FLORIDA UPDATE--FINAL RIDES

We were able to rack up 2,120 miles on the trike before we checked out of the condo on March 1st.  I have already requested the months of January AND February for the condo next year.  Before we left, we got a "sending off" lunch from our GWRRA friends here and in Alabama.  It was held at the Mission Barbecue in Panama City.  It's quite a place!  At exactly noon, they request everyone to stand and the national anthem is played.  I thought it was great, and I didn't see anybody kneeling.  We are really going to miss our "southern" friends until next winter.

Since we wanted to take our time getting back to the frozen tundra, we took Jim & Cathy's suggestion and headed over to Vicksburg, Mississippi, to see the National Civil War Park over there that commemorates the battle of Vicksburg.  This was a siege won by the Union under General Grant that let the north gain control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy.  This park is set up much like the one some of us guys visited in Chattanooga.  You can drive (we took the trike) through the park and see where the various skirmishes took place and see the various monuments that have been erected by the states that sent men to fight here.  We also got to see a cannon demonstration and see the Cairo (an iron clad ship built by the Union that was sunk by Confederate torpedoes (mines).
Here are some photos of our park visit.

WILLIAM HALL-COMMANDER OF AN IOWA BRIGADE

AN IOWA MONUMENT

GENERAL GRANT-UNION

GENERAL FORREST-CONFEDERATE

WNR NEXT TO IRON CLAD TRIKE AND IRON CLAD SHIP

THE CAIRO--PULLED UP FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE BAY

EACH OF THE CANNONS SHOWN HERE WERE USED IN THE BATTLE AT VICKSBURG

After our ride in the park, we returned to the motel in Jackson just before it started to rain.  The next morning the rain was continuing and there was a big cool down (all the way down to 50 degrees), so we reluctantly started our homeward trek.  On the way back we had two of the most unique dining experiences we have ever experienced along with a visit with Casey Jones.  I'll save those for the first post when we get back to tropical Iowa on Tuesday.