Today was, aside from being my 18th birthday, a day of exploration.
We began early again and took off to the even deeper South to visit Ole Miss, the historic University of Mississippi. The drive down was a tour of the rural parts of Mississippi. We saw a mixture of beautiful homes and rustic farms.
Ole Miss is located in Oxford, Mississippi. On the way down is a little town called Holly Springs and, next to the railroad tracks in an old grocery store, is a small piece of preserved Americana. Philips Grocery is like stepping into a time-warp that takes you back to the 50's. The walls are covered in tins and posters advertising Coke and Cigarettes and all sorts of things, and behind the old counter and displays of Coke bottles is a grill. On that grill are cooked what are potentially the best hamburgers in the known world. Russ and Susie had had them already, and so they abstained, but the Blevins family bought one, and one only. It was gone in a flash.
We hung our heads as we left for Oxford because we were afraid that we had left the world's greatest lunch behind, but of course, Russ and Susie did not dissapoint. For my birthday lunch, we went to a restaurant called City Grocery. Unlike Philips Grocery, City Grocery was a white-table cloth place of gourmet Southern cuisine, and it was all delicious.
The town square is something that hardly exists any longer. It was full of neat shops, including interisting boutiques where I found a little birthday somethin' something'. In the square was the Court House and a statue to honor the fallen Confederate soldiers.
Ole Miss was a lovely historic campus, and on the side, in a back-road, was Roan Oaks, the home of...Faulkner. I finished "The Sound and the Fury", and at the end, I didn't care for Faulkner. But, he was a monumental American writer, and the experience was enriching.
When we returned home to Russ and Susies, the rest of the evening was occupied with a four or five course Italian meal, complete with a little chocolate cake that Russ and Dad picked out for my birthday. Russ and Susie were a wealth of informatoin, and helped us plan the rest of our trip.
We're sad the be leaving the Russell's. Memphis has been a wonderful experience, and our dear friends have helped us plan many more.
-Jane
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2 comments:
Jane I hope you had a wonderful birthday. I went shopping in some of the downtown boutiques yesterday and I thought of you. I WANT PICTURES OF BABY FROG. Don't kiss this one, I will buy you a prince when you get home. The frog form is much better anyways. O, I was wondering, have you finished that Brothers book yet? Your polar bear picture is awesome! I miss you and the rest of the fam. Keep having fun! I think you guys might last longer on the road than we thought. It sounds like a blast!
No no, "Brothers Karamazov" is still going. I am over half-way through, though. The scenery and frog-catching are very distracting and it's been hard to read.
XOXO Jane
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