Fx4 2012: Memphis and More

We left Vicksburg on Monday morning.  We've done the drive from Vicksburg to Chicago many, many times - and every time we have driven through Memphis, we have noticed the sign for the National Civil Rights Museum.  Who knows how many times we will drive this way again?  I figured this was finally our chance to stop.
 

The museum is well-designed and full of information.  Corrie and Ben were too young to appreciate much of it - there was a lot of reading involved - but Evan took it all in.

When Emmett was explaining nonviolence and what happened in the Montgomery bus boycott, Evan commented "the black people sure were smarter than the white people."  It was striking - and disturbing - to see images of fire hoses and dogs, and videos of people hitting and jeering at students as they sat quietly at lunch counters.  It was hard to know how to explain those actions to our kids.

The tour ends at the hotel room that Dr. King was staying in before he was shot.  The wreath on the balcony marks where he stood.

I highly recommend this museum for anyone visiting Memphis.  

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That night, we stopped for pizza to honor Emmett's brother Elliott's birthday.

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The next day, we drove to Chicago! 

We stopped along the way for lunch at a rest area.  This was actually one of our best decisions for the trip.  In an effort to save money, we planned to buy only one meal a day while driving.  Otherwise, we would eat the free continental breakfast at the hotel and carry snacks and a picnic lunch.  This worked GREAT.  I bought juice boxes, goldfish crackers, fruit, chips, etc. and we made sandwiches each morning.  Our daily drives were shorter because we weren't stopping as much, and our gas station visits were a lot quicker (and had much LESS whining!) because we already had snacks available.  The rest areas also gave the kids a chance to stretch their legs.

 Do you think the kids were tired of sitting?  :)

Memphis was Day 4 and the drive to Chicago was Day 5 of our vacation.  Next up: Arlington Heights.

Fx4 2012: Vicksburg

After our semi-eventful drive, we were glad to hang out in Vicksburg for a couple of days.  My Aunt Sandra and Uncle Bobby joined us for dinner on Saturday night.  Mom spoiled us with a big home-cooked meal: pot roast, rice and gravy, lima beans, field peas, rolls, and I think there was more.  I know there were brownies and banana pudding for dessert.

Uncle Mark!

So glad to see Grandma.

Sunday we saw the good folks of Gibson Memorial.  We stayed for potluck after the service.  Yum. 

Here we are before church:

Aloha shirts!

Corrie and blue blankie

The sun!  The sun!  Ben and I are squinty.

We split up for the afternoon.  Emmett and Mark took the big kids to the Vicksburg National Military Park to run around.  Evan loves to pretend he's a soldier, and he roped everyone into a big game of war.  Although I guess he got a little confused ... when Mark and Corrie attacked, Evan warned Emmett to "Watch out for the Germans!"  Wrong war, sweetie.  It was crazy hot that day, so Corrie mostly hung out in the air-conditioned car while the boys explored.

The one picture the guys took at the park.

Mom, Ben and I spent a couple of hours hanging out at Walmart, waiting to get the battery replaced.  One of the women who works at the WalMart Tire Center has a young daughter with Down syndrome, so we talked briefly.

For dinner, Rowdy's!  I had to get fried catfish (and batter fries) while we were in Mississippi. 

We usually play games when we're with my family.  After the kids went to bed, Mom and I took on Emmett and Mark in a Sequence tournament.  The guys won.  Shady business.

Another Evan story:  Mom likes to get books for Evan (The Magic Tree House series, Rikki Tikki Tavi, etc).  This time, she gave him Stone Fox.  She warned him that the ending was surprising.  Evan started reading that afternoon, and took it up to bed with him.  "Grandma, thanks for this book.  I really like it."  Mom and I got to talking about the book, and she said that when she read it to her 4th graders at school, she cried.  Why?  Spoiler alert:  it's about a sled race, and at the very end of the book, the boy's dog dies, and he has to carry the dead dog across the finish line to win the race. 

Note: A year or so ago, Mom gave us the movie Eight Below about stranded sled dogs at the South Pole.  She also recommended Old Yeller.  

Despite his affinity for weapons and war, Evan's kind of sensitive.  Sure enough, later in the evening, he came downstairs, holding the book, looking totally shell-shocked.  "It's the second saddest thing I've ever seen," he said, tears in his eyes.  What was the first?  "Eight Below."