The Return from Mississippi

Well we made it! 12 days on the open road from San Antonio to McComb, Mississippi and back in a stuffed-to-the gills Navigator with a 3-month-old, a 3-year-old, an almost 6-year-old, a 14-year-old and 4 adults (with corresponding paraphernalia) hauling a 14-foot trailer. On the roadtrip, we stopped at a rest stop at the Texas-Louisiana state line. On the "nature trail" through the bayou out back we saw a baby alligator, a water moccasin, bull frogs, fish, etc. It was a pleasant break from the interstate scenery. Later, we stopped in Beaux Bridge, Louisiana for some Cajun cookin'. Nate tried alligator for the first time. "Mmmm, I like it!" (It's fried and dipped in ketchup, what's not to like?) When we got to Campmeetin', we stuffed the gaggle in a cabin with Grandmother & Granddaddy, four more adults and an 18-month-old pistol. And you know what? Again, I can't wait to go back next year!

The days were filled with slow wake-ups on the porch with a cup of coffee--Nate reading books or playing with tractors, watching Nate pedal his little 12" bike with training wheels all over the campground (especially on the volleyball court), swimming in the creek (he made it down the big slide a couple of times this year with Daddy), singing songs with the other preschoolers, hunting for frogs with the other boys and girls after dark (thanks for the frog-huntin' flashlight, Sandy!), feeding the cows (#68 found him again this year), and playing in the dirt. He's starting to remember the cousins and faces he met last year. Jason was able to join us again for the last four days (after the Step 2--another national licensing test). He made it to both Nathaniel's and Amelia's first Campmeetings.

The Campmeetin' experience was a little different for me this year--with two kids on two schedules, there wasn't quite as much time to chat, walk the loop, and generally flit about. Amelia is still feeding once or twice in the night (she actually adapted very well), so I was pretty tired during the day because of the interrupted slumber. Nate, Amelia and I shared a room. Nate was up on the top bunk, thinking he was pretty big stuff. He loved sharing the room with Mom and Amelia. He checked on his sister every night before climbing up to bed. Like I said, there weren't as many late nights chatting with the cousins on the porch; but I made it off the rope swing for the third year in a row and managed to polish of a bag of boiled peanuts or two after the sun went down! And, Alas! There was no blueberry picking this year. The drought in the area really hit hard and the nephew of the uncle who lets us pick (gleam) his leftover crop was going to be lucky to get one harvest. Oh well. I'm not sure when we would have fit it in anyway.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let this slideshow sum up the rest of the trip...

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DID YOU KNOW? "Mississippi" is the second song on Bob Dylan's 2001 album "Love and Theft