Mississippi State Capital in Jackson
I awoke later having forgotten to set my alarm. I repacked the car and made myself cereal for breakfast. This Cracker Barrel opened at 8:00 am, later than any I’ve seen. There were already many people waiting in there cars.
I headed to Starbucks for a coffee after breakfast, but found a long queue of people waiting to order. To save time, I used the app to place my order, but the estimated wait time was 32 minutes. They were short staffed, and I noticed they were getting the orders wrong and people were requesting the orders to be done over. In the end, it took 50 minutes to get my coffee and they got it wrong. I figured, it could only get better from here.
As I drove on the streets near the capitol building, there was absolutely no traffic. I parked directly in front of the building and took all my equipment with me. I’ve been making more use of the tripods with all my photographs. Listening to various photography podcasts, the message has been, "If you want crisp in focus photographs, use a tripod”.
Front Of Capitol Building
Last night I took photos of the front of the capitol building. The building struck me as something directly out of The Hunger Games. The details of the architecture were even more pronounced during the day. The lions and globes added to this sense. I actually liked the richness of details the architect used.
The Eagle
According to the clio website about the capitol building, the impressive eagle that sits atop the dome, is 8-foot tall and 15-foot wide. The bird underwent a restoration project in 2014, during which a Maryland company was hired to regild it with three ounces of gold leaf. The regilding was necessary due to damage from bird claws and droppings, as well as hail. Many state capitols, including Mississippi, have an eagle or statue on top of the building. However, Mississippi's eagle is unique as it faces south, while all others face towards Washington D.C. Some Mississippians strongly desire the eagle to remain in its south-facing position.
Monument to Woman
The only true monument on the capital grounds, is the Monument To The Woman Of The Confederacy. The four sides dedicated to Our Mothers, Our Daughters, Our Sisters and Our Wives. The front, face south is for our Mothers and is inscribed with a quote from Jefferson Davis as follows:
Whose pious ministrations to our wounded soldiers soothed the last hours of those who died far from the objects of their tenderest love, whose domestic labors contributed much to supply the wants of our defenders in the field, whose zealous faith in our cause shone a guiding star undimmed by the darkest clouds of war, whose fortitude sustained them under all the privations to which they were subjected, whose floral tribute annually expresses their enduring love and reverence for our sacred dead; and whose patriotism will teach their children to emulate the deeds of our revolutionary sires.
Walk Around
As I walked the grounds, I saw a magnolia tree and various other trees, but for me there was an eerie lack of any statues or monuments. There was no plaques to historical events that took place in the state. I know there have been battles over what statues should be removed from public properties around the country, but it appeared that there never were any statues here.
The front of the building is far more interesting for me. As I stopped, to take photos, capital police cars would pull up and observe for a while. There was almost no traffic near the capital, but an officer came out of the building, building and instructed me not to block and of roads.
After several hours of taking photos, I packed up everything.
Greyhound Bus Station
The Greyhound Bus Station in Jackson was the site of months long protests by the “Freedom Riders”. The riders were protesting lack of access by non-whites to the bus station. As they arrived, they would try to gain access and would be arrested and would refused bail. As their numbers swelled, they overwhelmed the jail. They were protesting the unenforced supreme court decision that ruled that segregated public buses was unconstitutional.
I remember watching the arrests on the nightly news as a child.
Downtown
Many places downtown looked liked they stopped in time. I spent time driving around looking at the old architecture. I also drove through the Jackson State University campus.
Drive South
I drove to a Whole Foods, made a salad, and stocked up on food. I then made my way south towards Biloxi, MS.
I made a reservation at The Cosy Rosy campground and arrived around 5:00 pm. It was getting dark as I quickly got the tent setup. I made dinner and climbed in the tent around 7:30 to read.