especially the biscuits! We were full after eating, but someday we may go back for homemade banana pudding – complete with homemade vanilla wafers!

We spent the next several nights in Nashville with our friends, the Scotts. They used to live right down the street from us and Sarah worked at the Dale House. We regrouped the first day we were there and dyed the tips of Claire’s hair (an early birthday present). (A new skill that’s totally of my wheelhouse, but between Sarah and I, we figured it out and it turned out alright!)

The next day we went to Fort Negley (in Nashville) and ended up helping with an archeological dig that the city was running before doing improvements at the Fort.

After that we picked up Matt at the Nashville airport and had lunch at the Tennessee State Farmer’s Market food court. It is located next door to the Tennessee State Museum which we visited after lunch. We didn’t realize how large it was and had woefully little time there, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out, playing, and doing house projects. Also on Saturday we went back to Fort Negley with our friends and got to experience some living history – including soldiers, Abraham Lincoln, and live cannon fire. We also played some Civil War period games and dug for fossils at their display. A great time and a beautiful day!

Sunday morning we left early and drove to drop Matt off at the Indianapolis airport for a work trip. The kids and I continued on to cold, snowy MI. We’re glad we have a warm house to stay in and not a camper!

We celebrated Claire’s birthday and finished up our last week of school here. And we are picking up Matt from the airport/his work trip tomorrow.

We’re grateful to be spending the holidays with family and be off the road for a little while. It will be a good transition period before returning south and heading west next semester.

I probably won’t blog again until we hit the road in mid January. Hopefully you all have a lovely holiday season wherever you are! May you experience light and hope in this chaotic world. Love to all!

From the Gulf Coast Gator Farm we drove to Slidell, LA. Matt had to fly out for a work trip for a few days, and the best airport to fly from was New Orleans. So we found a campground in Slidell to stay at for the week.

We arrived on Monday. On Tuesday we dropped Matt off at the airport and did a little Christmas shopping on the way home and got school done. Wednesday the van went in for an oil change and tire rotation, we did school, and we went for a Christmas light walk around the campground.

Wednesday night it started raining – with rain in the forecast until Sunday… We were already feeling a little cabin fever with staying in the same spot, the cooler temps, and the campground didn’t have great outdoor space, and the rain did not help. So on Thursday, after doing school in the morning, we went to a trampoline park to expend some energy – it was great. When we got back in the car, we saw waves in the flooded parking lot – it had rained a lot (not as much as Titusville, but a lot).

On Friday we did some school in the morning and then decided to go on a field trip to the end of the Mississippi River (well, as far as we could drive at least). The end of the Mississippi River is over 76 miles SE of New Orleans! I didn’t think there was that much land past New Orleans.

We started driving past New Orleans and looked to the east to see the Mississippi and all we saw was a 10-12 foot green hill behind all the houses/fields/etc, but Google maps showed the river right there. Then we realized that the hill was the levee that was keeping the Mississippi in its banks. As we continued, a levee began on the other side as well, so the highway just drove between 2 levees for a long time. There were some houses along the way (some rundown, a few massive, some on stilts, some low to the ground), some farms, also several massive refineries/ports/etc.

It was a gray and cloudy day and we weren’t really excited to keep driving another 30-40 minutes south, so we turned off the highway onto a gravel road that looked like it had houses on stilts at the end, but it turned out to be a creepy seemingly abandoned area with old boats and trash strewn about. And then we turned around when we reached a parking lot with a bunch of newer cars and trucks parked there, but no one around… A fishing operation? It was a little creepy.

So then we drove up the other side with a number of run down houses, a cemetery (with above ground graves – standard in the area), and just a weird vibe. We never saw the Mississippi down there, but we did pick up some oranges and broccoli from a road side stand on the way back.

Then we still had time to kill before picking up Matt, so we did a little Christmas shopping and then drove around looking at Christmas lights in Kenner, LA (near where the airport is). It was really enjoyable – even without snow. And Matt got in on time!

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We spent Saturday celebrating Sinterklaas Day and relaxing and packing. Then Sunday we headed to the French Quarter in New Orleans. We decided to take the long route over the Pontchartrain Causeway – a 24 mile bridge over the widest point of Lake Pontchartrain (don’t worry – we listened to The Lakes of Pontchartrain (Be Good Tanyas version) as we crossed it). We had beignets and coffee at Café du Monde, walked the waterfront (Mississippi River), saw some massive ships, walked through shops, and came upon a Christmas parade! It was an impressive parade (and very family friendly)! And we got lots of beads!! My favorites were the Dolly Partons and the Chaissez Ladies. I may have a new bucket list item! All in all a great New Orleans experience!

We returned to camp to pack up. With Matt having some work trips scheduled and the kids are really craving a home for the holidays. We decided to store the camper and head to Michigan for the holidays. We’ll be back down to pick up the camper and head west in January.

We’re taking about a week to head back to MI, so there are a few more adventures before that. I’ll blog again soon.

Did you know that there were 4 African American women that refused to give up their seats to white people before Rosa Parks? I didn’t.

Also, I was struck by the holidays that Alabama celebrates…

From Camp McCall we drove through Atlanta (again!). This time we met up with our friends Patrick and Elizabeth, and their boys (one of which is 5 weeks old!). They helped us find a place to meet them that had space enough to park and great Venezuelan food! It was lovely to see them and meet both boys. We had visited them last time we went to Atlanta, but we realized that was 6 years ago! (Although it doesn’t feel that long.) After lunch we checked out the fire trucks at the fire station next door to the restaurant. The kids got to go in the trucks and we chatted with the very eager and personable fire fighters. It was great! Unfortunately we didn’t get any pictures with our friends, but we did get some at the park and with the firetrucks!

From Atlanta we drove down to Bama Bison RV Park outside Opelika, AL. We were surprised to discover that we were now on central time. It was chilly in Alabama, but it felt appropriate for Thanksgiving. We woke up, and Matt made pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

We hung out, had the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade on in the background, went for a walk, made hand-print turkeys, and did dinner preparations. With everything cooking, we then got to take an ATV ride into the bison pasture with the owner.

After seeing the bison, we finished dinner prep and enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast. Grateful for rotisserie chickens and store bought pumpkin pie. We even had collard greens because we were in the south!

We were planning on staying at Bama Bison through Saturday, but we found out we were going to have to move sites, so we decided to head out on Friday. We also found out the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site was open on Friday, so we decided to go.

It was a great experience! We discovered that the airmen consist of everyone who participated in the program – pilots and support staff, who then went out to serve in many different places. They talked of a double victory, where they helped the US/Allies be victorious overseas, and how they earned respect in their own country when the military was desegregated in 1948 (16 years before the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964). But it was compelling to hear stories of African American soldiers fighting with US soldiers for freedoms of people overseas, and then not having those same freedoms when they returned to their own country. Just crazy and sad.

Claire and Reece did the Junior Ranger packets there and upon completion, the ranger gave them 3 badges, stickers, posters, and WWII model airplanes! He was very generous. He had also worked for the NPS for years and gave many recommendations and contacts in the areas where we are headed. Very helpful!

From there we drove to a campground in Montgomery, AL. The next morning we got up and went to The Legacy Sites (the Legacy Museum, the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park). We took boat and bus shuttles between the sites. It was a heavy day, but an incredible experience. If you are every in Montgomery, be sure to visit.

I feel like I will botch the explanation for this moving place, so please check out the website and talk to us in person if you’re interested.

We didn’t get to take too many pictures, but we got a few, and you really need to go experience it yourself.

After the museum we went and saw Rosa Park’s statue at her bus stop near where she was arrested. It felt full circle because we had gotten to sit on her bus at the Henry Ford Museum. We found out Rosa Parks moved to Detroit shortly after the bus boycott. We also found out that she was an activist and involved with the NAACP before she ‘just decided she was too tired to give up her seat’. That narrative is not as accurate as her knowing exactly what she was doing. And there were several women that had done the same thing she did prior to her. But Parks’ attorney and another woman leader in the NAACP organized the bus boycott between Parks’ arrest Thursday evening and Monday morning when everyone need to use the buses – an impressive feat. MLK Jr. was also recruited at this time to speak to the people – at the age of 26. And obviously became a huge player in the civil rights movement.

One thing I’ve appreciated on this trip is to relearn/put together a lot of history that I wasn’t well-versed in. And realize there’s still so much to learn. I love it!

The next morning we left Montgomery and travelled to the Gulf Coast Gator Ranch (another Harvest Host that Matt found) near Moss Point, MS. We saw LOTS of gators at their ranch/rescue, and then went on an airboat ride – crazy fun!

The water levels are crazy low right now, so the cypress knees were rather exposed.

Also, did you know that the incubation temperature in the nest determines the gender of an alligator?! (https://www.nps.gov/ever/learn/nature/alligator.htm)

Hopefully you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! Miss you!

And congratulations to my father-in-law for OSU’s win on Saturday…