Editor's Log

Back from the Deep South

The 1,100-mile, 17-hour trip was well worth it, though, to see old friends and visit old haunts, including my favorite diner while I once again enjoyed Cajun-style fried chicken (which undoubtedly did not help my cholesterol count).

Sunday morning we went to church and had friends greet us with open arms, as if we had just been to church the week before. Sadly, at least one of our church friends had died and a couple others were not in attendance due to ill health.

My wife and I had lunch that afternoon with one of her quilt club buddies with whom she has kept in touch via e-mail and then had dinner Tuesday evening with he entire club.

I went to The Daily Iberian Monday to see newspaper friends while my wife tracked down some of the women she worked with when we lived in New Iberia, La.

When she went to dinner Monday night with her friends, I went to the masonic lodge while I had visited for five years. I was overwhelmed with the warm welcome I received. It was just like I had been at the last meeting. Being presented west of the altar I was given a miniature trowel to remember the brothers of the lodge.

We visited more friends and said goodbye to Louisiana probably for the last time Wednesday as we started our trek north, stopping in Vicksburg, Miss., to visit the USS Cairo and the National Park in honor of the Civil War (called the War of Northern Aggression in the South) battle of Vicksburg.

Interestingly, the park has one more monument than there is at Gettysburg, Pa., and had maybe a hundred more before World War II when they were melted down for shell casings. The Cairo was a Union ironclad that sank in 12 minutes in 1862 after hitting two torpedo mines in the Yazoo River as it tried to secure a passage for ships in its convoy. Vicksburg and Port Hudson, La., were the last two Confederate strongholds on the river and were the key to winning the west, according to President Lincoln. The Cairo was raised in 1964 and placed on display at its museum near the national cemetery. A tremendous number of items were recovered from the ship, which was the first ironclad ever sank by enemy torpedoes.

According to a U.S. Park ranger, Vicksburg did not begin celebrating the July 4th holiday until the 1990s because it was on July 4, 1863, when Vicksburg fell to Union forces after a lengthy siege.

For those driving south this summer, over all, we drove 2,698 miles and spent nearly $400 in gasoline with West Virginia being the highest priced. Gasoline in Louisiana was $3.459 a gallon while on the way South and back home it averaged $3.55 to $3.57 a gallon, until we reached Parkersburg with its $3.89-a-gallon price tag. Motel rooms ranged from $59 to $80 a night, with most having continental or hot breakfasts.

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