Columbus Days - Days 41 - 46 - Columbus, MS

After running for several days, we decided that Columbus, with a population of 23,000, was the perfect spot for exploration.

Friday's primary activity was a top-to-bottom boat wash including the Caribe RIB (aka the dingy).  I started the process at noon and completed it at 5:30.  Washing the hardtop, top sides and both sides of the hull is a substantial undertaking.  By 5:30 I was tired but happy with the result.  In Chicago Guided Discovery is washed every Friday morning by a crew of four young people.  They take almost an hour, so my total time isn't that far off.  That said, they also do the outside interior spaces, the cockpit and the bridge. 

Saturday morning we obtained a rental vehicle from Enterprise, a 2010 Ford F-150 pick-up with 23,000 miles on the odometer for an unbelievable $84 for three and a half days.

Our Mississippi Cadillac

Saturday's adventures began at the home of the playwright, Tennessee William, which also serves as Columbus' Visitor Center.  Besides being a magnificently painted Victorian home, it also contained an engaging set of plaques telling the fascinating story of his life.  We read them word for word.

Tennessee Williams home

Lovely Victorian paint job

Downtown Columbus consists of several picturesque blocks with a range of interesting shops.  What stands out is that the merchants carried the Victorian paint theme throughout the town.

Corner of Main and 5th Streets

We passed a number of architecturally interesting Churches during our walk.

Columbus recently (2008) built a two mile river walk, which while technically along the Tombigbee, is more of a walk through the woods with very limited actual river views.  The trail starts by Robinson Road built in the 1820s.

The Robinson Road bridge survived the Civil War

Along the walk we met a charming 10 year old and her great aunt who took an interest in the furry kid, which is actually quite common.  People tend to be attracted to Kodi and this turns out to be a nice thing as we get to chat with many strangers.  The young girl asked if she could pet Kodi.  I often use these encounters as an opportunity to demonstrate Kodi's wide range of behaviors.  It always impresses people and often leads to further conversation.  Note: Our classic "field" demonstration includes 25 of the better than 100 behaviors that Kodi has mastered.  The other 75+ are contextual and related to daily activities (e.g., "get in the dingy" or "go find your pheasant").

Can you tell that Hailey Likes Kodi and vice-versa?

Sunday's activities began with a lovely brunch at the Front Door Columbus, a gourmet shop that was truly just that.  I had a Bloody Mary and Eggs Benedict that was reminiscent of Butch McGuire's Sunday brunch years ago but far more interesting.

Diana poses with the menu and Sunday's take-out dinner

Without question, Sunday's highlight was a visit to Waverly, an antebellum mansion built in 1853 along the Tombigbee that once was a 50,000 acre self sustaining plantation with over 1,000 slaves.

Waverly, an antebellum mansion

View of the dome and chandelier in the foyer

Owner and guide, Melanie Snow

Melanie Snow's parents bought the home from the estate of the original owner after it had been vacant for 50 years while family members argued what to do with it.  Literally nothing was done to maintain the home and having fallen into disrepair it became the home to numerous animals including bats and opossums.  Surprising little vandalism occurred during this time despite the home use by trespassers, which included college fraternities that used the house for pledge hazing (i.e., you were accepted if you could survive the night according to Melanie). 

Melanie parents were small time antique dealers and had to stretch to buy the home.  The restoration, which has been going on for 25+ years, was done by the family (2 adults and 3 kids).  A great example of sweat equity.  The Snow family also furnished the home with period correct antiques.  I suspect PBS' Antique Road Show would have a field day here.  Out tour lasted over two hours and cost $20 for both of us.  Another bargain.  Unfortunately, they do not allow photos, which was strange considering they have good photos on their website.  Take a look.

Side Note: I knew that antebellum referred to home build before the Civil War but I never understood the derivation of this strange word.  So, I asked Melanie.  She explained that antebellum is short for "before bedlam."  Sounds plausible.

Sunday afternoon concluded with a walk through Columbus searching for antebellum homes on the Federal Register.  These home were identified with signage noting the name of the home and the date it was build.  Below is a great example:

Our final stop was Freedom Cemetery where several hundred CSA soldiers are buried in military style.  Friendship Cemetery in Columbus, has been called "Where Flowers Healed A Nation"? On April 25, 1866 the ladies of Columbus, Mississippi decided to decorate both Confederate and Union soldiers' graves with garlands and bouquets of beautiful flowers. As a direct result of this kind gesture, Americans celebrate what has come to be called MEMORIAL DAY each year.

Monday, it rained all day.  Not fun but its hard to complain when we have had a total of 5 days of poor weather out of the 46 we've been out.  We spent most of the day relaxed on the boat interspersed with a productive shopping trip to K-Mart (of all places) where we bought hard goods to make our lives easier.  The day ended with a three hour laundry project during which we visited Dave, Gail and Bill on River Cities.

Kodi and I dressed to the nines for a walk in the rain

We awoke to cloudy, cold and rainy weather on Tuesday and decided to stay another day.  A quick call to Enterprise secured our rental truck for an additional $28 (unbelievable).  Our goal today was the Tupelo Automobile Museum in Tupelo Mississippi approximately 65 miles north.  The museum houses 150 antique vehicles chronologically arranged to represent 100 year of automotive progress that were collected by Frank Spain who later went on to found MCI.  Definitely worth the trip.

You can check out our photos by clicking here.  However, the following are significant.

The couple that took our picture next to a 1962 Chevrolet Biscayne also had loaned his car to the museum for a 1950-60's Chevrolet exhibit.  I owned a 1961 white version.  It was my first new car.

The couple posed by their 1962 Biscayne Coupe with a 396 V8

Some of the loaned Chevrolet's

1963 Impala SS.  I had the identical 1964 version with a black top

Definitely a trip down memory lane.

Written by Les.