This past two weeks and two days has been action packed. We left Florence Marina in Florence Alabama and traveled about 5 hours to our next location, Aqua Yacht Harbor in Iuka, Mississippi. The weather, although a little damp, held out for the journey.
When we got to Aqua Yacht Marina we were greeted by Charlie the AGLCA Harbor Host who told us all about the marina and the area and that there were other boaters; Loopers, Live-aboards, and Weekenders, that were getting together for Docktails later that evening. We are always up for a good Docktail party so we joined in the fun. Charlie even wheeled his grill down the dock to the gathering and grilled up some bratwursts and hot dogs for the party. That was really special. All sorts of boating stories, questions and advise was shared. We even found out that our “Russian Sub” disaster from last season was a hot topic of discussion in the current wave of Loopers, even all the way to some that gathered in Canada at a Docktail party. Whaaaa, what? Like we are the only ones to have ever had that happen…
Iuka (eye-you-kah) Mississippi is the least populated city in Mississippi with only about 3,000 residents. Although it is large in land mass, it really has very little to offer in the way of conveniences, but it does hold a significant place in Civil War history, being on the edge of Shiloh National Military Park, which we toured years ago in a previous road trip through these parts.
Of course, my personal travel director had a long list of places to see and things to do while in this part of Mississippi so we started by traveling through Iuka’s Historic Downtown and points beyond.
Our first stop was The Apron Museum, yup, it’s really a thing. Mark and Debbie from Meant to Be couldn’t resist the adventure so they joined us. Although the museum website says they are the only museum of this kind in the country, there are supposedly two others. Strangely, the one who told us about the other two is the owner of this museum, so apparently she is unaware of what her website says? Anyway, there are over 2500 aprons on display in the museum and there are about twice that many more in their storage building, with inventory supposedly growing each day. Huh. There is even a doctorate dissertation in the museum from someone from Australia attesting to the history and apparently the worldly importance of a good apron. Double huh.
After the excitement of the Apron Museum we found something that seems to be taking this part of the country by storm; rolled ice cream. It starts with a vanilla base to which many ingredients and flavors are add then the concoction is spread on a freezer pad where it freezes into a thin rectangle, then a wide bladed putty knife is used to scrap it into several rolls and placed in a cup. It is actually very good and I hope it catches on in other parts of the country.
Mark and Debbie headed north, down river…yup, that’s right, so Michael and I were on our own for the rest of this part of the Mississippi adventure.
Our next journey into Iuka brought us to Woodall Mountain, the highest point in Mississippi, a whopping 806 feel in elevation.
We next found the Old Tishomingo County Courthouse which was built in 1888 and was in use until 1971. Known as the Marriage Capital of the South where there was no three day waiting period and no one was ever asked their age, people from Mississippi, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and Illinois came to this courthouse in Iuka to tie the knot in the tax assessors office.
The next day we took our upper helm cushions to Memphis, about a 3 hour drive, to a guy to have them reupholstered. Amazingly enough he said he could have them back to us in 4 days. Really! That’s great, we were expecting many weeks.
After dropping the cushions off, we had to make a lunch stop at one of our Memphis favorites, Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken downtown just off Beale Street, and since we were there we had to head across from Gus’s to another of our Memphis favorites, the Old Dominick Distillery as we might have been getting low on those provisions. The fun thing was while we were there we got talking with the bartender and another guy from Canada whose family was touring Graceland of which he opted out and came to the distillery instead. During the conversation cocktail recipes were swapped and all in all a new Old Fashioned cocktail emerged. The main issue is one must have ingredient, Old Dominick Memphis Toddy, that is only made by this distillery, but have no fear, we now have some…again. This is not the first time, or actually the second time we have been here so Memphis Toddy is always on my shopping list. The drink; however, is new to my repertoire and is a keeper.
Four days later, in a heavy rain from resulting from hurricane Helene, we returned to Memphis and picked up the cushions.
On the way to pick up the cushions we saw a sign for the National Bird Dog Museum and Field Trial Hall of Fame, of of course we stopped! This place was huge with several wings dedicated to every kind of bird hunting dog breed as well as field trial winners. Man, the stuff this country has to offer.
A couple of the different halls within the museum.
The closest place to Iuka with grocery stores, eateries, laundry facilities and anything else one might need is about 40 minutes away in Corinth, Mississippi.
Corinth is along the Mississippi Tennessee boarder. In fact, we learned that you live in Tennessee for tax reasons and play in Corinth for the fun and entertainment. Corinth was originally called Cross City for the junction of the Mobile & Ohio and the Memphis & Charleston railroads. Because of the location, Corinth was a center of contention between the Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War with the Union ultimately taking control. The city is full of very well kept historic buildings and homes, some of which are private residences and a lot of them are museums, shops and restaurants.
One such museum was the old Train Depot and crossed tracks.
One of the many historic eateries is Borroum’s Drug Store which was established in 1865 and still operates today providing all sorts of ice cream concoctions along with breakfast and lunch offerings.
After the war Dr. Andrew Jackson (Jack) Borroum was released from a northern prison camp and was headed home when he traveled through Corinth and ran into another local Dr. who convinced Jack to stay and practice with him. Dr. Jack was adept at making medications as he did for both the Union and Confederate sides during the war so when he started making medications for the locals of Corinth, he opened Borroum’s Drug Store, which is Mississippi’s oldest continuous operation.
While driving around Corinth we saw a sign for the Corinth Contraband Camp. Contraband was a term commonly used in the US military during the Civil War to describe a new status for the people who escaped slavery or those associated with Union forces. They were described by the Union Army and the US Congress as “contraband of war” or captured enemy property. Many were used as laborers to support the Union but they soon began earning wages. The camps were set up near Union forces where the army helped to support and educate adults and children. Thousands of men from those camps enlisted in the United States Colored Troops when recruitment started in 1863.
Our next stop on the tour was the Coca-Cola Bottling Works of Corinth. There were once more than 30 independent Coca-Cola bottlers in Mississippi alone, and over 800 nationwide. Today, the Coca-Cola Bottling Works of Corinth is one of only three Mississippi Coca-Cola operations and is still owned by the original family. It is one of less than 70 remaining independent bottlers left in the country.
Part of the Corinth experience was a surprise to me by my loving husband of 38 years. He reserved a 2 night, off the boat, stay in one of the historic boutique hotels in Corinth; the General’s Quarters.
The General’s Quarters was built in 1869 as an Episcopal Church on the foundation of an original church that had been destroyed during the retreat from Shiloh. It then went through several owners as a private residence, one of whom was the founder of the Maxwell House Coffee Co. In the 1960’s the home was turned into a bordello by a local gangster; W.O. Hathcock (never heard of him). The bordello was closed in the early 1980’s, really? The home was then purchased in 1985 by three local businessmen and was renovated into the restaurant, bar and boutique hotel it is now and naming it the General’s Quarters in honor of the over 200 Generals (from both sides) who occupied Corinth during the Civil War.
This enterprise has also purchased another historic home directly across the street which is now a spa and additional hotel rooms. Michael even booked me for an amazing massage, and I must say, even with all the massages I have had, this was the absolute best massage ever.
Oh, I almost forgot the Dentist. Michael broke a crown, one that was poorly done and even poorly redone by our dentist in Florida before we left. Needless to say, we’re gonna find a new dentist when we get home. Anyway, he was eating Ruffles and actually broke the crown again! Great, now what? We knew we were going to be in Iuka for a while so he called a dentist and made an appointment. We then found out our insurance does not cover stuff while we are out of Florida, that’s just wonderful, gonna have to change that as well. He went to the dentist who made a temporary, and again amazingly, said he could have a permanent one in 2 days. I love this part of the country. No messing around, just getting right to the job! So 2 days later, while I was getting my massage, he was getting his tooth fixed; hopefully for good this time. The dentist even showed up at the bar at the General’s Quarters, which also happened to be Old Fashioned Thursday and apparently everyone in town comes to that after work, and bought us an anniversary drink. I am TRUELY loving this part of the country!!
We left Aqua Yacht Harbor and Iuka yesterday and traveled about an hour north, down river, to an anchorage outside Pickwick State Park. We will be here for a couple of days before heading either back up river or across the river to a couple of other anchorages before heading down the Ten-Tom (Tennessee – Tom Bigbee Waterway). Where and when we will go depends on when the stuff hurricane Helene left up river that is working it’s way down towards us gets here. We do not want to get stuck in that crap again!
One nice thing may also be that the Wilson Lock, the last one we went through that took 6 1/2 hours of waiting before we could get through, is now shut down. There were cracks found in the main chamber doors, the chamber we were in, and the auxiliary chamber is having electrical problems so nothing is going up or down through that lock. I am just so thankful we got through when we did!
That’s all for now. Keep following THIS is what to see where we end up. Love to all, Gina and Mike
