Mississippi

June, 2021

Spoiler Alert! The comments that follow reflect only my own thinking and experiences and are not intended in any way to offend anyone.

Disappointing on every level - the ecology, the culture, the “buzz” of the city, the cuisine, the “awareness” of what constitutes good (not even great) service - it felt like we were back in time by about 50 years. We went with an optimistic and open mind, eager to see what Mississippi had to offer (after all, Alabama had been a surprise) and to drive the Natchez Trace Parkway with key stops along the way. We left Baton Rouge for Natchez, where the Natchez Trace Parkway starts, and spent a day and half there, then on to Jackson for another day and finally to Tupelo, for a half-day. The most disappointing of all was Jackson, a city of 177,000 and the capital of the state. The visitor brochure we picked up at the Mississippi Tourist Office in Natchez was slick, professionally done and most importantly, very very inviting. We were left with a sense that we may have shortchanged ourselves by not giving it more time. We needn’t have worried.

Even the Natchez Trace Parkway was somewhat disappointing. Not nearly as intoxicating as the parkway in Tennessee, with fewer historical stops, only 2 lanes, a much less interesting landscape, and far more traffic, it didn’t live up to our expectations. Not to mention the bugs!!!!!!! That’s not to say we did not enjoy it, but we did not enjoy it nearly as much!

Our experiences in hotels in Mississippi, all from a big brand name with an excellent reputation, were shocking in their state of disrepair, dirty conditions, poor management, sullen staff, disregard for customers, and overall dismal experiences. A sign appeared on every door informing customers that masks were required. Well, hard to enforce that if the staff don’t wear masks, or wear them properly. Of course they didn’t - and this in the state with the lowest vaccination rate in the US! So my question is - why bother to keep the sign up?

On every door to a hotel or restaurant, there was invariably a sign indicating that guns were not allowed. As if that would stop someone…..

I must say I was glad to see the Welcome to Alabama sign when we crossed the border and I’m not going back!

With so many beautiful and interesting places in the world to see, my advice is to skip Mississippi altogether.