Monday, May 4, 2009
DeWayne Hayes COE Rec Area, Columbus, MS: Mar 12-20
When we arrived here, we were told that one full-hookup site had just opened, and there was another rig driving around looking for a spot. Fortunately we got there first; otherwise, we would have had to join the constant parade of trucks hauling waste water to the dump station. This was spring break and every site seemed to have 3 or 4 kids running around contributing to the general mayhem. Even with all the children we still enjoyed our stay here. This is at least the fourth time we've parked here, and we never cease to be amazed at how really nice this campground is. It's also really reasonable ($9/night) due to our Senior Pass (tax dollars at work for something good!).
We ate out at a couple of our favorite places, including Jones Restaurant, a locally owned Black business, located in "Catfish Alley", a central meeting and business district for the Columbus African-American Community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name came from the aroma of catfish cooking in the alley. One could smell it across Main Street. The Alley held numerous businesses on both sides of the street, and for over 50 years, Jones Restaurant has represented a typical Catfish Alley business of the early years. Catfish Alley was the epicenter of blues, jazz, and soul music in North MS. Today it contains only two businesses and a historic plaque.
It rained most of the time we were here, so when we weren't playing duplicate bridge or eating out, we were hiding inside reading or playing on the computer. We have become somewhat addicted to Facebook. It was fun seeing all the people we knew from the two local bridge clubs. We also went with a carpool of people to a bridge tournament in Winona, MS, which was a fundraiser for the local library. We managed to place "in the money", which means points not $$$. All the money went to the local library, always a worthy cause.
The weather did get nice enough for us to stroll by the Tennessee Williams Home Visitor Center and attend a barbeque cookout festival that was mostly a judged competition (actually a series of competitions in a nation-wide circuit) that gave the winner bragging rights about their barbeque. There were a few vendors, and we were able to eat some really good barbequed pork (Yes, we became carnivores for this special occasion!).# posted by Doug and Willie @ 10:00 PM 
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