Poor Internet access Friday night at campsite in Shreveport, LA so double update tonight.
We left Toomsuba, MS campsite about 10 AM on Friday – so much for getting up early. Waved Goodbye to our Camp Manager whose toothless smile affirmed that we were in Mississippi….
The drive West through Mississippi and Louisiana on Interstate 20 was unusual for us New Jerseyians - It was a straight road for 300 miles without potholes. The farmland was beautiful and there were miles and miles of lovely forests of tall pines. We made good time and passed over the Mississippi River at 1 PM. Judy read about the Siege of Vicksburg as we descended onto the banks of the Mississippi.
The surrender of Vicksburg and the defeat of Lee the day before at the Battle of Gettysburg together are considered the turning point of the Civil War. The residents of Vicksburg were so bitter over the surrender that they did not celebrate July 4th again until 1945. Today the road signs for the battlegrounds are interspersed with signs for casinos on the river edge. Another Vicksburg fact is that the popular soft drink Coca-Cola was bottled for the first time by Joseph Biedenharn, a local confectioner in Vicksburg on March 12, 1894. His original candy store has been renovated as the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum.
We arrived Shreveport, LA about 4:30PM. Unhitched and went out for diesel and then to that 4 Star restaurant Cracker Barrel where we rented a Grisham book on CDs for the road. Back to the trailer where we cooked chicken stir fry.
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