Tuesday, September 16, 2003
Lake Lowndes State Park, Columbus, MS - Sept 10-16
While researching The HomePlace (Ann's assisted living facility), we also checked out this nearby state park, 6 mi from HomePlace (and 8-10 mi from bridge games in Columbus). Our original plan was to stay here our entire time in Columbus. When we checked in, the ranger at the desk warned us that some sites had reported problems with ants. They had recently sprayed, so we hoped the ants would not be a problem. Just in case, we decided to only pay for a week. When we got back to our trailer, there was already a line of ants on our trailer leading up to our roof & windows. We went to the store and bought cleanser to spread around anything & everything that touched the ground, and sprayed outside, all to no avail. Every morning we would still find ants. Lots of ants. Even ants walking across our pillows at night! At the end of our week we ran up the white flag (Black Flag?) and moved across town.
Our stay coincided with the Tennessee Williams Tribute & Tour of Victorian Homes, an annual event in Columbus (birthplace of Williams) celebrated with plays, parties, scholarly papers, etc. We skipped all that and signed up for the Victorian Home Tour. Each year 3 different Victorian homes are selected for the tour. Columbus is rightly famous for both its antebellum and Victorian homes. The homes on the tour were contrasts: one was in the process of being restored (the owners hoped to move into the 2nd floor within the month), the next was a Victorian shell with a completely modern interior, and the last had been remodeled inside (by previous owners) but still retained the original "flavour".
While walking between homes, we passed by Riverview, an antebellum mansion for sale and under the care of Dennis Reed, brother of missionary Edgar Reed who lived across the street from Ann & Tony's house in Noxapater. Edgar's wife had encouraged us to stop & say "Hi" and this seemed the perfect opportunity. Dennis teaches at MSMS, the Mississippi School for Math & Science, an advanced high school where qualifying students receive an accelerated curriculum and normally graduate at the sophomore college level. Dennis is very personable and very knowledgable about Riverview -- he gave us a "private" tour that lasted over 90 minutes, and we were never bored. We even got to climb outside the 4th story cupola and view the city from all 4 sides of the roof porch. He explained the measures that were taken to force symmetry on the building & rooms, including the building of false windows & doors. The selling price is $1.5 million unfurnished, $2.5 million furnished.
Our stay coincided with the Tennessee Williams Tribute & Tour of Victorian Homes, an annual event in Columbus (birthplace of Williams) celebrated with plays, parties, scholarly papers, etc. We skipped all that and signed up for the Victorian Home Tour. Each year 3 different Victorian homes are selected for the tour. Columbus is rightly famous for both its antebellum and Victorian homes. The homes on the tour were contrasts: one was in the process of being restored (the owners hoped to move into the 2nd floor within the month), the next was a Victorian shell with a completely modern interior, and the last had been remodeled inside (by previous owners) but still retained the original "flavour".
While walking between homes, we passed by Riverview, an antebellum mansion for sale and under the care of Dennis Reed, brother of missionary Edgar Reed who lived across the street from Ann & Tony's house in Noxapater. Edgar's wife had encouraged us to stop & say "Hi" and this seemed the perfect opportunity. Dennis teaches at MSMS, the Mississippi School for Math & Science, an advanced high school where qualifying students receive an accelerated curriculum and normally graduate at the sophomore college level. Dennis is very personable and very knowledgable about Riverview -- he gave us a "private" tour that lasted over 90 minutes, and we were never bored. We even got to climb outside the 4th story cupola and view the city from all 4 sides of the roof porch. He explained the measures that were taken to force symmetry on the building & rooms, including the building of false windows & doors. The selling price is $1.5 million unfurnished, $2.5 million furnished.
# posted by Doug and Willie @ 11:09 PM 
