July 2021

Rain clouds cover the sky ominously on the drive to Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The entrance to the park is directly across a hotel, and you’re immediately greeted by large cannons that you can get up close to.

The visitor’s center should be your first stop to pay the $20 fee and to get a good map, as the size of this place is larger than it looks. It’s totally drive through with well paved roads that can be quite hilly at some parts.

As you begin the drive, you’ll see many monuments labeled with individual states and names, along with markers showing Union and Confederate trenches, rolling hills where the battles were fought on the fields below, and one of the oldest buildings from the civil war that is still standing. If you stand inside it during the rain, the downpour will come inside as well from the dome up top.

The good thing about a torrid downpour is that you can still continue the tour in your car and continue to imagine what it would be like to be fighting on these fields with this rain coming down on you. Houses used by troops and commanders are scattered throughout the property.

Towards the rear area of the park is the USS Cairo, a Union boat that was sunk in 1862 and was restored for people to view and even walk on. Some of the original parts and cannons are on there, with great diagrams on how the people worked, slept, and spent their time on the Cairo. Next to it is a museum with artifacts salvaged from the Cairo, but due to Covid it was closed. You’re still able to look at some of the items through the glass windows, though. Across the street from the Cairo is the Vicksburg National Cemetery, which has 18,000 graves from not only the Civil War, but WWI, WWII, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnam Wars as well.

The rain finally lets up after the tour, and it’s off to Oxford for the rest of the day. The town hall square with all its government entities is in the center, with all the shops and restaurants surrounding it. The plan was to go to City Grocery where Anthony Bourdain dined once, but it required reservations and was extremely pricey! So instead a meal was had at Ajax Diner, which in true southern form let you know it had air conditioning.

I tried out the Red Bean and Rice Egg Roll, which is the most unusual roll I’ve had. The 2 genres of food together was interesting, but not the best ever, but it was still eaten. Good Southern staple of red beans and rice with green beans, sausage, and colorful coleslaw was delicious, and the banana pudding that the waitress insisted on trying was well worth it, it actually beat out my co-worker’s one that I always raved about!

Browsing shops is the thing to do here, but the best place here in my opinion is the Square Bookstore. It’s 2 stories high and it makes you feel like you are in a cozy corner of your grandmother’s house, sipping on a warm drink and reading your favorite book. There’s nothing more satisfying than looking through the shelves and smelling the scent of actual paper in the air. The William Faulkner selection is large with it being his childhood hometown. There’s even a coffee bar upstairs to buy a little warm cup of joe.

The day ended with a trip to Insomnia Cookies, which also sells ice cream. The shop is open until 3 am, and there were warm cookies to chew on to stay full until bedtime.