Left Nashville this morning around 10:00am under bright blue skies, brilliant sunshine, warm air. Spectacular. Headed south to link up with the Natchez Trace Parkway, about 15 miles south of Nashville.
This is the road that the locals call 'the Trace', and is a very old game trail and trading route from Nashville Tennessee to Natchez Mississippi and points south, right down to the gulf. Along the way there are 'salt licks' that the game favored, as well as hunters and indigenous people after the game. In modern times, the road became more of a commercial thoroughfare and now it is a Parkway with all of the greenery carefully trimmed and even manicured, to the point where it is like driving along Southwest Marine Drive south of UBC, and parts of Stanley Park. To say it is beautiful is an injustice, it is mile after mile of a pristine park drive speckled with sites of historic battles and settlements. A major civil war engagement was fought at Tupelo.
We drove the Trace from the origin just south of Nashville down to Tupelo, Mississippi. Along the way we stopped for lunch at Colinwood, TN. We went to the Visitor's Center, where we got maps of Tennessee, Alabama (just down the Trace from Colinwood) and finally Mississippi, our destination for the day. On their recommendation we went to Meme's Restaurant, 10 minutes down the road toward Florence, TN. The Visitor's center recommendations were well founded as we came upon the most delightful and friendly group of people you could imagine. To make a long afternoon's story short, we had lunch and made friends and got recipes and we got a taste of real southern cooking including 'biscuits and gravy'. Real white gravy, loaded with chunks (mushrooms and sausage) that tasted great. Finally, stuffed, we were on our way. Stopped by the 'Piggly Wiggly' store (no kidding), sort of like a small IGA store. There I bought 'grits' and white gravy mix and, wait for it, got the ingredients and recipie for 'chocolate gravy'. Yes, you put it on biscuits and have it for breakfast. Yum! I will flatten the scales at 300# by the time I get home.
We crossed into Alabama briefly, then across the Tennessee River (in Alabama at this point), then continued to drive south eventually passing from Alabama into Mississippi. The stuff of song and legend, and we are passing through and trying to absorb all we can. The accents alone are absolutely priceless. I could listen all day to the gentle way these people speak. They are so kind and generous as well, seeming genuinely concerned that we have a pleasant and safe trip, and y'all come back now, y'hear. Yes, they do talk like that, right out of Beverly Hillbillys, and they aren't faking it. There are downsides too, for example the town of Colinwood refered to above is dry - they don't sell likker or wine or beer in stores or in restaurants. A far cry from Nashville. And they take church very seriously here, so I'd never make the grade as a local.
With a shortened day, we made it to Tupelo after dark, something we don't usually do since you can't see much at night. But we are staying in town tomorrow till early afternoon on an Elvis pilgrimage, so we aren't that worried.
