Touring Mississippi

By David Sterrett

"The Deep South might be wretched, but it can howl." - Barry Hannah

You'll be hard pressed to find a guidebook for Mississippi. It's devoid of "tourist" attractions that the tour bus or cruise boat crowd wants to see. It also has an ugly, messy history of racial discrimination and segregation.

But if your knowledge of the state consists of what you saw on the Eyes on the Prize series in high school you may want to take a closer look.

Part of its charm is that it remains very authentic and for such a small, poor state it has contributed greatly to American culture. Mississippi gave us Pulitzer prize winning authors William Faulkner and Eudora Welty, blues musicians John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and B.B. King.

The food will charm you as much as the people do. Mississippi produces half of the U.S. catfish harvest every year or 350 million pounds. That goes to supply the delicious Mississippi catfish chain Penn's ( http://www.pennsrestaurant.com/ordereze/default.aspx). Other delightful treats you will find include tomato gravy to go with your morning biscuits and hush puppies.

So put Mississippi on your bucket list. Drive the blues highway (U.S. 61) ( http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/road-trips/blues-highway-road-trip/ ) and sample some Tupelo honey. Go hear some great blues at Underground 119 in Jackson (http://www.underground119.com/) or Morgan Freeman's blues club ( http://www.groundzerobluesclub.com/) in Clarksdale. Then go soak up the literary culture at Square Books in Oxford and walk in Faulkner's footsteps. You won't regret visiting the Magnolia State.