Monday, April 4, 2011 Oxford, MS

Named after Oxford, England of course! In Courtyard Square there is a genuine red phone booth from the UK and apparently on weekends double decker buses take tourists around to see the sights. . . This town is the home of the University of Mississippi, also known as "Ole Miss." After a comfortable nightÕs rest in La Quinta motel in Jackson, TN, we headed out for our P.E.O. B & B in Oxford. (P. E. O. is an organization Laura belongs to. It supports women's education.) Greeted in Southern hospitality fashion by Dixie, we were shown our bedroom in her comfortable ranch style house near the downtown square. Dixie pointed out highlights on the Oxford map and indicated where we might park close to the Square--no parking meters in Oxford yet--it's a great expansion opportunity for BCAG, Peter! We drove into town, took some photos and soon the weather began to change into rain. The square is a charming place retaining the character and appearance of olden days.

During lunch at The Downtown Grill, the rain poured down! We also gasped with the lightening strikes but luckily there were no one inch size hail stones and tornado funnels as warned by the Weather Channel. . . Afterwards, we walked under awnings visiting various shops on the Square, drove through the campus of Old Miss, then we were astonished with the nearby Oxford Mall looking like a ghost town. Fewer than 20 cars could be seen the huge parking lots. We returned to our B & B to read, write and wait out the bad weather. Tonight Diane Weber will arrive in time for another dinner out on the Square. She is joining us for a tour of Rowan Oak, Faulkner's home, tomorrow morning.