Natchez, MS

   Vicksburg, MS was a very historical visit including the battlefield which was incredibly hilly. This place must have been tiring to move in and around. Also in the park is a restoration of a sunken ironclad, including the personal items of the 150+ sailors aboard when it was sunk by a mine. A very informative display. As we were leaving the park, both our phones got tornado warnings. Oh Boy. After learning that our campground  had a restroom that would provide some shelter we took off. During the tense 30 minute drive the view in the rear view mirror got darker and darker,and filled with intense lightening. We got to shelter and waited until the advisory expired. All was well for us, however, the place we left wasn't quite as lucky. The grocery store we shopped, lost part of a roof.
  Today we are settled in the Natchez area which is as far South and West as we intent to travel. We drove into historic Natchez this afternoon and parked high on the cliff overlooking the Mississippi River and Louisiana. There was barge traffic 10 times bigger than what we had seen on the Tom Bigbee (Tenn Tom) Waterway. The Mississippi has flooded its banks and will remain this way well into May.
   We drove off highway again and stumbled into two things worth mentioning; I spied an old mercantile building with a place big enough to park. Turns out they serve a buffet everyday except Christmas. Of course we had to try this. Two black guys provided service and this place was the absolute, real deal. Ribs, fried chicken, picnic ham, meatballs, green beans, red beans, collard greens, sweet potato, ....Oh, and peach cobbler, blueberry and apple cobbler as well as sweet potato pie. This stuff was delicious. There was no need for dinner.
The other mention are the worn out homes that dot the landscape. Here's one example;