Hello everyone, it’s time for my weekly look back at the places I’ve visited over the last few days and what I’ve learned along the way. Welcome to all of my new subscribers who have come on board this week, it’s great to have you along for the ride. If you're seeing this in my newsletter in your inbox, click through on any of the stories you see to check out my photos and read the whole story on my website. Again, thank you and welcome. To all of my loyal readers, welcome back for another installment, it is always great to see you here and always appreciated when you stop by. This week’s newsletter is a little longer than usual because last week’s didn’t go out. It’s automated, so it should have, but it just didn’t. My apologies for it not coming last week, but that means you get a double dose this week! Also for those who like a map to follow along with or find anything of importance in this post, click the link HERE.
It’s been another great week out here on the road. The wisteria is in bloom which always makes me smile and always tells me spring has arrived. All kinds of flowers are starting to bloom everywhere in Louisiana, and the real spring festival season has arrived. Fun, excitement, and pollen are all in the air. This week, I left lovely Natchitoches and made my way slowly up to Shreveport for a weekend of festivals and good times. From there, I made my way all the way across northern Louisiana to the Mississippi River and south to the town of Tallulah where I am writing this from today…
Moonlite Bar-B-Cue is an institution in Owensboro, and in Kentucky for that matter. Family run from the time it opened in the 1940s, Moonlite is currently run by the third generation of the Bosley Family. Their grandfather, Hugh “Pappy” Bosley and his wife Catherine bought the small 30 seat restaurant in 1963, and there’s been a Bosley there running the place ever since. Today, the restaurant seats 350 people and they have a catering business which can serve up to 15,000. 350,000 people eat at Moonlite each year, and they have even had a few celebrities pop in over the years. William Shatner, Reba McIntyre, Kevin Costner, Bill Clinton and Al Gore have all eaten at Moonlite Bar-B-Q. Quite frankly, anywhere that has served both Shatner and Clinton must have good food.
It's been another great week on the road, this one spent in wonderful West Tennessee. It's been a hot week, as summer is moving in fast here in the south, but with it come the festivals and fun of the season. My week has been full of barbecue and music and really good people. West Tennessee is very distinct from the eastern part of the state, more resembling the Mississippi Delta which it is intimately connected to, than the rest of Tennessee. This region is flatter and poorer than the east of the state, but it is still full of wonderful stops and cool things to see.
When I finally left Nashville, I headed down the Natchez Trace Parkway. The parkway roughly follows the old Natchez Trace, an ancient trail which leads from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville. In the days before the great paddle wheelers plied the Mississippi River, boats carrying cotton, hides and other goods made a one-way trip down to the major port of Natchez. The boatmen would then sell their boats, whole or for scrap and walk back up the Natchez Trace 400 miles or so back to Nashville and start all over again. It was interesting to duck off the Parkway and walk some of the historic trail and imagine myself back in those days doing the same.
