2023 OCT 5, Trip to Mobile, Kathryn Tucker Winham Museum & the Clarke County Museum

 Day 1: Thursday

On our way to Mobile, we made several stops.

We stopped in Thomasville to tour the Kathryn Tucker Museum (Storyteller). The curator walked us through the museum telling us some of the history of Mrs. Windham.

Mrs. Windham was famous for her ghost stories about "Jeffery the ghost" who took up residence in Mrs. Windham's home.

Kathryn Tucker Windham T-shirt with Jeffrey's Ghost on the Front. 

The story about how Kathryn got her first camera!

A sculpture of Kathryn by her good friend
 "Charlie Lucas"

Kathryn's life story is told in a quilt.

Reserved for Ghost Jeffery 

We thanked our guide and she said if we liked the museum we should stop at Clarke County Museum Grover Hill, Al

Clarke County Historical Museum with Pioneer Village in back.

The museum was having some issues with the inside of the building so much of the displays were in disarray on the ground level. 

French Bed 

We walked upstairs to see a bedroom with a French Bed, this bed was made about 1825 and was constructed from French walnut. It came from the plantation of Samuel Barnes which was located in the once-thriving town of Suggsville in eastern Clarke County. The bed posts are hollow so that a canopy could be added. The bed was donated by Mrs, Donald Mills of Montgomery. Barne's great-granddaughter.

Josiah and Lucy Martin Matthew Cabin 
This structure was donated to the Clarke Co Historical Society to its present site. 
Restored in 2008.

We learned that Clarke County was home to 3 salt works during the Civil War.  These Springs were also used by the Native Americans. 

We also learned that during the Civil War prices of Salt escalated so high that the workers were paid in salt. Prices rose from $1.25 per bushel of 50 pounds in 1861 to $50 by the end of the Civil War. 

When the rumor circulated that Mobile was captured everyone scattered that ending the widespread use of the works.  

Salt-making kettle 

Pioneer Day for 2023 will be October 28, 9-3 at the Clarke County Museum. 

Pies, cakes, and other homemade baked goods will be available. The famous Gee's Bend quilters will be demonstrating quilting and will be selling some of their beautiful handiwork. Winky Hicks and friends will be playing bluegrass music and storyteller Deborah Rankins will be on hand to tell local tales.

We thanked our curator and began our final journey to Mobile. 

We will be staying at the Battle House Renaissance Hotel room 5242 another historic site. 

The hotel is connected to the completely new and impressive RSA Battle House Tower. The RSA Hotel is the tallest building in the state it is 40 stories tall. 

Original opened in 1852. The Franklin Hotel was on this site before burning down in 1829.

Andrew Jackson set up headquarters in 1812. The first Mardi Gras Ball was held in the Crystal Ballroom in 1852.

Elvis Presley stayed the night he was kicked off of the fairgrounds for doing the "Shake" in 1952.

It has a Whispering Arch, the Six Flags of Mobile.

1702-1763 French Flag

1763-1780 British Flag

1780-1813 Spanish Flag

1813 -1861 1st US Flag 

1851-1861- Antebellum Period 

1861-1864 - Alabama Confederate Flag 

1964-present 2nd US Flag 

In the whispering arch ceiling area you can see Louis XIV, George Washington, Ferdinand V, and George III.

Whispering Arches

The Grand Ballroom 

We walked up the street to Loda Bier Garten for dinner but were stopped by two men from Chanel 10 Fox News. One with a camera and the other with a microphone. He asked us if we were going on the Cruise ship out of Mobile and we said yes. So he interviewed us and we were on TV that night. 

I had several people on the Carnival Cruise Ship Spirit who said they saw me on TV. 

This was the first ship out of Mobile for over a year. The bay had to be drugged so bigger ships could dock.

We continued our journey to the Bier Garten where we enjoyed a hamburger, fries, and fried mushrooms. 

It had been a long day so we returned to the hotel took a hot shower and climbed into bed. 

We wanted to be rested before we began our journey on the Carnival Spirit Cruise Ship to the Bahamas. 

Fried Mushroom at Lola's Bier Garten in Mobile 

2018 Aug 22, Kermits Outlaw Kitchen & Sites Tupelo, MS.

Hubby and I rode south on Natchez Trace, stopping at Pharr Mounds where we saw three markers overlooking the Indian Mounds. Trade from Afar, Objects, and Ideas, and Coming Home. 

Pharr Mounds 

Pharr Mounds Rest Area

We stopped at Natchez Trace Visitor Center Saltillo near Tupelo a part of the National Park Service. 

The ranger gave me a map of the Trail of Tears. I also pick up Explore the Natchez Trace Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee A Unique Journey from Natchez to Nashville, and a book about Natchez Mississippi (I hope to visit Natchez shortly).

There were signs throughout the center Natchez Trace Parkway Center, The Heyday of the Old Trace, Transition, Who traveled the old trace, The old Southwest, The Mission to remember, Traces of Tribes, and a bust of Meriwether Lewis. 

Visitor Center Natchez Trace Mississippi

Visitor Center Natchez Trace Mississippi

We stopped at the Tupelo Automobile Museum where we saw over 100 various restored cars from the turn of the century to the present day car.  

The tour begins with a brief history of the museum and its founder Frank Spain.
We saw a 1976 Lincoln Mark IV owned by Elvis Presley, Liberace's Barrister, one used in the movie The Great Race, New York to Paris, Richard Petty #23 NASCAR, BB King's Rolls Royce, & Chevy El Camino. We saw the 1948 Tucker, 1920 Cord L-29, 1937 Lagonda, and 1929 Duesjnberg, just to name a few.

Liberace's 1982 black "Barrister" Corvette was one of only seven made by California customizer George Barris. The extended body, multiple side pipes, and golden radiator grill were common to all seven, but the full-size candelabra bolted to the trunk is exclusively Liberace.

Richard Petty #43 NASCAR HE won his 200th and final race in Daytona

Elvis Presley 1976 Royal Blue Lincoln Mark IV
This car was given to a policeman that oversaw Elvis's security.

BB King 1978 Rolls Royce 

We stopped at the newly remodeled Tupelo Welcome Center on display is Tuple’s, Elvis Story. Welcome to Tupelo and Elvis's Musical influence in Gospel, Country, Blues, and Modern Music. 

Elvis influenced Music in the gospel, Blues, Country, and Modern 

In Tuple’s Fair Park stands a statue of Elvis Presley holding a microphone and has his hand held out to welcome his fans. 

On October 3, 1945, a ten-year-old Elvis played to his first crowd on these grounds and took 5th place in a talent show.

We also saw a plaque with a picture of Elvis holding a guitar and guitars throughout the town of Tupelo.

The Elvis Presley statue stands on the site of the old fairgrounds where the concert took place, created by Mississippi sculptor Bill Beckwith.

We were told that Kermit's Outlaw Kitchen has the best food in town. 

So, we each ordered a fully loaded hamburger and fries.

Kermit's Outlaw Kitchen purchases its food from local farmers. The food was delicious. (One of the best hamburgers that I have eaten in a long time.)

Outside Kermits’s was a pile of wood, and a raccoon holding a shotgun. 

Inside hanging on the wall was the outlaw Willie Nelson. 

Outlaw Burger 

Kermit's Outlaw Kitchen
KOK is a wood-fired grill that uses the freshest meats produced from local farms.

🍔🍔🍔2014~ Nov 19, Wednesday Staggs Hamburgers

We are always stopping at places like McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy’s for a hamburger.

Most of their hamburgers are precooked, they are okay if you are hungry, and you are in a hurry. 

Sometimes, it is nice to sit down to a real home-cooked hamburger.

My husband said, If you want a real home-cooked hamburger then let's go to Staggs, they have the best. 

So, for lunch today we went to Staggs in East Florence. 

Staggs is located in an area of Florence that once was home to Sweet Water Mill, and many other industries but now has lots of empty buildings, all industry is gone. 

The train depot that sat empty for many years has been remodeled and is used for parties, wedding dinners, birthday parties, and many other functions. 

Staggs is a small diner that cooks your food on a grill right in front of you 

We watched as the girls patted out the hamburger meat, put them on the grill, and the smell filled the air.  

It was lunchtime and many workers filled the store, many would place their orders to go. 

The dinner was small and filled up fast with customers. 

The workers formed a line and a short-order clerk took their orders, very organized.

One person cooked the hamburgers, another dressed them, another bagged them. 

When their order was complete, they would walk back to the cash register to pay their bills. 

There were only three or four long tables in the cafe, I guess most of there customers were workers that came in groups. 

The table where we were sitting filled up fast. 

We savored every bite of our hamburgers, as we watched the lines of workers getting their food to go. 

When everyone finished the waitress would clear the tables.

We paid at the register when we finished eating. 

On the counter just above where the food was cooked was a tip jar.  Probably everyone shared the tips. 

The food was very good, the people were friendly, you got your food fast, and they were very organized. 

A great restaurant for its size. 

I would give it a thumbs up for a great place to eat good fast food!!!!

Staggs Restaurant East Florence