Separation Anxiety

Well, the journey to Illinois has begun. Mom and I have had a really fun day today, but I have also been an emotional basket case. I didn't realize how attached to Natchez I was until I had to leave. Mom and I had breakfast this morning with Angie at the Marketplace Cafe. We had some yummy beignets, but when it came time to say goodbye, I got all teary-eyed. Mom and I had to then finish packing the car--which was a seemingly insurmountable challenge. We did it though, and the only things we had to leave behind were my mop bucket and one of the two toasters that we accidentally packed when I came to Natchez. Catherine assured us she would find good uses for these things, and we were glad that we had gotten everything else in the car. It's going to be quite a chore to unload all of that, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there. I think I have too much stuff. Tim came over and went grocery shopping in my fridge this morning. You'd think he'd died and gone to heaven. He had a date last night, and took this girl to the Castle for dinner. It almost killed him to have spent that much on one meal, and he had been afraid that he wouldn't be able to afford groceries, so he said I saved the day. I'm glad if I can keep Tim from starving. Mom and I got away at about 11:00 this morning, and we took off over to I-55 and went north. We stopped for lunch in Winona, Mississippi, and I had some delicious BBQ ribs and Mom had a delicious BBQ sandwich. Luckily my GPS (named "Weezer" after one of the ladies in the "Steel Magnolias" movie) could find such good restaurants for us. I don't know how I ever lived without Weezer before--she's a life saver! We then headed west and got on the Natchez Trace. We stopped at the Natchez Trace headquarters visitor center in Tupelo, Mississippi, but seeing the happy park rangers there made me homesick for Natchez again, and I started to cry. Mom was very patient with me though, and we were able to continue on our way up to Corinth, Mississippi, were we are spending the night at the Generals' Quarters bed and breakfast. Corinth is such a cool Civil War town!! Just a block-and-a-half from our B&B is the house that Albert Sidney Johnston (of Utah Expedition fame) used as a headquarters during the Battle of Shiloh. He was killed at Shiloh, and his body lay in state there in this house down the street from us. Pretty cool! This is also where Generals Earl Van Dorn (of Port Gibson fame) and Sterling Price (the villainous general who persecuted Mormons) were hanging out back in 1862. There is a lot of interesting history, and I'm looking forward to visiting some National Park sites tomorrow. I lucked out in being able to have internet access tonight, but the next few nights will be questionable. If you don't hear from me for a little while, it's just that I don't have internet, but I'll be sure to catch everyone up as soon as I do. I'll try to keep the blog going during the school year (though it may not be updated every day) so that y'all can keep track of me. Thank you everyone, for your love and support!