Keep on Keepin' on

They put the green beast back together again....and then I high tailed it out of Louisiana!!!  I don't know if they were just jerkin' me around at Wally World  or what, but I swear to god by the time I left I wasn't sure if my car was even drivable.   I drove it anyway, but every little bump or rattle caused my whole being to tense up in anticipation of another blown tire....or worse.  But on I went, I made to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and stayed in yet another cheapo chain motel that had that combination of stale cigarette, and musty funk that makes you want to bring your own sheets. And then I pull out night stand so I can plug my laptop in to charge and I find a condom wrapper......nice.  The next morning I saw a man cleaning the rooms.......'splains alot eh? 

Hattiesburg was cute, ate some chicken fingers at the place next door....I liked the name......Raising Cane's.  With a population of 50,000 it's the 4th largest city in Mississippi and home to Southern Mississippi University.  MS was soooo beautiful. Because of it's climate/elevation it's got that mix of the needle leaf conifers and the broadleaf deciduous that gives it a variety of texture and color. And the sky!! I tried to get a picture as I was driving of this one area where light was breaking through the clouds but the picture doesn't do it justice. And there are also these Mimosa trees that have these little pink clusters of flowers all along the highways throughout MS and Alabama....I like them, I like them alot

I didn't spend a lot of time in MS or Alabama.  : (

In Alabama I stopped in Moundeville and looked at well.....some huge mounds of dirt.  It's a native american archaeological site....it's neat but here's the pics you can hike up the stairs to go to the top of the largest mound:

      

It was getting late so I followed some signs to a state park and ended up staying the night: Tannehill state park.  As always, the woman checking me in looked at my license and asked in that supportive 'go girl', but also quizzical....what's your deal kind of way, if I was traveling alone. "Well I have a fairy in the car" I wish I had said that but nooo.   Then she showed where where the sites were and where she was......"just in case I needed anything" I do have to wonder though if there had been some problems of some sort at that park because you had to have a key to get into the bathrooms, and that's the first time I've come across that.  Which was a pain

 because the next morning I had no idea where I had put the key so I was frantically searching while doing the dance!!! 

 

It just strikes me as funny getting questioned all the time about traveling alone.  It never even crossed my mind that going on this kind of trip by myself was such an unusual thing, there are positives and negatives for sure, but I hadn't thought of it as being especially out of the ordinary.....evidently it's quite curious to some.

So I left my little campsite in Alabama and had thought my little gps was guiding me up north through Birmingham but it actually took me east and by the time I was aware of what happened it was too late so I'm going to have to go back on my next little loop. The gps is a very handy little tool, but I'm learning to check my routes because the thing would have me getting everywhere asap but not seeing anything!!! Kind of defeats the purpose. The highlight of the drive today was the little turtle trying to cross the highway......the thing was trying but it's a turtle....they do their best but sometimes it gets you squashed.  Not this time though!! This little guy was so close and as I'm passing in one lane the big rig.....whose flippin' passing me....comes up on the turtle.....and that lucky little turtle is in the right spot on the road because the truck passes right over him.....I looked back and could see his little head come back out of his shell and he just kept on 'truckin'  

I made it up to TN, I'm just outside Manchester where the music festival is and will be there for the next four days.  I decided to go, though I had thought about selling my ticket.  For one thing I'm ready to be in one place veggin' out for a few days, and they have a cinema tent where they're showing movies 24-7 so I'm good.