June 2, 2009. Jackson, Ms. Hattiesburg.

This is the fastest growing city in Mississippi. Many new businesses have opened out by the highway. The whole look of the place is prosperous. New buildings, both large and small with restaurants in every direction. Ken and I accompanied Andrew to Hattiesburg as he had an appointment with a client at 10:00 this morning so we enjoyed the ride while Andrew drove our truck. While we were waiting, Ken and I walked in the huge WalMart store, up and down every isle and around the outside isles twice. It was a good place to walk, as the air conditioning is comfortable and every isle is different so the place is amusing to us. After we walked for forty minutes and Andrew was still working, I decided to look at their bathing suits. The only bathing suit I brought was that old paper bathing suit and tomorrow we are invited to Linda's home for lunch and swimming, where I will disgrace the family if I wear a paper bathing suit. So I bought two bathing suits, both two piece suits and both clearly looking like I purchased them at WalMart.

The Purple Parrot is a wonderful restaurant in Hattiesburg. We found it by accident while driving into the old part of town. The GPS told us the address of another restaurant, and while on the way, we spotted the Purple Parrot. Andrew mentioned that his client had said that it as the best restaurant in town, so we quickly changed plans. The place was lovely, beautifully appointed with linen table cloths and mahogany panelling. Such a surprise. The seafood gumbo is worth driving to Hattiesburg to eat there. All three of us ate fish, and all delicious, but the seafood gumbo was out of this world. We tried to find out from the waiters why Hattiesburg is booming compared to the delta towns we saw last trip such as Vicksburg and Greenville but they had no answer other than the fact that both had recently relocated to the area when their wives took a position at the two Universities in town.

To top off the day, Andrew made Grillades, a Creole dish much beloved by Southerners. It is a type of stew, served over cheese grits and I can tell you that it is a wonderful meal. Andrew put it together last evening, and cooked it all night and all day in the slow cooker. It was a first for both Ken and me, and only the third time Andrew has prepared the dish. But it was good. With cheesecake for dessert, we are living high!!