Mississippi Time & Labor Day Weekend

My trip to Mississippi was definitely time well spent and needed with my parents. It started off with a layover in my favorite airport (Minnesota). I'm thinking I'll plan our next vacation to this city based on just this decoration:

I love bears and these sort of carvings, Minnesota is looking like a great city for me. Plus they have the Mall of America nearby :)

My mom had text me about a week before my trip saying they had decided to turn their guest room into an actual bedroom. I was pleasantly surprised to see the lovely setup they had for me:

Complete with flowers, magazines, and a back scratcher.
Could it be any cuter?

Unfortunately while showing me the add ins closets they had built in their extra room I was surprised with the below ugly bug (I'm not sure what it is with the bugs in Mississippi, but they are weird and gross):

It's called a Silverfish...look it up to see
How really gross it is!

The bonus of the first few days - aside from seeing my parents - was going into my first Piggly Wiggly store (this has been on my personal bucket list for a little while). I was so excited, I wanted to buy something to commemorate it. The best thing I could find was some chocolate milk haha.

Every morning a huge flock of birds would fly between my mom's tree and the neighbors huge bushes. The cats can't get enough of them. It was funny to see them watch it and start "chattering"

Speaking of the cats...I think they missed me as much as I missed them (same story with the dogs, but they didn't want to sit for pictures with me):

Mississippi currently has the largest Bass Pro Shop, it was made for tourists. When my mom told me we were going I was thinking "okay...I guess that sounds fun." But really, it's amazing! First off, they have live alligators there, they have a elevator that takes you up to this lookout point to see the Mississippi River, and quite a few places to eat. Plus they also have boats you can "try on for size". I really loved it, especially the amazingly soft sweat suit I found (Mom I still really want that for Christmas!).



Selfie in front of the shop to show off to the family

Live alligators

Mighty Mississippi

I also not only tried Alligator for the first time (spicy, but tastes just like chicken), but we also got my mom to try it! This is big as she hates trying anything new or weird. She wanted to resist at first, but we were excited we got her to do it...and she didn't regret it either.

 

 

One of the days we went to the Memphis Zoo. I'm pretty hesitant to go there since last time I cried watching a poor baby duck lose a fight with some otters. Luckily there was no death on this trip AND we got to watch the cutest bear swim around in front of us (this made up for not seeing the bears at my work party for sure). It was particularly adorable watching him put his snout in the water and blow bubbles, as well as using a stick to scratch the top of his nose. I swear I took about 50 pictures and 5 videos of just that part of it, only some of which I'll actually post.

Look at those claws!

The perfect nose scratcher...a stick

 

To say I was obsessed is an understatement

Some days we decided to do something girlie and so my step-dad would go shooting and the dogs would watch him drive away so sadly.

On this particular occasion we went to their botanical gardens. They were so amazing, they had cute little houses and areas for kids to play in and the most amazing setups with beautiful flowers and peaceful fountains. If it weren't for the extreme heat and lack of sunscreen I could've stayed all day

 

I also kind of made them switch plans around so I could see Ole Miss and the sorority and frat homes. I was not disappointed at all. We ended the day with a good deed by buying tons of toys, treats, and food for dogs that were recently rescued at a local shelter. They had more dogs than space and you could tell the poor things weren't comfortable around humans, but I know the shelter was glad to have the help. I loved visiting and petting the ones that didn't mind me so much.

 

 One of the days we went to the coast of the Mississippi  River and walked along the boardwalk. The River was extremely low, but the trees had started turning colors and it was so pretty. I could've done without the bugs and webs (I'm still not used to walking with my arms in front of me to clear them out). The biggest bonus was getting to see a live armadillo walking around and digging for food. It was funny because the whole trip my mom kept mentioning how they had seen one before and she wanted me to see how they run, but the display at the zoo was empty so she was upset about that, but then we finally got to see one. I also got to pet a wild frog, which was crazy.

You can see the sand bar at the bottom here

I guess the rock line is usually where the river is at

That's right...a selfie of a selfie

We ended the trip the best way ever, by participating in their "Go Ape" obstacle course in the trees (yes UP in the trees). This could not have been more fun. I want to do it every time we go back. It was definitely a workout though, but mostly because of the heat. I will say I'm officially sick of the bugs they have there. I was attacked bay a wasp and some random white spider bug, it was awful and made me fall off one of the obstacles, but was still a fun way to end an amazing trip. Plus it was nice working off enough calories that we could go get milkshakes afterwards.

Group pictures before

 

We thought we were so tough haha

I was smart and didn't schedule my flight home until 1 so I was able to enjoy most of the morning with my parents still. My mom and I decided to go for a walk and do a workout in Central Park (their local park that is amazing). Coming back to the smell of eggs and bacon was even better.

Overall it was one of the best trips, I'm sad it's over with now. I love my parents and I'm glad they'll be in Utah in November so it's not that long we have to wait to see each other again.