Hello from Gulf Shores, Alabama, just down the street from Fort Morgan (which we visited in 2020 and highly recommend). The trip we've had down South has been more tiring than we had hoped, but we've seen some amazing sites. Early rains messed up our plans, so we'll be circling back as we head home, hoping to hit some of the places we had to skip early on. But for now, I'll be doing a few posts outlining what amazing places we've had a chance to visit.
Did you know that Ulysses S. Grant has a Presidential Library? If you didn't, it's probably because it's at a place where most people would least expect it: Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi.
Why Starkville? Well, the people who founded it felt Grant really became the infamous General Grant while he was in Mississippi during the Civil War.
The most awesome thing here were the Grant likenesses at four periods in his life: A cadet at West Point, a General in the Civil War (shown), a President, and a dying man writing his memoirs so his wife would be taken care of when he passed away. They literally took all of Grant's measurements from those various times, used real life people and clothes of the same size, and made the most lifelike replicas I've ever seen. It was completely worth the long trek from a far away parking lot to the 4th floor of the Mitchell Memorial Library. However, it sounds like they will be building another location to house this collection in the upcoming years. Hopefully the parking will be easier!
Side note: If you want a great lunch while you're there, hit The Little Dooey, an amazing BBQ joint where you could really taste the labor of love put into smoking those meats to perfection. Even thinking about it makes me want to jump in the car & drive four hours just to eat there once more before the trip ends.
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