{"id":14911,"date":"2014-05-01T18:35:09","date_gmt":"2014-05-01T23:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/?p=14911"},"modified":"2022-04-17T17:23:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-17T22:23:00","slug":"riverboat-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.howderfamily.com\/blog\/riverboat-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Riverboat Adventure, Part 6 (Signs)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I thought I’d focus the final installment of the Riverboat Adventure on something a little more whimsical. Sometimes I have trouble remembering facts for a given place so I take photographs of informational signs. Usually this happens at historical sites. Sometimes signs provide greater explanation or context than what’s available on Internet pages. They serve as a great memory jog and starting point when I’m writing articles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From there I branched out to images of signs less informational as amusing, or thought-provoking, or capturing memories of good times, and that’s what I decided to feature for the Riverboat wrap-up. Yes, this will be the end. Much of the 12MC audience will be grateful for the return of geo-oddities with the next article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Marathon<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Riverboat<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Riverboat Series<\/a> banner appeared faithfully at each race, reminding me daily why I’d undertaken this extended roadtrip along the Lower Mississippi in the first place. Places like Columbus, Kentucky; Millington, Tennessee; Lake Village, Arkansas; Greenville, Mississippi and Winnsboro, Louisiana probably wouldn’t have made it onto my list of personal travel destinations otherwise. I was grateful for a plausible excuse to travel through the region, and I treasured friendships we made with the rest of the traveling sideshow of runners and their supporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once again I’ll note that I wasn’t a runner. I kind of felt like a poseur because all I did was drive from one small town to another, hang-out at the finish line (nibbling snacks intended for the runners), and visit geo-oddities along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hoodies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Hoodies<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I wasn’t quite sure what to make of “Hoodies must be removed before entering the Hotel Lobby.” Did it mean that hoodie-wearers had to remove only the hood from one’s head or remove the hoodie entirely? And what set of events led the hotel to consider that it maybe needed to institute such a protocol? Did something specific happen, was it stereotyping, or maybe an overreaction to the tragic Trayvon Martin incident? I just couldn’t know. I found it unsettling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Gator<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I wanted gators! The logo of the Riverboat Series promised gators chasing runners! Alas, we encountered a rather unseasonable cold snap as we headed into gator country. Typically, alligators don’t bask in the sun until the temperature gets to around 80\u00b0f<\/a> (27\u00b0c). We were far below that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sign may have said “Caution Gator Area,” and much of the year it would have been accurate, however not in Leroy Percy State Park (map<\/a>) on that day in Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Turtles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"No<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There weren’t any turtles the next day in Louisiana, either (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Frost!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Frost!<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I’m not sure what possessed me to scratch FROST! into the roof of our rental car, other than my complete dismay at experiencing a hard frost in Louisiana in the middle of April. No gators, no turtles, and a hard frost; when would this winter end?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Farmers<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Charge<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There certainly were farmers though. Everywhere. I can’t recall dodging more rolling farm equipment on highways on any of my prior roadtrips. It seemed to be the right time of year for that, with fields just under plow and platoons of highly-specialized, oddly-constructed contraptions of unusual shapes and designs. Some rolled on massive wheels, others sported extendable arms of multiple joints, still others included a driver’s cab fifteen feet above the ground, like Dr. Seuss himself switched to farming and drafted all of their designs. This was a farming economy and farmers were king.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flatness and emptiness of the Mississippi Delta surprised me. We rolled north out of Vicksburg on Route 61, expecting to stop at the next town for lunch. We drove for nearly an hour before finding a suitable spot in a town too small for stoplights, Rolling Fork (map<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a Mexican restaurant, I suppose a reflection of changing demographics in the Delta, and we were happy to encounter it too. There was also a Subway restaurant nearby (you can see a sign for it in the reflection along with my torso) although we’d done Subway a couple of times already so that was an easy choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graceland<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Graceland<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I already mentioned Graceland in the previous installment so I won’t go into a lot of detail. The entrance sign fascinated me because it proclaimed “The Home of Elvis Presley\u00ae” Yes, with a registered trademark symbol. That amused me. Like, imagine someone living at some other house might decide to start calling his suburban rambler The Home of Elvis Presley, so the Presley estate felt it needed to mitigate that eventuality by registering the phrase for Graceland specifically. Certainly I would never say: Twelve Mile Circle — The Home of Elvis Presley because that would be a trademark violation, because you know, someone might actually confuse 12MC with Graceland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I imagine the actual worry may have been the folks at the Elvis Presley Birthplace<\/a> in Tupelo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Riverboat Adventure articles:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n