From Jackson to Baton Rouge

For the whole day 'landscape' is in focus! I drove first from Jackson westwards to Vicksburg! This town is the birth place of Willie Dixon - you remember maybe: this bass player was the 'mastermind' of Chess Records (Chicago). Unfortunately almost no traces of Willie to be found. The town was a battleground during the Civil War 1863 and the National Military Park dominates the scene. The rest? A lovely small town, an excellent cafe and many, many casinos at the Mississippi (it seems that in Mississippi and in Lousiana there are different laws which allow to run big casinos). 

Another Quiz question: who bottled the first Coca Cola?? After invention of this soda-drink it was offered in so called soda-fountains, today we would say bars. No one had the idea to bottle this drink. The first person who did that was Mr. Biedenharn  from Vicksburg who run a Candy company and as everyone liked that drink he bottled it (starting from 1894) and sold it in the whole delta. The famous bottle we know today was invented only later. Before that everyone was allowed to put the drink in his own bottles ....

After this town I am heading south and the landscape varies very much: woods, fields, bright colours & clouds are changing and of course lovely small towns cultivated for more than 100 years and completely different than the northern towns (e.g. Port Gibson, Natchez). 

After I crossed the border to Lousiana - the last state I am going during this trip - the big old plantations are starting, with these well known big oak trees and the atmosphere of the 18th century. One of them is Myrtles Plantation, a place build in 1796 and it is said that it has been the scene of many murders. You can stay overnight in the house but it sounds dangerous :-) I met a young couple planning to do so - if they survived? Who knows, I wanted to continue ...

Finally I reached Baton Rouge which was recommended to me as THE hidden blues place. I mean this is the home town of the famous blues guitarist Larry Garner (the Austrian readers of this blog might know that Chris '2m Blues' Dozzler played for several years with Larry). This makes me suspicious but the more I search via internet, via discussions with several people, I couldn't find a proper place on a Tuesday where blues is played!!! It's only a weekend-town of Blues! Sad, it's the second evening without live music.

It's interesting that similar to Jackson the whole town looks completely dead after 8pm - the major shops are closed, no city center with life, .... . Where are all the people??