Anniversary Trip to Natchez

I can't believe we've already been married 3 years. Where has the time gone???? As our time in Mississippi is winding down, one of our last big tourist trips was to Natchez and Vicksburg. I thought our anniversary was a great opportunity to travel there and experience a real Southern Bed and Breakfast.

On our trip down we drove the Natchez Trace Parkway. I traveled on the top half coming back from Nashville in February, and now traveled the bottom section with Scott. It totals 444 miles and is a very beautiful drive. There are a lot of places to pull over to hike, learn about history, or see some waterfalls, gullies, or overlooks. Our favorite that day was this cypress swamp. I thought it was absolutely beautiful. The thick humid air made it feel like the real South you read about in books.

I'm at the sign at the beginning of the Natchez Trace. This is mile marker 1.

We stayed at the beautiful Dunleith Plantation Bed and Breakfast in Natchez. It was incredible!

We got an awesome deal and were able to stay in this beautiful room and eating a yummy southern breakfast for a really discounted price. Talk about being in the right place at the right time. I've always wanted to stay in a bedroom with a chandelier and 4 post bed and the price made it that much sweeter!

The house was decorated so elegantly and we enjoyed looking at all the old furniture. I can't even imagine the upkeep on a place like this.

Natchez, Mississippi actually has the most Antebellum homes in the US. The Union didn't burn the town because there was no need to. By the time they arrived in Natchez the Union had already taken over the Mississippi River. The war ended not too long after that.

We walked along the Mississippi River. The land on the right side of the picture is Mississippi and the left side is Louisiana.

The sunset over the Mississippi was a great way to end the evening.

Still magnificent at night!

Scott's standing in the middle of a magnolia tree. The can get to be huge! Mississippi is known as the Magnolia State. The trees are all over and are very beautiful, they sure are unlike any tree in Colorado!

We stayed on the second floor, so we had the delightful balcony to sit out on and read. We didn't last out there very long though because it was a little too toasty. Still relaxing though.

On our drive back home we took the Civil War route. We stopped by the Windsor Ruins. They were huge!! It was the biggest mansion in Mississippi. The house survived the War but was accidentally burned down in 1890. Pretty unfortunate. The pillars and ironwork are still intact.

Our next stop was Vicksburg. It sits right on the Mississippi River and was pivotal in ending the Civil War. It was the last town the Union needed to take over to gain control of the Mississippi River. After they took it, the war began to wind down. We drove through the Vicksburg National War Park and saw where a lot of the fighting had occurred. It was a very fitting thing to be doing on Memorial Day.

We also saw an ironclad ship that was recovered from the bottom of the Mississippi River. Very interesting. It's amazing the care and effort that was taken in getting it where it is today.

One of the stops was at the Vicksburg National Cemetery. There are people buried there from the Civil War, Spanish/American War, WW I and II, and the Korean War. There are 17,000 or so graves and about 13,000 are unknown. The unknown graves simply have a number on them.

Our quick little trip was a lot of fun, both relaxing and informative and a great way to celebrate 3 wonderful years of marriage!