Live from Vicksburg, Mississippi!

Right now I'm writing from an absolutely beautiful hotel room at the Riverwalk Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi.  You know me, I love a great hotel room, and this place is spectacular--especially since it cost only $49.  Beautiful decor, flat screen TV, nice bathroom... MUCH better than the dumpy Days Inn we stayed in last night in Tupulo. 

We rolled into Vickburg around 6 p.m. and it's definitely the best place we've been in Mississippi so far.  But I should back up...

Okay, Sunday was our racing day at Churchill Downs, which as Mom said in the video, has nothing on beautiful Saratoga Racetrack.  It was nice, and big, but I agree that Saratoga is more beautiful.  Someday I want to check out Del Mar in California--I hear that's gorgeous. 

Monday... seriously, who visits Helen Keller's birthplace in Tuscumbia, Alabama, twice in six months?  Well, we did! 

You know Lori--she just had to see her breast bust.

Lori and I loved that place--we had to show Mom.  Here she is at the famous pump.

The woman doing the tour said 85 percent of the furniture is original.  These are Helen's actual clothes.

It's a really awesome place.  And I mean "awesome" in the way the word was originally intended.

After that, we decided to take in another famous northwest Alabama attraction, the Coon Dog Cemetery, where 185 coon dogs have been laid to rest since 1937.  Only authentic coon dogs are allowed to be buried there--no pussy poodles or lap dogs.  Remember, it was a coon dog that won first place in that movie, Best in Show, so there must be something special about them.


We didn't know what to expect, and believe me when I tell you it's out in the middle of freakin' nowhere.  All my mother could say as we drove along these back country roads was, "I've seen Deliverance, you know."  On the way we saw a sign for the Rattlesnake Saloon pointing down a cross road, but Mom was no way in hell going there, too; we were lucky to be able to drag her as far as we did.

It was definitely worth the trip, but you know me--I love those Roadside America attractions.  This video gives a better sense of perspective.




As it turned out, we did convince Mom to go to the Rattlesnake Saloon, but that place deserves its own post--unbelievable.  I still have much more to tell, but I'm exhausted right now.  I'll try to post some more tomorrow.