Family Roadtrip - Generations in a Minivan - Leaving Home

Are We There Yet?

After a less-than-sound sleep, typical of the night before a roadtrip for me, we headed out to meet our travel companions: our kids, grandkids, and our grandkids other grandparents. Shortly after I made the reservations for this trip in February gas prices began to escalate. Dire predictions of $5-$7 a gallon were common. Like the weather, gas prices are notoriously hard to predict and prone to attention-grabbing dire headlines. The highest prices on day 1 of our trip were, not surprisingly, in Jefferson City at $3.39 a gallon.

Headed south down 63 Highway our roadside vista included parched cornstalks and drought-stressed trees. Near Houston (Mo) a roadside business advertised “Antiques, Collectibles and Computer Repair”. Now THAT’S the kind of adaptability America needs to solve the current unemployment crisis.

Our first night on the road found us at a Hampton Inn in Canton, Ms. In addition to the comfortable beds and great breakfasts we’ve come to expect at Hampton Inns, this property featured something new: power toilets. A flick of the handle was followed immediately by a gust of wind, a loud noise, and a Niagara-like rush of water. Hanging onto small children is highly recommended, though if they happen to be constipated, the toilets should scare the you-know-what out of them.

After unpacking we went in search of dinner. My son found a local place with superb ratings on Urbanspoon. The cuisine was advertised as “home-cookin’ and soul food”. Off we went in search of that restaurant. When the GPS announced we were “arriving at destination, on right”, all we found was an empty building. Dang this economy!

As we drove around in search of an alternate eating establishment we noticed 2 things:

1. We were the minority.   The population of Canton is over 80 percent African American;  and,

2. Many of the downtown commercial establishments had bars on the windows. This may give the merchant a greater feeling of security, but it did nothing to make us feel secure. 

Canton is known as “The Movie Capital of Mississippi”. Notable movies filmed in Canton are "Biker Zombies from Detroit", “Mississippi Burning” and the John Grisham-inspired movie, “A Time to Kill”.

Canton has a very beautiful, old-fashioned square, City Park, and Courthouse. Though I usually take an evening stroll around any city we visit, I decided against taking a stroll around Canton.  A later check on crime statistics in Canton seemed to justify my decision.  According to neighborhoodscout.com's crime statistics, on a scale of 1 to 100 with 100 being the safest, Canton is rated a "1".  It is safer than 1 percent of U.S. cities.  Maybe that's why the biker zombies headed there from Detroit.  I was tired anyway, and it was late when we finished dinner.    If I had gone on my walk it's possible one of my all-time favorite movies that was also filmed in Canton might have been the next day's headline.

That movie?

“Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?”

Election Rally Scene Filmed on Canton
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