Cousin Eudora

We arrived in Jackson hungry and anxious. Tomorrow was going to be the big day. Operation Eudora would come to the apex of its time. For me, it was an evening of sadness. This is what we came for; to donate the photos of Eudora

 and our Great Grand father William 

to Mary Alice, Eudora's niece  for her collection in the Eudora Welty house. This would mean the rest of the trip would be the returning to the place I live. I was still looking forward to meeting Mary Alice and handing over the photos. It had been years since I had been to Eudora's house. I was very young and she was very gracious and had the most alluring sparkle in her eyes. Like she knew something she wanted me to discover. We sat in the parlor and she also showed us the gardens, it was so long ago and the memory is hiding in the mists of my past. 

Seamus did a drive by of the house so we have our heading in the morning. We had spied a Mediterranean restaurant called Keifer's on a near-by street and stopped for dinner. It was not what we expected. After parking the car and entering the restaurant a girl called welcome and asked how many. Two I replied and she tosses me two menus and says sit anywhere. "Sit anywhere" I ask. She looks at me as if I had just grown a second nose."yes" she snaps. Seamus and I look at each other and off we go to seek out the perfect table. We sit and the menu choices vary from salad to gyros of all types. Not exactly what we had in mind but then we are on an adventure and did chose to eat at a local restaurant. Hoping at least for some Greek beer or a selection of wine from Lebanon we find the regular American fare of beer. We order Shock Top, a Greek salad and the Kebob gyro. The salad according to Seamus was below mediocre while the gyro was amazing.  Looking at the last couple of reviews of the place on Yelp I find to my surprise the last two entries are from people who are from Texas and they say the same thing. 

We overnight at a local downtown hotel called  Old Capitol Inn. 

The Temptations, Joan Jett and several other celebrities have stayed here. The building was once upon a time a YMCA built in the 1950s and since it's conversion into a hotel has been highlighted in Southern Living Magazine four times.  It is a beautiful, tranquil hotel with lots of grace and charm. 

At Eudora's house we are greeted and ushered to a table by the wonderful Bridgett. She calls Mary Alice to tell her I am there and as we wait I go over my relationship to Eudora.I had to ask  Seamus to bring in my laptop so I can show them visually, the family tree. It is a wonderful meeting and they are pleased to have the photos. Bridgett guides us on a private tour of the house allowing us to linger and become acquainted with my cousin. Mary Alice embraces me like a long lost relative and it is a most satisfying experience. Before we know it four hours have gone by and we are starving. Bridgett gives us a lunch recommendation and off we go to a place called Babalu Tacos and Tapas.

We are excited at the prospect of another adventure of hunting and gathering for food and off we go. Babalu is in the Fondren Historic District of Jackson in an old school house. Parts of the Fondren District were featured in the movie, The Help. I cannot imagine tacos in Mississippi but it is also a tapas and that I can imagine. This place is AWESOME!!!  We ordered the guacamole (fresh made at your table),

 I ordered beef empanadas and Seamus ordered a taco trio. They came out in stages. LOVE that. First the guac and then the empanadas and last the tacos. Seamus had ordered a catfish taco for me. I was nervous. Catfish can taste divine or taste like mud. This was divine. It was nuggets of cornmeal fried catfish, diced cucumber, and a delicious salsa all wrapped in warm blue corn tortillas.  Guess what was on the white plaster wall? They played I Love Lucy shows.

 Great recommendation Bridget!

We headed back out onto the trail and while we were looking for The Onward Store we came across the tiny town of Rolling Fork and what did we find there? The birthplace of Muddy Waters. This is a stop on the Mississippi Blues Tour. A self guided tour of the Blues in Mississippi. Someday I will go on this. 

We passed through a village in Yazoo County called Mechanicsburg and I wonder where such a name comes from...... In 1863 Gen. Frank Blair encountered Col. W. Wirt Adams of the Confederate Army and after a few skirmishes in Mechanicsburg the Confederate army was pushed back and Gen. Blair returned his troops to Vicksburg for the battle that was about to begin.  All I can find are references to the battle that took place here. No history of the origin of the name. 

Like Gen. Blair we move on to Vicksburg.