The Strawbridge side on my family rarely gets together. This year my Aunt Faye was visiting her children in South Alabama so she arranged for us to meet in south Mississippi. My parents combined this trip in to a tax paying run as well.
The unusual white Christmas lasted into Monday morning making it unsafe for my dad to back his car out of his garage. Sop we altered our schedule slightly and I picked them up at their house in my 4×4 GMC Suburban. I don;t use 4×4 often in that truck but it is sure nice to have it when I need it. Like towing the Jeep up to the campground in Harlan and picking up passengers in the snow.
We made the 300 mile trek to Pontotoc MS uneventfully. We arrived in time to pay the land taxes in Pontotoc but he court house was closed for Christmas Holiday. We stayed the night in my Grandfathers old farm house. My cousin Allen visited and invited me to go to the meeting at the Pontotoc Masonic lodge. It was interesting to note the differences between the Tennessee ritual and the Mississippi version. I enjoyed meeting the friendly brothers there.
Back at the house, Scott and Megan had arrived form Middle Tn but Megan was ill. She had really been looking forward to the trip sop wee did every thing we could to get her well enough to make the rest of the journey with us. But early the next morning she was still not feeling well, so they returned to Tennessee while we headed south to Hattiesburg.
We took a small detour to see the famous Masonic Lodge in Okalona, MS. This is one of the largest and most ornate lodges in Mississippi. We did not stop however, we just saw it from the street.
We made our way to the new highway 45 that cuts across the cotton fields there. Many of the old landmarks are still visible but just as many are gone. We could barely make out where my grandfathers shop had been in Gibson.
We stopped for breakfast in West Point. Eventually we intersected Interstate 59 and made the run to Hattiesburg. The GPS caused us to make one small detour in Ellisville falsely making us think we had arrived at our destination thirty minutes early.
We arrived at our hotel with no trouble. Faye was already there setting up the room. Our hotel rooms were not quite ready at the Baymount but we spent the time getting reacquainted. It had been at least three years since I had seen any of my relatives.
Soon our rooms were prepared and lunch arrived form a local BBQ place. Tory had brought her portfolio of art, Mom had her books and Tracy brought a model of the BSW bulldozer blade that had been the center of the family business for many years.
Tracy also brought his Roush racing Mustang and gave my uncle Clinton a fast ride up the interstate in the afternoon.
After a while all the stories were told and pictures were looked at. The clan slowly drifted off. Faye and Danny visited with Mom and Dad in their room while Janice, Will and I visited the local Zaxbys for a late night snack.
The next morning we had breakfast with Faye and her family. We left late in the morning and made our way back to Pontotoc. We stopped again in West Point where mom and dad decided to sample the4 catfish after seeing so many cat fish farms along the route.
We arrived slightly after lunch and I paid the Pontotoc land taxes. I pay these in person every year now after a John Grishom like episode a few years ago where a computer record got changed indicating that we had not paid the taxes and someone else was trying to claim our land. Luckily Mom had all the right receipts to prove the computer wrong.
Again the long trip back to Tennessee was uneventful. The big Suburban made the rip easily and comfortably for all five passengers. I even spent a couple of hour in the very back seat while Dad drove and found it very comfortable just like the front seats.