June 18, 2017 Day
10
Today I woke up at the same time as I always do and as is my
ritual began packing up camp. I did make
some hot herbal tea which hit the spot and did some exercises. After a quick cold shower and a few birthday
phone calls I was off to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Along the way I stopped at multiple places
until I finally found one that sold postcards.
Everyone keeps telling me that I need to collect mementos from each
state but I cannot honestly think of what I need 50 of. My older brother collects shot glasses and
though I like shot glasses do I really need 50 of them? I also don’t need 50 koozies, or 50
key-chains, or 50 picture frames. In the
end, after talking with my mom, I settled on 50 postcards more so just to tell
everyone that yes I am collecting something from every state. Though in my mind what I am collecting are
memories that will last a lifetime and an adventure I will never forget.
I arrived at the Vicksburg National Military Park at noon
and was told the driving park should take around 1.5 to 2 hours. Well I don’t know who the hell they were
trying to fool with that I was there for 2 hours and was still not even halfway
done with the driving tour! It wasn’t
like I was taking my sweet time and listening to everything on the cell phone
tour or reading all the 1400 monuments that were there. The park itself was
rich in history and I was shocked at how “hilly” the terrain was. Near the
beginning of the drive there was a dome shaped building made out of marble
called the Illinois Memorial. Walking up
the 47 steps that represent each day of the siege of Vicksburg I thought a
recording of a woman singing the star bangled banner was playing but in reality
there was truly a woman singing inside the dome. The building had great acoustics but her
voice was absolutely divine.
At the next stop I pulled in to a black man (no I am not
being racist but how else to describe someone for it they guy had pink skin I
would say “to a pink man”) asking if I minded if he asked me a question. I said of course not and he replied; “now
where can I find me one of those?” He was gesturing to my camper and I
explained to him that it was home built but you can also buy pre-built
ones. Needless to say that yet again I
spoke with this man for about 20 minutes.
We talked about how he is spending five years writing a book about his
family and the history of the area. At
one point he whipped out his harmonica and played me a blues tune! I almost asked him to play me a full song it
was so good. In the end he gave me his
card and told me to send him an email and when he is finished with the book I
will get a signed copy. He also told me
that I am going to be in his acknowledgement section of the book for saving him
money by giving him the idea to build a teardrop camper himself and safe on
hotel costs. You know I’m just like
Mother Teresa helping people everywhere I go HAHAHA; just kidding folks.
All in all the drive was decent due to the rich history but
in the end it was mostly just looking at monuments. I cut it short and drove to Natchez Trace
Parkway which is a beautiful road with many historical stops along the way. The only one I stopped at was Cypress Swamp
which was a short jaunt through the woods. I then headed to Jeff Busby
campground for some free camping. It was
a beautiful area and after parking and setting up I called my parents and
Skyped them for some time. I then ate
some pasta and crashed.
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