Mississippi

A school shopping list, a stretch of highway, and twenty-five dollars in your pocket can turn into a surprising adventure in Mississippi. Some of the…

Some of the best meals in Mississippi come from places you might drive past without a second look. A plain sign, a small parking lot,…

Some of the best coffee stops look like nothing special from the road, just a small building and a drive-thru lane. In south Mississippi, one…

The building looked small enough to drive right past, and I almost did. Then the smell of warm bread drifted out the door, and a…

I only meant to stretch my legs and find a snack along the Mississippi coast, but a tall stone church across from the water made…

I only meant to stop for a quick photo and a stretch of the legs somewhere in Mississippi. Two hours later, I was still wandering,…

From the parking lot, it looked like just another spot along a busy suburban road in Mississippi. I almost kept driving, but my stomach had…

I pulled off a quiet Mississippi back road one Sunday just to stretch my legs, and a little brick church stopped me cold. The afternoon…

The first time you hear a bull hit the chute gate, you feel it in your chest before your ears catch up. Mississippi has a…

Rain was drumming on the car roof when we ducked into a little shop we almost drove past, and three hours later nobody wanted to…

I walked in looking for a quick lunch and walked out with a bag of pita, a jar of something I could not pronounce, and…

Grassy hills kept popping up beside the road, and at first they looked like nothing special. Then a small brown sign said otherwise, and suddenly…

Some of the best afternoons start with a plain storefront and a few spare dollars. Mississippi is packed with secondhand shops where old furniture, cozy…

Some places look like nothing more than a nice spot to cast a fishing line, until you learn what sits underneath. In north central Mississippi,…

Some of the best places to stay in Mississippi are tucked down quiet roads under tall pines, where old cabins once sat waiting for someone…

Some of the best Saturday plans start with a quick stop that somehow turns into four hours. That is what happens at one big secondhand…

Some of the best afternoons start with a quick stop that was never supposed to last long. Along a busy road on the Mississippi Gulf…

A sleepy cat stretched out in a patch of sun can make any afternoon feel slower and sweeter. Across Mississippi, a handful of animal shelters…

I only meant to grab a corn dog and look around, but a glass-sided arena and a row of busy animal barns kept pulling me…

A quick stop for directions in a quiet Mississippi town can turn into an afternoon spent staring at a steam engine. Railroads built many of…

The first cool morning of fall in Mississippi has a way of pulling people outside, even if they only meant to grab a coffee and…

The plan was a quick bite on a long drive, nothing more. Then a plate of golden fried catfish showed up on a two-lane highway…

Some of the best meals start with a plain storefront you almost drive right past. On the Mississippi Gulf Coast, one small strip-center cafe turns…

Fifteen minutes of gravel and dust in rural Mississippi do not usually end with a jaw-dropping surprise. Out past the bluffs, though, the trees open…

Picture pulling off a coastal road in Mississippi on a chilly December night, expecting nothing more than a quick look at some holiday bulbs. Then…

I only pulled off the road because I needed a snack and a stretch. What I found was a parking lot full of cars, a…

I went looking for a quiet weekend in the south Mississippi woods and expected little more than a tent and some trees. What I found…

Some of the best shopping trips start with a quick stop you almost skipped. Tucked along a highway in Mississippi sits a small thrift shop…

We only meant to stop for a quick stretch and maybe a pair of sneakers somewhere along the Mississippi coast. Hours later, we were still…

I went looking for a cheap all-you-can-eat seafood spread on the Mississippi coast and ended up somewhere much quieter. Behind an old brick wall sat…

The building looked like an igloo, which is not something you expect to see along a Mississippi highway. Then I noticed the full parking lot…

I only meant to duck out of the Gulf Coast heat for a few quiet minutes. Instead, I found myself standing under tall arches while…

I pulled off the highway in Mississippi looking for a quick errand stop and found a place full of stories instead. From the parking lot,…

Some of the best holiday memories start with a paper bag of fudge and sticky fingers on the drive home. Across Mississippi, a handful of…

Some of the best Saturdays in Mississippi start with a wagging tail you have never met before. Families across the state are swapping cartoons and…

We only pulled off the highway to stretch our legs and find a snack, expecting nothing more than a quiet patch of woods. Then we…

Somewhere between a long drive and a growling stomach, we pulled off the highway in Mississippi with no real plan. What we found was a…

Sunday dinner is practically sacred in the South. Someone’s usually busy in the kitchen, the good plates come out, and fried chicken has a habit…

Flat cotton fields stretched in every direction, and then a green hill rose out of nowhere like a sleeping giant. We had pulled off a…

Some Saturdays start with a plain errand and end with a car so full you can barely see out the back window. That is exactly…

Pull off a quiet road in Mississippi, and you might find a grassy hill that turns out to be older than most castles in Europe….

Kids in Mississippi grow faster than any winter coat can keep up with. I learned that the hard way, standing in a department store staring…

Somewhere between one small town and the next, a plain little building with a full parking lot can change your whole afternoon in Mississippi. You…

Nobody plans a family outing around a college campus, and that is exactly why these trips sneak up on you. In Mississippi, some of the…

Nobody plans a big food adventure along a quiet stretch of highway in rural Mississippi. Then you pull over, smell warm corn tortillas coming off…

Some shopping trips start with a quick stop and end with the sun going down. Mississippi has a handful of thrift stores and flea markets…

Somewhere between a quick errand and a lazy Saturday, I pulled into a gravel lot in Mississippi expecting a few tired ferns. Instead, I found…

I only meant to pop in for five minutes. Somewhere between a rack of leather jackets and a shelf of old glassware, five minutes turned…

Some of the best stops happen when you only meant to grab a quick snack on a long drive through Mississippi. You pull off the…

Cold wind has a way of ending playground plans before anyone even finds their shoes. Kids still need to climb, build, splash, and wonder, even…

Pulling off the interstate in southwest Mississippi, I expected little more than a quick stretch and a glance at some trees. What I found was…

Out on a quiet two-lane highway in Mississippi, with fields on both sides and not much else, my stomach started growling louder than the radio….

Cooler air has a funny way of making people crave a big plate of pasta. Across Mississippi, some of the best Italian cooking hides inside…

Some of the best afternoons in Mississippi start with a wrong turn and a creaky screen door. You pull off a quiet two-lane road, hungry…

We only pulled over in northeast Mississippi to stretch our legs and find a snack, and we ended up staying until the sun dipped low….

Some trips start with one plan and end somewhere better. I went hunting for rumored elephants and big cats on the Mississippi coast and found…

Down a quiet county road in Mississippi, there is a place that looks more like a tiny village than an animal shelter. Small houses sit…

Kibbeh in the Delta sounds like a surprise until you learn the story behind it. Lebanese families started arriving in Mississippi in the late 1800s,…

Some of the best family plans start with a wrong turn down a quiet country road. In Mississippi, that kind of road can lead you…

Nobody plans a snack adventure around a quick errand in northeast Mississippi, but sometimes that is exactly how the best ones start. One plain storefront,…