Mississippi

Although we spent only two days in Mississippi, we very much liked what we saw. While driving through the state, we saw a lot of – as expected – cotton and corn fields. But what did come as a surprise is that Mississippi is very green, with almost tropic like vegetation (come to think of it, very logical since winter only lasts 2 months and summer means 40°C and 90% humidity).

The first day, we stopped in Natchez where we visited an antebellum house, Longwood. This house was different than the hundred of other ones you can find in Mississippi. The Dutch owner, Mr. Nutt, was in the middle of construction when Civil War broke out and was never able to finish it, the outside structure was done but inside, the house is still a construction site.

We also had time to taste the local food in Natchez, trying out Fat Mama’s tamales for dinner (with a “knock-you-naked” margarita) and Mammy’s Cupboard, a very politically incorrect lunch place in the shape of a black woman…

The second day, we followed the Natchez Trace Parkway up North. This is what I call a “Top Gear” road… simply beautiful and deserted. The parkway follows the old trace that was used by Indians and later Americans before the steamboat came along. Along the trace, we visited the ruins of Rocky Springs which 200 hundred years ago used to be a wealthy town with a population of 2600. Today, only the church and two safes (probably from the post office and bank) are left…

Late afternoon, after driving on the “blues highway” 61, we arrived in our motel in Clarksdale, the ShackUp Inn located at the old historic Hopson cotton plantation. This must be by far the most amazing hotel I ever stayed at. It’s cheap, only has basic comfort, but the old shacks and historic location make this an unforgettable experience. We stayed in the “Pinetop” shack, named after Joe Willie “Pinetop” Perkins, a sharecropper who later made his fortune as a blues pianist (even playing for Muddy Waters).

Clarksdale is the home of blues, a lot of the famous blues singers have their roots here. The Delta Blues Museum had exhibits on Muddy Waters, Ike Turner, Sam Cooke, J L Hooker and other famous blues singers. We also stopped for a drink at Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Blues Club (unfortunately, we were too early for live music) and had a BBQ pork sandwich at Abe’s, another Clarksdale institution located at the blues crossroads of highways 49 and 61.