Tag: Museum

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Blogging Driving Food Geography History Military Travel

Marshall Texas

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my morning south of Hattiesburg Mississippi at historic Camp Shelby to visit the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum. After that – I drove to the bluffs overlooking – and the banks of – the Mighty Mississippi River at historic Natchez. I didn’t get to see and do everything that I wanted to in Natchez, so I’ll just have to visit again on a future road-trip.

Natchez and the surrounding area intrigues me with so much history. The U.S. 84 / U.S. 98 drive across the south of Mississippi leading to Natchez is quite scenic and serene.

Day 4 of my recent retirement road-trip began on the Natchez-Vidalia Bridge. It’s actually two bridges side-by-side. Westbound (into Louisiana) is the original bridge that has been there since 1940. Eastbound (into Mississippi) is the newer (and a bit wider) bridge that was built 48 years later.

I continued my westward trek on U.S. 84. It’s definitely one of my favorite highways in the U.S.A. It has a very interesting intersection with U.S. 165 where – in order to continue on U.S. 84 – you have to make a right-hand turn onto U.S. 165, immediately get in the left-hand turning lane, make a U-turn, quickly get in the right-hand turning lane, and then turn right back onto U.S. 84. (There was a high incidence of collisions at this intersection, so it was reconfigured in 2018 to 2019.)

Fun Facts: U.S. 165 is a 412-mile highway in Arkansas and Louisiana. Its northern-end is at U.S. 70, and its southern-end is at U.S. 90. Technically – U.S. 165 forms a concurrency with U.S. 84 at the unusual intersection described above. (I’m such a U.S. route nerd.)

I entered Texas from Louisiana via rural Keatchie-Marshall Road. There was no big “Welcome To Texas” sign at the state line – just an ordinary “Panola County Line” sign with a smaller route sign above it designating it as Texas Farm Road 123. Oh – and the speed limit increased. (Texans love their high speed limits.) That quick moment began a 10-day stay for me in North Texas.

It was on to Marshall Texas from there, and my first stop was the historic Starr Family Home. I introduced myself as a fellow docent of a historic house, and I enjoyed a wonderful conversation with two of the docents on duty at the time before, during, and after my self-guided tour on both floors of the house. They gave me some good ideas to ponder.

After that I ventured over to the Harrison County Historical Museum. I was a little disappointed that there were no docents on duty during my visit to their museum (located in two different buildings across the street from each other). In fact – I was able to enter and tour virtually the entire museum without any human contact whatsoever. That’s not really a good thing. Open museums should always be visibly manned and supervised for information and security purposes. I did finally find someone working in an office near the gift shop, and I briefly talked to her about the other museum location across the street. Their museum (in both buildings) contained great displays, but they lacked guidance, direction, and written material.

Harrison County Historical Museum, Marshall Texas

My final stop in downtown Marshall was the highly-rated (via Google reviews) Pazzeria By Pietro’s. I got myself a 9″ pizza with pepperoni and Canadian bacon. It was very good – truly hot and delicious !

Next #TravelThursday – I’m settled in North Texas with my family for 9 days. I’ll share some fun moments – including the total solar eclipse. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Food Geography History Military Travel

Mississippi

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my afternoon on the west side of Mobile Alabama at the Bragg-Mitchell Mansion – built in 1855.

As Day 3 of my recent retirement road-trip began – I made my way northward over to Alabama State Road 158. It serves as a brand-new northern bypass of the western suburbs of Mobile. Much of it is 4-lanes, but a portion of it (the westernmost segment) is still 2-lanes and under construction. Once construction is complete it will carry U.S. 98 traffic to and from Mississippi, and the current / longtime U.S. 98 will become a local road (maybe Business U.S. 98).

The western end of Alabama State Road 158 leads to the Mississippi State Line, and U.S. 98 takes over from there as a longtime 4-lane highway. I love that stretch of U.S. 98, as it’s all rural with very little traffic. The South Mississippi countryside is scenic and beautiful. Much of it is raw and unspoiled.

When I retired on the 29TH of February of 2024 – I knew that I would probably never return to the Air Force Base that was my workplace for over 36 years. I also thought that perhaps I would never step foot on any military base ever again. That lasted exactly 34 days – when I entered historic (built during World War 1) Camp Shelby (south of Hattiesburg). It’s a large U.S. Army training post that is also the home of the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum – which was my reason for visiting. The museum is indoors and outdoors. It’s a traditional military historical museum inside, and there are lots of static displays of aircraft and vehicles outside. I enjoyed my time at the museum. I spent a good thorough 2½ hours there. It was time well-spent. Admission is free.

I continued my trek westward to Natchez Mississippi for my 2ND overnight stay. (My 1ST was in November 2021.) I had planned to give myself plenty of time in Natchez to visit at least 1 – perhaps even 2 historic homes / museums in-town. I failed to do so. I enjoyed my visit to the Mississippi Armed Forces Museum so much that I arrived in Natchez later than anticipated. (I guess I’ll have to plan a 3RD visit to Natchez, and maybe even plan for 2 nights there.)

Natchez is definitely a vacation and convention destination high atop the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. Oh – and also right along the banks of the Mighty Mississippi. In fact – I actually drove down (carefully) from the bluffs to the banks via steep Silver Street (built by the Spanish during the 1790s). I saw a part of Natchez (“under-the-hill”) that I didn’t get to see on my first visit – the thriving tourist district with stores, restaurants, and bars. I enjoyed LuDinner (late-Lunch / early-Dinner) at Magnolia Grill. It was where I was planning to eat during my first visit, but I got into town just before sunset and dusk.

A large Viking Mississippi River cruise ship was in-port. That was an amazing (and unexpected) sight to see. Lots of cruise passengers were enjoying their port-of-call for the day. A Viking river cruise is definitely on my bucket list. I know that they are expensive. I think if I were to do one – I would want to do it right – the full 22-day experience between St. Paul Minnesota and New Orleans Louisiana.

Next #TravelThursday – I’ll write about my drive across the Mighty Mississippi River and into and across Louisiana into far-eastern Texas via some real backroads. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

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Blogging Driving Geography History Military Travel

Mobile Alabama

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. Last week I wrote about my morning at the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park off Battleship Parkway (AKA “The Causeway” AKA the concurrency of U.S. 90 & U.S. 98 west of downtown Mobile Alabama).

After my World War 2 educational experience I ventured through the 3,389-foot John H. Bankhead Tunnel into downtown Mobile. The tunnel was built from 1938 to 1941 – just before the U.S.A. entered World War 2.

My next stop on Day 2 of my recent retirement road-trip was the historic Bragg-Mitchell Mansion – built in 1855. It was added to the U.S. National Register Of Historic Places on September 27TH 1972. The museum is open 5 days per week from Tuesday to Saturday – 10 AM to 4 PM – and they are only open via guided tour through the house. All tours start at the top of each hour from the front porch. Each guided tour can last for up to the full hour. Admission is $12 for adults and $5 for children 3 to 12.

The tour was fantastic from start to finish, and I was able to talk docent-to-docent with the guide beforehand and afterward. (I don’t know if you’ve read, but I’m a docent at a historic house that serves as a museum too.)

My hotel for the night was located in the very busy northwest part of the city just across the street from the University Of South Alabama. Traffic was heavy and congested, and it had that big city feel to it. Mobile streets go up and down hills and around curves. You can tell who the somewhat uncertain and perhaps confused tourists are simply by driving these streets. (Guilty. I’m sorry for annoying those driving behind me.)

Fun Facts: In-season nearly 14,000 students attend the University Of South Alabama. About 1,000 administrators work there. The traffic during the early-evening and early-morning hours represented those numbers well. Lots of stores and restaurants are located in this thriving heavily-commercialized area.

My visit to Mobile Alabama (even though overnight) was again too short for all of the things that I wish to see and do in the city – particularly in the downtown area. On a future road-trip I think I need a good 3 or 4 days to check out everything. I’m glad I’m retired now !

Next #TravelThursday – Mississippi is on my mind. I’ll write about my adventures at Camp Shelby near Hattiesburg, and then it’s on to Natchez on the banks (and atop the bluffs) of the Mighty Mississippi River. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp

Categories
Blogging Driving Geography History Military Travel

Mobile Alabama

Welcome back to #TravelThursday. I began Day 2 of my ongoing retirement road-trip to and from North Texas unlike any other day – via an Interstate highway. My hotel for the first night was right along I-10 just south of Quincy Florida (about 20 miles west of Tallahassee). I got on I-10 westbound for exactly 150 miles (from Exit 181 to 31). I then transferred over to U.S. 90, and I took that (and Alternate U.S. 90) to the other side of the Pensacola area. This was a planned-in-advance transfer from Interstate to U.S. highway. It’s a good thing that I did so, for on this particular morning I-10 was at a near stoppage starting just before that Exit 31 due to an accident ahead. Unfortunately – others got off at that same exit before me, and I encountered a long and slow back-up for several miles along U.S. 90. I suppose that it was just a typical Tuesday morning rush hour headed into Pensacola.

Fun Facts: Over a half-million residents live in the Pensacola metro area (which includes Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties – the two western-most counties in Florida). A very short portion of I-10 is located within the city limits of Pensacola. I get very nervous driving on the wide and suburban portion of I-10 approaching, thru, and leaving the city (including the 2.6-mile bridge over Escambia Bay). The U.S. 90 / Alternate U.S. 90 bypass to the north works out better for me.

Northwest of Pensacola I got back on I-10 for the final 5½ miles of far-western Florida and across the Alabama state line. I stayed on I-10 for 35 miles into Alabama (my birth state).

My first stop on Day 2 was the USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park. The USS Alabama (BB-60) was beautiful and fun to tour with multiple levels / decks (12). Much of the ship is accessible for viewing; although, you need to be in good physical shape to navigate and climb through many of the tight spaces. (Only the main deck is ADA-accessible.) The stairways / ladders are very steep and narrow. You can easily spend a good 2 to 4 hours navigating the ship (and seeing everything there is to see). I saw much of the ship, but I skipped many of the upper decks.

Upon entry into the Alabama State Park is a large hangar (Medal Of Honor Aircraft Pavilion) that serves as a traditional indoor museum with lots of military aircraft, vehicles, equipment, and memorabilia on display. In addition to the historic 84-year-old battleship you can also enter and tour the (same age) USS Drum (SS-228) submarine. (Both the battleship and the submarine are only accessible via the aircraft pavilion.)

It was a fun couple of hours at this military historical Park. I’m glad that I finally got the opportunity to visit instead of just driving by with a quick glance over at it.

Next #TravelThursday – I’m still in Mobile Alabama to explore more history – not just as a tourist, but also as a fellow docent of a historic house that serves as a museum. Let’s keep traveling together.

All rights reserved (c) 2024 Christopher M. Day, CountUp