We are such dummies. We've been on the road so long we never are aware of what day it is. DeRidder is where some of my family lived and died so after breakfast we head off to visit the county (parish) courthouse. When we get there I'm thinking wow look at all the parking! Then it hit us. It's Saturday. No courthouse. So we then go to the library... It's open! It closed as we walked in. And it's a 3-day weekend. What to do. This morning I had located a great-great...

On our way from Jackson MS to Deridder LA we came to Vicksburg, site of a major Civil War battle. So we stopped and did some sightseeing. Four hours of sightseeing! And we just scratched the surface. After watching a movie we drove through the battle grounds where they have markers showing where each regiment was and how they moved. They also have monuments for each regiment from every state that fought, then larger ones for each state, including Texas. They also...

Another pretty drive south from Memphis - forrest all the way. Ridgeland MS is an interesting place. Out here in the middle of nowhere is this modern bustling town with hotels, shopping malls and office buildings - all built around a huuuuge Nissan plant. The East Carolina basketball team was in the restaurant this morning. They were keeping the hotel people hopping supplying food to the buffet! Onward to Deridder LA today. My mother's father's parents both li...

After DeRidder, and facing a long weekend in middle Louisiana, we decided to head home, reconnoiter, do more homework, and plan for a next campaign in the future. We drove I10 to Houston, ate Mexican food at Molina's then drove home. A long day, and it was good to be home.

A little change of plans. We decided to not go farther east after all. So we spent the bulk of the day at the TeMemphis Zoo (a really great zoo, BTW) and then head south. We'll be in Jackson MS tonight, then go through Louisiana. I have some ancestors from there and we'll probably chase them a bit before heading into Texas.