Mississippi - Day 29 - Natchez

Plantation RV Park
Wednesday, 29 January 2020

I'd mistakenly thought the campground sold propane so, like it or not, I had to leave today to go get some.  It's been chilly at night - down in the low 40s and upper 30s - and I'm down below a quarter tank left.  The park owner said the Tractor Supply back on the north side of town sold it, so that's where I was headed.

I stopped several times on the way, first trying to find some wine.  I went to 2 different liquor stores (wine's not sold in grocery stores in MS), and both had about the same choices, both in wine and in liquors.  I realized later that was because all the alcohol is owned by the state, so of course everybody's going to have more or less the same products to sell.

Like the grocery stores, I haven't found a large liquor store in MS and those in Natchez were no exception.  These two liquor stores had very different personalities - one was tiny and owned by an elderly black woman who I enjoyed chatting with; the other had a friendly full-grown Great Dane greeting all the customers and I was amazed the management trusted him not to wag that tail and knock bottles off shelves.  Very sweet dog, followed me around the store, taller than my elbow so he was easy to pat.

I stopped at a different grocery store from yesterday's, hoping they'd have more of selection, but they didn't and I discovered when I got my receipt that they're part of the same company.

The Tractor Supply did indeed sell propane, and we stayed in their parking lot long enough for the dogs to go for a walk around the grassy areas surrounding the store, and to eat some lunch.

I noticed a business called My Book House, which caught my eye because of it being the name of a group of books we grew up with that had belonged to my momma and her brother when they were young (so very old books).  Fairy tales and folk tales and foreign tales, all told with genius illustrations.  Because of the name I looked up the store and learned it is actually a used book store (probably named for the series) and also sells gifts and things.  Apparently it's a one-woman business and been around for some years now.  I don't know how old she is but hope she's still alive when I get back to this area because I'd like to visit her shop.

Two main streets in Natchez are named after politicians.  One is the John R. Junkin Parkway, named for a speaker of the MS House of Representatives in the 1970s; the other is Seargent Prentiss, a member of both the state and US House back in the 1800s and a gifted orator who died suddenly at age 41.  The city usually abbreviates the street name on the signs as Sgt. Prentiss, so I of course expected him to be some war hero or something.  But apparently his first name is Seargent, not spelled like the rank.  The odd thing to me is that when he died in 1850, the road that's named for him couldn't have been anywhere near the city limits at that time.  So did they name a country road after him or did they name a city road for him 100 years after his death?

Near the campground on Route 61 is a restaurant called Roux 61 Grill - reaching a little bit but likely easy to remember.

There's a bush right next to my dining room window that's a favorite of a pair of cardinals, especially the female.  It's also well-liked by at least one nuthatch, which I saw with nesting material in its beak - he was so close to my window I could see him easily.  I understand I'm in the South where the weather's milder, and I understand we've been having the usual January 2-weeks-of-warm-weather (I remember it well from when I was growing up in Texas).  But that warm weather is always always followed by some very cold weather for at least a month or two and I'd have figured the birds would have adjusted to that weather pattern.  So why was this bird carrying nesting material?  For that matter, I've seen several birds - robins at my last campground - acting like they're ready to mate, and this isn't the only bird I've seen building a nest.  Hope it all works out for them.