A Short Road Trip East

Kids these days have it so easy.  When I was a kid, vacation consisted of loading the entire family up in a 4-door Ford and driving 1,000 or 2,000 miles to whatever destination Mom and Dad had decided on.  If we had all started yelling about Disney World, they'd have laughed at us.  We always went west.  I don't know why, but that's the direction we always went in.  Until I was an adult traveling on business I never went further east than Shreveport and even then it was on board an American Airlines MD-80.  So the scenery wasn't that great.

Before I took my first trip east in a car I was in my 30's.  In fact, I'm going to say I was probably in my late 30's.  We didn't go far, but we at least crossed the Mississippi River which was huge for me.  It was the beginning of December a number of years ago and Mom, Dad and I decided to go to Natchitoches, Louisiana to see the Christmas lights.  If you've never done that I highly recommend it.  For those who don't know, Natchitoches is the Nacogdoches of Louisiana.  That in itself is reason enough to go.  But additionally, each December they have a Christmas Festival that is really cool.  The Cane River runs through town and the houses along the river are decorated everybody decorates their boats and it is really pretty.  Also on Saturday nights they have fireworks.  It pains me to send tourism dollars to Louisiana and especially to Natchitoches, you know, since I went to SFA and all.  But you have to do what you have to do.  Here are a few pictures I found on line.

By the way, Steel Magnolias was filmed there and they apparently have a lot of bed and breakfasts that are supposed to be nice.  I personally feel that the Meat Pies are their single greatest claim to fame.  Even if I don't have time to spend in Natchitoches when I am passing through I at least stop for a meat pie.

After leaving Natchitoches, we headed on toward Natchez, Mississippi.  I have heard in the past that Natchez was somehow related to the legends of Nacodoches and Natchitoches.  But I don't know if that's true.  I'm not finding any evidence of it on line. Now, I don't remember if we ever made it to Natchez.  I know that we went to Vicksburg.  There we visited the battlefield.  It's the only Civil War battlefield I have ever visited and I was a little awed.  It's something everyone should do.  Don't get me wrong.  It's no Disney World.  Your kids won't be massively entertained. But as they get older, it is something that they will appreciate seeing.

After Vicksburg we came on back home.  It wasn't a terribly exciting first road trip east.  But at least I had finally made it past Shreveport.  More recently, I have driven to Florida once.  That was also in December for a week that we spent in Destin at Christmas time.  Remind me to tell you sometime about spending a week in Florida with most of your family all in one house....  It's a special kind of Christmas joy.

That's all I've got for today.  I need to start moving things out from under my kitchen sink in anticipation of the monthly visit from a plumber this time to unclog a disposal drain that has been grossing me out for the better part of a week.  How can plumbers be so busy?  I could get into see a neurosurgeon faster than I can get a plumber to come and unclog a drain.

Have a good Wednesday!