Rosa Parks, a Mini Family Reunion, and Mississippi

Ariel is learning about Martin Luther King, slavery, Rosa Parks, the fight to end slavery, and the fight to end segregation. I am thankful that she is having these conversations with her classmates and her teacher. Her awareness of previous injustices and those still happening against the African Americans across our country is increasing.  

I was able to have conversations with her at the Mel Fisher museum about slavery when we saw the boats that were used to bring people kidnaped from African to America hundreds of years ago. She is beginning to comprehend what her teacher was trying to convey to the class. When Ariel saw the pictures of the slave ships her response was “but we are all the same mom that’s not fair.”   

Today we had the opportunity to see the bus stop where Rosa Parks made her stand against segregation by not giving up her seat on the bus to a white man. Ariel and I read the information posted by the statue of Rosa Parks. Then, in the car, Ariel talked to us about how brave heroic Rosa Parks was. Later she was able to talk to her class about her experience this morning.  I was happy she was able to make the connection between her school discussions and real life experiences.

Today we also had the treat of visiting with Ron’s Aunts and Uncles whom he has not seen for a few years. We got to visit with his Aunt Ellen (his dad’s sister) and Uncle Gene and his Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob (his dad’s brother). They live in Birmingham AL and we had such a great visit. Aunt Ellen made us a special treat that her mom (Ron’s grandma) used to make. Aunt Mary made chocolate chip cookies.

Ron and I had such a nice visit with them and the kids loved to explore their nice homes. We were sad not to be able to see more of his family along this trip and this just reinforced the fact that we really want to attend one of the Rougeaux family reunions. I have always loved learning about my own family’s history and I would love to learn more about Ron’s family history too. Ron loved hearing the stories today about his Grandma and Grandpa and more about his family’s story.  

We also passed by the Piggly Wiggly. This is only significant because when watching Sweet Home Alabama last night Reese Witherspoon’s character made a cheeky reference to it. So of course we had to stop and take a picture. Apparently the Piggly Wiggly is America’s first true self-service grocery store. 

We crossed into Mississippi today and I was excited to visit the State where my good friend Leslie is from. After we set up camp at our KOA campground just outside Starkville we took the pups to the dog park and let the kids play at the playground. It was so nice to have a shorter travel day so that we could enjoy a relaxing moment before we were off to dinner. During our playtime with the pups an acorn fell directly into my cup and bounced right out. I feel this has to be a good omen. Time to buy a lotto ticket!  

At the dog park Ron and I researched local restaurants and found the best little restaurant for dinner. I double checked with Leslie and she said it was a solid choice. We ate a Little Dooey and it ranks as one of our favourites on this trip. You could tell it was a local favourite as well and so that’s always a good sign. We ate fried crawfish and fried catfish. Both were delicious. It was so much fun to chat with Leslie while we enjoyed our first meal in Mississippi. Leslie now has superhero status with our kiddos after they learned that she actually used to catch her own catfish and that one time she ate 10lbs of crawfish. Leslie you were always super cool to the kiddos and now you just became that much cooler.

When we were setting up camp a nice gentleman came over to say hi. He used to live in WA state and so wanted to say hello. He told me that when it gets dark lightning bugs light up the bushes just beyond our campsite. I was so excited about this because I so desperately want to see them on this trip. Sadly it got pretty cold tonight and so we didn’t see any lightning bugs.  I was so disappointed and really hope I see them before the trip is over. Just a few more opportunities left! Leslie, we really enjoyed our afternoon in Mississippi. Your home state was a fabulous host for the Rougeauxs.  

Goodnight from Mississippi!