Meridian, MS

We only spent a few hours in Meridian but found a couple of really cool things to pass on. We came into town to get a couple of things fixed on the Honda and the man at Rick Justice was very kind to get us out as soon as he could so we could be on our way.

First stop after the car shop was Chick-Fil-A, they have the best wraps. Then we started for downtown. It wasn't long before we spied what we were looking for, the carousel horses, all painted by different local artists. I read there were 50 but the tourist information wasn't where it was supposed to be so we didn't have the brochure giving the locations of each one. But we cruised up and down the streets until we had our fair share of photos. My favorite is the yellow one that is covered by flowers and stands on the corner in front of Saxon's Flower Shop. I understand that all these horses were auctioned off, and the proceeds went to Hope Village where abused children are taken care of.

After taking as many photos as possible we left for the Merrehope Mansion. I couldn't believe what a run down neighborhood we found it in and it really needed a paint job for such a publicized historical site. This mansion was one of only buildings left standing in Meridian after General Sherman came through town on his way to the sea.

Our next stop was Highland Park, home of a beautiful (our photos don't do it justice) 1896 hand carved and painted carousel, still in working order. It took us a while to find it, a local post man helped us out. It was housed in a building in the park, of course, why didn't I expect that?

After seeing the carousel, we headed back to Twiltley Branch CG but not before stopping at a roadside stand and buying another watermelon.