Today we had our final punch list of service items completed and by 9:30 this A.M. we headed out from Red Bay, Alabama.  We had a great stay but we had the itch to head out once again.  Because of storms that were predicted along I-40 we decided to take a more southerly route.  So we went basically from the NE corner of Mississippi (Red Bay, AL is right on the border) to the SW corner of MS.  We travelled around 340 miles.

We were going to bust right through and put long hours driving west towards Happy Trails in Surprise, AZ.  But we decided to land here in Vicksburg which is on the Mississippi river

The town is famous for it’s Civil War past.   On this trip we haven’t paid much attention to  Civil War history but the South is right in the heart of most of the troubles.  We’ll report more on what we see in tomorrow’s blog.

Lots of driving and not much to talk about.  Except for something that I have observed occasionally behind the wheel and that is the waving habits of men in pickups we have encountered.  In Texas if we were on a rural road the style of wave was a kind of “boy howdy”.  A full hand wave with a typical Texas type of exuberance.

In LA and especially Al I would have to call the style a “finger wave.”  That is right hand always on top of the wheel and just a subtle and relaxed index finger salute.  It’s always nice to get a friendly acknowledgement on a lonely road.

It is full on spring time down here in the South.  All of the deciduous trees are leafed out and  the various greens we have encountered are just stunning.  In many ways the landscape reminds me a lot of Oregon.  We have included a shot through our bug smeared windshield.

Erik, thanks for including us in your day on the mountain.  This smart phone business just amazes me.  Mom just loves her IPhone and it was great to get multiple “whohas” from you...that’s the sound her phone makes when you text her.

Bye for now

Grandpa