Did I tire you out with the title? If so, than you can only imagine the pace of life we are living...it's a whirlwind, but oh so amazing.
We started the morning with a river boat cruise on the "Mighty Mississippi", it was awesome. The importance of the Mississippi was obvious and it's power was so evident. It was a beautiful hour spent aboard the Island Queen on the river. Ask your kids when they get home what trivia they learned about this amazing physical feature of the U.S.
Next, we went to Mud Island, which was formed when a Union gun boat ran aground. Amazing museum tying in The Civil War with the Mississippi River, the importance of controlling this river and what it meant to the North and South. There was a 5 block replica of the Mississippi for its origin to the Gulf of Mexico. Neat to see just how wide, how deep the Mississippi is.
On to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.was killed. What a moving experience to stand on the balcony where he was shot and look towards the window where James Earl Ray fired the shot. Amazing to listen you the words of Dr. King read to our students and to learn about the Civil Rights movement and the legacy of many great people. Our students were awesome, so proud of their respect and desire to learn more about a significant time in our history.
We said good-bye to Memphis and headed to Corinth, Mississippi.
At Corinth we learned of the significance of this little town to the life of the South during The Civil War...the railroads. At Shiloh which is 30 minutes from where we stood on the Corinth battle field close to 24,000 men lost their lives in a single multiple day battle. The enormity of what was at stake, what the states were fighting for was so evident on this quiet little field. The thought that the Union and the Confederacy believed in their cause and the country was so broken.
A quote..."The United States as we know it today began not with the Revolution of 1776, but rather in the new nation that emerged from the Civil War."
From there we drove through the Mississippi countryside to Tupelo, Mississippi, the birthplace of Elvis. We had some amazing BBQ, choice of fried okra, friend green tomatoes, mashed potatoes, and more. Delicious!! The kids enjoyed it very much. We got to drive by and see the house Elvis was born in and the hardware story where he bought his first guitar. And well, the rest is history.
We drove to Alabama, finding ourselves in Birmingham.
We have had a full day...lots of learning, lots of fun, lots of memories.
On to tomorrow...until then.
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