Annie Lee the Argosy Update No. 082

Natchez Trace Caravan

with Argosy Adventures

Nashville - Muscle Shoals - Tupelo - Jackson - Natchez

[That logo still looks off-center to me - HA.]

Buckle Up, Buttercup -

this will be a long post...

Craig and I had so much fun planning this adventure!

We began at Montgomery Bell State Park near Nashville, TN

where we had a cute little triptik [AAA inspired] and

fun goodie bags full of all sorts of things for our adventure.

LOVE those Trader Joe bags with Muscle Shoals on them!

The TripTik included Top 5 things for each stop:

restaurants, shopping, sightseeing -

as well as highlights along The Trace...

And, with the exception of several meals, and a few tourist things, everyone was on their own to explore the area where we stopped.

We started our adventure in Nashville

with a good ole southern meal - pinto beans, turnip greens,

and cornbread, served fireside...

Everyone was free to explore Nashville however they wished

[we ended up at a Greek Church Festival]

but we did share a delicious breakfast at the iconic Loveless Cafe.

We also took time for photos near the beautiful Natchez Trace Bridge!

We were excited to get started on our adventure!

So fun being with these camping buddies!

Next stop -

Muscle Shoals, Alabama

Everyone drove on their own and stopped at what interested them most as they drove down The Trace - it is full of incredible historical sites and beautiful views along the way.

We had a scheduled stop at Colbert Landing so we could get this shot of all of us together. How fun are those jelly bean colors?

So - Muscle Shoals...

my hometown and

home of the Muscle Shoals Sound...

where we had a couple of studio tours planned...

A few meals, including The 360 Grille, Trowbridges, and

of course, The Rattle Snake Saloon under a bluff.

Everyone was free to do some vintage shopping or explore historic places like Helen Keller's home and the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright House...

We camped at Heritage Acres in Tuscumbia - one of the cleanest campgrounds ever. .. and enjoyed having the clubhouse available for visiting and dominoes...

WE LOVED SHARING OUR HOMETOWNS WITH OUR CAMPING BUDDIES!

Next stop:

Tupelo, Mississippi

Birthplace of Elvis Presley

So of course we served Elvis' favorite grilled banana and peanut butter sandwiches - with a side of sugared bacon...

and they ate it!

[I grew up eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches,

so it's not so odd for me. LOL.]

This was a one night stop, so everyone was on their own to see the sites, just visit, play dominoes, chase off feral dogs, or make camper repairs...

We're an exciting bunch.

We stayed at Trace State Park just outside of town...

It's a beautiful campground with water views from almost every site...

the roads in and out aren't the best...

But worth it in the end.

Next stop:

Jackson, Mississippi

where we stayed at LeFluere State Park right in town.

The campground is pretty and a nice get-a-way from the busy city -

We served a taco bar that evening and it was nice to have good weather so we could all sit together outside.

The bath house was on stilts - so it must flood frequently...

But made a nice place for our group photo -

Did I mention that our TripTik had pages for photos at each stop?

I printed them along the way for everyone to fill in their books -

Next stop:

Natchez, Mississippi

And we've completed the 402 miles down The Trace! Yay!

We learned from our previous trip that THIS is the place

to stay if you're camping in Natchez.

It's big clean campground right on the Mighty Mississippi and just across the bridge from downtown Natchez.

It worked out great!

The sidewalk along the river was wonderful!

And we loved being only minutes away from town!

As before - everyone had the Top Five list in their TripTik and was free to explore the area however they wanted -

Some joined us for an early breakfast at The Little Easy -

a farm-to-table esque place that has delicious food.

We explored some of the mansions and

antique shops in town...

as well as thrifty places

[- y'all know those are our favorites!]

But we mostly enjoyed being near the river and seeing

some barges and river boats traverse along the way....

The walkway was so cool to ride our scoots on!

And we had great weather!

We enjoyed a wonderful group breakfast at the camp site one morning and also enjoyed going to Mammy's Cupboard where we had delicious sandwiches on home-made bred and the best pie - EVER!!

And this was the end of our caravan.

Most everyone was taking different routes home as our little group was from all over the southeast - South Carolina, Virginia, South Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, and us from North Alabama...