The alarm went off bright, uh well dark and early this morning. We were loaded into the van and headed down the driveway just a few minutes after 5am. The new toll road makes getting around Austin a snap and since the boys ended up being wide awake we stopped near Waco for breakfast. We made good time and stopped at the Louisiana border for lunch.

Four more hours and we were on the bridge traveling over the Mississippi river into Vicksburg, our stop for the first night. The hotel we are staying at had a nice cool indoor pool that was saltwater treated (no stinging chlorine). We went back towards the river into downtown Vicksburg and had dinner at a place called Monsours at the Biscuit Company. The food was good and the atmosphere was excellent. We got the feeling it was more of a local hang out but that made it even better. The smell of old wood was intoxicating!

We missed the sunset over the river by about 20 minutes but took a few photos anyway. The boys loved the big cannons there from the Civil War battle. Everyone is pretty wiped from the long day and we are all headed to bed. Tomorrow is Mississippi, Alabama, and half of Georgia.