Goodbye Mississippi!

After a day filled with presentations and sightseeing, we rounded out our trip at the Bulldog for one last taste of the Mississippi fare.  

Then off to Martin's Restaurant and Bar to unwind and listen to some live music...

This morning we said our final goodbyes to the beloved Jameson Inn...

...only to make a stop at Waffle House.  How could we resist?  Pecan and chocolate chip waffles, of course!

After satisfying our stomachs, we headed to the airport to catch an early afternoon flight back to Baltimore.  We are truly thankful for the opportunity we have had to explore the Delta and learn both from everyone we have met and everything we have seen during this past week.  Thank you, MCJ, for hosting the 3rd Annual Health Law Week.  See you next year!!

Salad, anyone?

Back to Jackson to Wrap up Another Great Project for MCJ

After returning to Jackson last night, everyone buckled down to finish up our project for MCJ.

With a great team effort, we finished our project for MCJ and prepared for our presentations to MCJ staff and community stakeholders this morning.  As an opening to our presentation, Liz R made a terrific video of some of our adventures in the Delta.

The presentations went incredibly well, and we are very proud of our final product.  After saying goodbye to MCJ, and the end of the 3rd Annual Health Law Week, we ventured to Room Service for lunch.  However, the ending of our work for MCJ was hardly the end of our adventures today.  With several hours of daylight remaining, most of the group members went into downtown Jackson to sight see.  

We started at the Governor's mansion...

Then we visited the Old State Capitol and the museum inside...

After seeing the museum, which had been restored in 2009 after Hurricane Katrina, we decided to visit civil rights hero Medgar Evers' home.

Here we had our greatest surprise of the day.  Also visiting this historic site this afternoon was Mrs. Myrlie Evers, Medgar Evers' widow.  Speaking to a large group of students, including several Maryland Law Students, she described the night her husband was murdered.

After her moving recollection, Mrs. Evers agreed to take a picture with several of us...

Finally, we ended our sightseeing of Jackson at the State Capitol...

Now we are all resting up before a night out on the town, looking forward to some great Jazz music!

Saying goodbye to the delta…

Woke up this mornin'…. 

in Greenville and we soon found ourselves in…

Checking out Mississippi Center for Justice's new digs in Indianola! 

Saying goodbye to the birthplace of BB King and the home of the Delta Blues…

And home to some of the best ribs I've ever encountered… thanks Betty! If you want to see why Mississippi is the "hospitality state" look no further than Betty's Place... 

On the road again…

"Through travel I first became aware of the outside world; it was through travel that I found my own introspective way into becoming a part of it." Eudora Welty (Jackson native)

Wednesday's Journal Entry!

Due to patchy Internet service at the Greenville Inn and Suites, this blog entry is one day late. Sorry about that!

Today was another cold and drizzly day in the Mississippi Delta, but we had a great day regardless! This morning, while going for a run, I really started gaining an appreciation for the Delta architecture. The Manager of the Greenville Inn and Suites where we are staying told us the area’s peak was around the late 1960s – 1970s, and the whole neighborhood structure reminded me of movies meant to capture 1940’s – 1970’s Mississippi, such as “My Dog Skip” and “The Help.” There’s something very enchanting about the structure: a traditional downtown grid structure with a central main street, sidewalks on either side of wide streets with a green median separating the lanes, houses with wide, wrap around porches, etc.  With all the cultural architecture within the downtown, there is so much potential for a meaningful urban renewal.

One of my favorite buildings was an old railroad station that was once turned into a restaurant which turned old railroad cars into seating for guests in the back. The railroad sign was still on the building:

For lunch, BBQ sounded just right, so we walked over to the Shotgun, a local BBQ place with arguably the BEST fried pickles you can find. There were only about 7 tables in the place, but if I’ve learned one lesson in the Delta, it is not to turn down a delicious opportunity simply by a 15-minute wait. You know when your group is the only tourist group in the restaurant that you’re in for a treat. Many pulled pork plates, sweet teas, and fried pickles later, we rolled out very full and happy patrons. The full-belly sleepiness that quickly ensued after eating all the food was worth it!

This afternoon, we had a fantastic visit to the B.B. King museum in Indianola, MS. What a fantastic museum! The building itself blended a late 19^th century – early 20^th century brick cotton gin with a 21^st century glass, wood and steel structure, and the renovations were awesome.  The cotton gin is now a large, tall ceiling hall, and as was explained to us, it wasn’t until after the cotton gin building was chosen as the museum site that B.B. King mentioned he once worked at the cotton gin as a child. So cool! The whole museum is filled with pictures, music, videos, and materials from B.B. King’s entire life, from childhood onward, and it was one of the best organized and interactive museums I have seen.

Every so often, we did some work J.

Dinner at Posecai's

The hotel manager and his wife recommended Posecai's. 

The headline says it all.

It is so hard to decide when everything sounds delicious. 

Freshest sushi in the area 

Mirliton! 

After a great meal, some of us saved room for dessert, but no one was fast enough to snap a photo of the brownie sundaes and cheesecakes before we started eating.

On to Greenville...

After a rewarding day in Indianola, we headed to historic Greenville, where we are staying at Greenville Inn and Suites. Talk about Southern charm!

Spacious rooms with a beautiful view of the courtyard

Walking around Lake Ferguson and the riverboat casinos

Checking out the history of the hotel, which was formerly a bank.

Tomorrow's breakfast will be served in the old vault.

Planning the evening 

Welcome to Indianola!

On our way to the Delta

Leaving the rain behind us...

"Where there is lack, there is opportunity" ...And good food!

It's Day 2 in Mississippi, and after meeting the Mississippi Center for Justice staff and learning why our work is so important, we navigated the fog and headed over to Two Sisters Kitchen for some southern cooking.  Steps away from the state capital and supreme court, Two Sisters looked like a cozy home tucked behind unkept shrubs.  Looks, however, can be deceiving.  We were surprisingly met by a delicious buffet with juicy fried chicken, buttery cornbread, and decadent bourbon bread pudding.  We also had the option to wash it all down with ice-cold sweet tea.  Although the food left us stuffed and drowsy, as the night wore on, we decided to enjoy another southern comfort: watching Alabama beat LSU while we worked on our brochures.  Roll tide!

Arriving in Jackson

On Sunday, our 2012 MLSC Health Law group navigated BWI Airport and successfully made it onto our plane.  After some delicious Cheese Nips and airplane peanuts, we made it to Jackson, MS without  We grabbed our bags and headed to our tricked-out vans.  There is mood lighting in the ceiling and everything!  We set up base camp at the Jameson Inn.

We had dinner at the Bulldog (po'boys, crawfish, all sorts of amazing delicacies) and headed back to the Jameson Inn to rest up for our first full day in Mississippi!  We are all excited to get started.

Ready to fly to Jackson!

Countdown to Mississippi begins- 5 Days to Go!

Only 5 days to go until the group leaves for our 3rd annual Health Law service trip to Mississippi!

This year we are taking 12 law students to spend a week in Jackson and the Delta, working with our local partner, the Mississippi Center for Justice. We are planning to build on the successful relationships forged during the previous trips and help MCJ develop informational handouts on the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS, and the benefits of health reforms from the Affordable Care Act.

 The inaugural health law trip participants in 2010, at the B.B. King Museum in Indianola.

 The 2011 group, presenting at the Mississippi Center for Justice office in Jackson.

While we make final preparations for the trip, we're looking forward to revisiting our restaurants and museums in Mississippi. Yum!

 

THE BEST LEMON PIE IN THE UNIVERSE, Indianola

Sweet tea, of course.

 

Why hello there peach cobbler.We'll see you soon!