The Best of Natchez

I am feeling much better today than I did yesterday--because I didn't have to see any chair Nazis or any of my other compadres (except for Aly, of course--but she's cool). I definitely needed a break from everybody today, so I was able to take the morning off while some people went to work more on the train cars, and then I went and worked with Dr. Hardeman this afternoon. He didn't even fall asleep once! I do have to work on train cars tomorrow and Friday, but I'm glad for the time I did have to myself today. I even watched some "Ghost Hunters" tonight for a few minutes! This made me want to read about the Natchez Trace in this book that my classmate Sarah let me borrow called Haunted Hikes: Spine-Tingling Tales and Trails from North America's National Parks. Reading about the Natchez Trace made me feel nostalgic about Natchez again, so I was thinking about it this evening. I wanted to highlight a couple of my favorite things down there in the South--the "best of," if you will. Here are a few of my favorite things in Natchez and its surrounding communities:

Malt Shop, Natchez, Mississippi
This was one of our favorite places to go for lunch after a hard morning of chasing tourists around Melrose. But we liked it for more than the cheese burgers and Cajun fries--if you notice the sign, it says "Sundies, Shakes, Hamburgers." Sundies?? Classic Southern spelling of sundaes.




Slushie Machine in Yard, Church Hill, Mississippi
One day in 2006, Ranger Tim and I went up to an archaeological dig at an Indian mound near the little town of Church Hill, Mississippi along the Natchez Trace. We stopped at the church on the hill (thus the town's name) to look at the old cemetery there. We looked at a house across the street from the church, and there in the front yard was a slushee machine. The best part was that it was working!!! The little slushee cup on top of it was rotating around in a circle. It was so funny. We didn't dare to go try to get a slushee though.

Orka Jambalaya Booth, Great Mississippi River Balloon Race 2006, Natchez, Mississippi
In October 2006, I got to attend the annual Great Mississippi River Balloon Race when they literally have a hot air balloon race and then they host a big fair with food booths and music performers. I went to get some red beans and rice when I saw the sign for "Orka Jambalaya," which is funny because it was supposed to be "Okra"--so we had fun saying that (even though orca whale is spelled differently) they were serving whale jambalaya.

Louisiana Country Music Hall of Fame and Grave of the Unknown Confederate Soldier State Historic Site, Natchitoches, Louisiana
That has to be the longest name of any state historic site in the country! Could there be a more random combination? Country music hall of fame and grave of unknown Confederate soldier. Who would think to put those two things together? People in Louisiana. In July 2007, my good friend Ranger Angie and I decided to take a road trip to Natchitoches, Louisiana. We had to visit this particular site just because it sounded so funny, and it was. The museum, which was really cheesy, was shaped like a guitar.

Hay Tractor, Vidalia, Louisiana
Just across the river from Natchez is the town of Vidalia, Louisiana. In September 2006, this John Deere tractor made out of hay appeared along the road. Its purpose was to advertise a corn maze in the field nearby (which, by the way, was never open). It lasted for a couple of weeks, but slowly went the way of all hay.

Louise the Unfortunate, Natchez City Cemetery, Natchez, Mississippi
The Natchez City Cemetery has a lot of quirky graves, but one of my favorites is the headstone that says simply "Louise. The Unfortunate." If your headstone says that, you know you must have been pretty unfortunate. As legend has it, Louise was a "lady of the night" at one of the brothels at Natchez Under-the-Hill. She died one day, and all of her man-friends wanted to buy her a headstone, but they didn't know her last name or anything about her except her name.

The Golden Finger, First Presbyterian Church, Port Gibson, Mississippi
This is classic--the golden finger pointing to heaven. As legend has it, one day a preacher was preaching, and he held up his finger to emphasize a point, and then lightning hit the steeple! So, in commemoration of that momentous event, they put a golden finger atop the steeple.


Humbug Ball, Natchez, Mississippi
There is a very old, historic photograph of some Natchez citizens with what they called a "Humbug Ball" as part of the "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" campaign when William Henry Harrison and John Tyler were running for Pres. and VP. Supposedly they made a big ball with campaign slogans all over it, and then they rolled it off the Natchez bluff into the Mississippi River. Ranger Jessica wanted to recreate the Humbug Ball for a Natchez event a few years ago, but it had just been sitting in storage since then. This last summer, they decided we needed to get rid of the Humbug Ball. We really, really wanted to roll it off the bluff into the river--as a historical re-enactment--but we couldn't get permission to do so. So, Clyde, one of the maintenance guys, drove through it with a fork lift, which was quite enjoyable to watch.

MAMMY
And last, but certainly not least, Mammy's Cupboard! Mammy is quite the landmark in Natchez. She appalls some people because they have issues with race, but for the most part, since she's a historic building, people don't complain. Her skin has been progressively lightened over the last couple of years, so we started to call her Mamacita because she's starting to look slightly Latino :-) Anyway, Mammy's Cupboard is only open for lunch, and they have the BEST FOOD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD!! My favorite meal is chicken pot pie--only served on Fridays, followed by some banana caramel pie. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Mammy's is always busy--she is quite famous. When people would ask Ranger Sharon for directions to Mammy's, she would say, "Go south on Highway 61 until you see the two-story woman. That's Mammy's."

Good times. Well, yesterday's predicted tornadoes are supposed to come tomorrow. We'll see about that. If a tornado does come, I hope it carries our train cars away. I have to say one thing about the NCAA b-ball championship the other night--which was totally crazy! I wanted Memphis because it seems like Kansas always goes to the championship--and I've driven through Memphis a couple of times--and that's where Elvis lived :-) I thought they were going to win, but you have to admit that the 3-pointer nailed by the Kansas guy at the last second was pretty amazing. It was a very exciting game--just like the championship should be.