Jackson to Vicksburg, 81 MIles
"What you don't feed, dies."
~Joyce Meyer
We've gotten lost every which way; GPS, maps, Googlemaps, and just plain wandering around. Today while searching for a quilt store, the phone navigator sent us down an abandoned road, woods on each side, a waste of time. And suddenly a metal building appeared, and what do you know? Violating all three rules of real estate (location, location, location) the quilt shop appeared out of nowhere.
QG ran inside and I dashed off for fuel and a once over on the bike. The bike tire pressures were spot on, but the trailer's were quite low. I filled them and hope the fuel mileage will improve. 32 mpg just doesn't cut it.
The man's perspective on today's quilt store:
It's tucked away in the woods, so no one sees you're at a quilt shop.
It has Broken Down Men rockers in the front, a nice touch.
It's in Mississippi, so the person at the counter, butch hair, camo clothes and looking like she just got off a bass boat, was a quilter lady. I think. She could probably dress a deer while I was still searching for it's pants.
Earlier we'd visited the Capitol and it featured some very nice appointments, one of which was Pauline. She taught 7th and 8th grade (shudder) history, and now loves her state, her Capitol and giving tours. We arrived and got strip searched, where I saw the sign reading next tour, 1:00 p.m. It was just past 12:15. We checked in at the tour desk where Pauline was eating her sandwich. She dropped her lunch (figuratively, good) and asked us how much time we had.
All the time in the world.
She loved that.
We toured the entire place as she regaled us with stories of it's construction, history and decor. We saw it all except the Senate, where the Sergeant at Arms, a man with a little power, refused our entry, as the Senate was in recess. Wouldn't that be a great time to visit the Senate? No use arguing with small people. Pauline is why we love living tour guides. Can't get it from a recording, brochure or cell phone.
Of interest were a few things:
The statue on the top of the rotunda wins 'Best Statue On a Rotunda'; it was a gold leaf eagle with a fifteen foot wingspan, awesome.
The inside had 4,750 lights and was bright, an anomaly in Capitol buildings. Most politicians prefer the dark. Okay, maybe not. When they dedicated the building in 1903 they threw the switch, hoping it would light up and it did. It must have been awesome as electric lights were in their infancy. Many of the lights resembled movie marquees.
The fourth floor hallways were illuminated by glass in the ceiling, and featured glass cylinders in the floor to illuminate the third floor. Clever.
We've seen plenty of Liberty Bells, and now know why. The Treasury gave one to each state in thanks for the all the people buying war bonds. Very cool.
And now, very cool herself, Quilter Girl!
The quilt store may have been in the middle of nowhere, but it was right off the freeway exit so it was very convenient. It would have been a good idea to check the location before we left the capitol so we didn't have to back track 10 miles to get there. Kevin was not happy about that. Whoever buys the fabric for the store has very good taste. I found wonderful fabric in the store with lots of bright, cheerful prints. I bought some great fabrics for the states of Maryland, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, plus a few remnants for my scrappy quilt. It is a store I wish I could revisit!
I second Kevin's enjoyment of the Mississippi Capitol. Pauline was awesome with so much information to share. It makes the building come to life. I wish tour guides were not the first thing the legislators cut when it comes time to do budgets. Many are volunteers and add so much to our visits.
QG
Tomorrow the battlefield at Vicksburg. Stay tuned and thanks for following.
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