The Delta

 After I left my friends in Oxford, Mississippi and walked the grounds of Rowan Oak, I made my way west towards the Mississippi and south into the Mississippi Delta to learn about the start of blues music.  By the end of the day, music by people I had never heard of before crooned from my radio as I crossed the Mississippi into Arkansas.  Muddy Waters, Son House, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Wade Walton, and more.  My first stop was Clarkdale, Mississippi where I wished I had planned to spend more time.  I had originally planned to go through Memphis and see the civil rights museum there, but my friends suggested they thought I would like the Mississippi Delta.  So in the end I headed that way.   I knew nothing about Blues music, but after spending a couple hours at The Delta Blues Museum and making a visit to Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Arts Store I was wishing I had more time.  There was live blues music at various venues that afternoon/evening and a walking tour around town taunted me to stay long, but sunlight would be fleeting till I reached my destination in Hot Springs, Arkansas.  So if you ever find yourself near Clarksdale, Mississippi spend a few more hours there for me.

I continued on south stopping at a pottery shop which had a very pleasant garden to walk through, drove through miles of farm land with dust kicked up by combines in the field, and chatted with a farmer who asked if I had driven through rain.  I looked in the rear view mirror and saw a rainbow stretched out across the sky.  Then in Greenville I got an afternoon snack of hot tamales at Doe's Eat Place and took a hike through a cypress brake before turn west and traversed the mighty Mississippi.  

Taking this route I went right by Hoot's BBQ, a favorite restaurant of mine that I had been to on a road trip to Louisiana a number of years ago with my friend Sara.  I ordered a Pig Pie to go and I wasn't disappointed, it was as good as I remembered.  In the end it was dark when I pulled into my campsite at Hot Springs National Park.  

Clarksdale, Mississippi

A Garden to Explore

Rainbow in the Sky over the Delta

Hot Tamales at Doe's Eat Place

Cypress Brake

                       

Pig Pies make me happy.

               

South to Mississipi

After I left my sister, I headed south through Kentucky and Tennessee to Mississippi.  My GPS tried to divert me because of thunderstorms and risk of flash flooding but I stuck to the highway in hopes to make it to my friend's son's soccer game.  I drove through some pretty heavy rain, but it didn't last too long and it ended up being the most rain I had the entire six weeks I was gone, so I feel very blessed.  I made it in time to go to the soccer game, which ended up being cancelled about half way through because of lightening, but we had a good time and then went out for tacos and ice cream.

I found Oxford Mississippi to be a nice town.  I wandered around William Faulkner's home - Rowan Oak and then walked through Bailey Woods to University Museum on the campus of Ole Miss before I headed out of town.

Rowan Oak - the home of William Faulkner

Sketching at Rowan Oak

Outline of one of Faulkner's books on the wall --solution to his notes blowing away in the wind.

Circular Garden overgrown by moss

Bailey Woods - path from Rowan Oak to University Museum

Great Evening with Friends

It's November!

Where in the world have I been? That is a good question. These days I am spending time at my computer writing. NaNoWriMo 2022 started last week and I decided to participate. As of now I am ahead of schedule, but my main goal (aside from writing 50,000 words) is to finish my story. I pulled out a manuscript of over 50,000 words from five years ago which was a good story but despite having 50,000 words was still unfinished, so the plan is to get to the end of the story. 

 However despite being more at home these days, I was gone for over six weeks over the last two months and that is the main reason I haven't been posting here. So I will work to remedy this in the coming weeks, by sharing my adventures. 

 I left on Labor Day and headed south towards Cincinnati.  On the way, I made a stop at the Franklin Park Conservatory.  That evening I stayed with my sister and in the morning enjoyed breakfast on the street at the Bluebird Cafe.

Glasswork at Franklin Park Conservatory.

Breakfast at the Bluebird, complete with watercolors.

Visiting my beautiful sister.