Golden Girls (minus 2) Retirement Party!
Change of plans
If you want to laugh and have a good time, just travel with myself and Amy. You would have to be flexible and willing to change plans easily because things always seem to be unpredictable with us. When we left home early Tuesday morning, our plan was to eat lunch in Pachuta, MS at Norma Jeans. I have eaten their very affordable and filling plate lunch before and had really hyped it up to Amy. We drove straight there with no problems…except, they were closed. The sign on the building said closed Tuesday and Wednesday due to employee illness. I do hope everyone is better now, but we had to regroup and come up with plan B.
Phillip’s Drive In
Information below from the Jones County website https://thenewstateofjones.com/historic_locations/phillips-drive-in/
The good people of Laurel have been flocking to Phillips Drive-In for generations. It opened in 1948 as a Dairy Queen, but the Phillips Family left the franchise in the 1960s, and eventually partnered with the Beard family. Their relationship still exists today.
This drive-in is so popular that the owners hold an annual reunion. Last year more than 1,200 people attended, visiting from as far away as Alaska. There is a car show, music, and more cheeseburgers than you’d think possible.
PDI, as the locals affectionately call Phillips, is an old-time drive-in, and there’s nothing fancy about it. They do not serve haute cuisine, and there’s nothing remotely Pacific Rim-fusion on the menu. However, if you are looking for a good cheeseburger, then PDI is the right place for you.
The menu really is all about burgers, but they do offer a few sandwiches, hot dogs, and a handful of good sides. The basic burger (a grilled beef patty adorned with mustard, ketchup, onions, and pickle) will set you back the grand sum of $2.15. If you make it a jumbo burger, the price skyrockets to $3.25. The most expensive burger on the menu, the Hellfighter, consists of a burger with mayo, onion, lettuce, tomato, pickle, cheese, and jalapeño peppers. The Hellfighter, even when ordered as a jumbo including fries, costs $5.65.
Laurel Mercantile
I think everyone who visits laurel goes to the Mercantile. Check out their history and story here https://www.laurelmercantile.com/pages/our-story I was looking for Christmas presents for my daughters-in law. I have learned to send them photos before buying so they will get what they want and will actually use it…Presents PURCHASED!
Marcus Building
Amy and I have been working on our posing abilities (for 3 years). I’m not sure if they are getting any better, but we sure have great laughs with each other.
A Taste of Honey
The store provided these cute paper spoons/scoops for you to taste their honey samples. I’m not much of a honey eater but I sure bought a small jar of the Lavender Honey since it was sooooo good. I think Amy bought the same kind.
The Scent Library
This was the cutest decorated theme shop. I actually went to the Mercantile looking for a specific room spray as a gift but was told they had moved their scents into this new location across the street. I came out with 2 candles, but no room spray. They were currently sold out but informed me I could order online and would receive an email when it was back in stock.
Buzzard’s Roost
The Buzzard’s Roost Inn is newly built on the second floor of the 100-year-old Lott Furniture Building. The restaurant part is still in the opening stages, but they are booking rooms. https://thebuzzardsroostms.lodgify.com/en/the-buzzards-roost-inn—the-laurel-room This spot was on Amy’s must see list in Laurel.
Scotsman General Store and Woodshop
This was one of the funniest stops we made. I jumped out of the vehicle and wasn’t looking where I was going. I proceeded to run right into the yellow curb and fell into the sticker bush. All this action took place to the right of where these pictures were taken. No one saw me…That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
Another Christmas present spot. The canvas brand t-shirt are reportedly by far the softest t-shirt out there. My son is actually on his second shirt of the same kind since he has worn out his favorite. I also purchased the same for a friend’s husband and delivered it back to him.
We climbed to the top end of Scotsman’s for the beginning of our Mural Picture Hunt. I used my phone and watch to take pictures. Setting up for pix was usually quite funny. We would get it wrong, do it again, laugh, and do it again until we could agree on one we liked.
Carpenter Bros. Emporium of Wonderful Whatnots
Amy and I took a side trip to Ellisville while visiting Laurel, Mississippi. It is about 10 minutes south of Laurel and worth the trip. Travis and I discovered this unique antique and what-not store on a previous trip to Laurel and he had sent directions for me to FIND HIM SOMETHING. You could spend hours in here looking for just the right gift. Amy and I actually stayed an hour before we decided on a giant comb (Travis doesn’t have brushable hair) and a replica of Mount Rushmore. We were just at Mount Rushmore in May. This was a much cheaper way to get a souvenir from there. He loved them (or so he said) and placed them in his office at school.
Posing Gone Wrong
The phone was magnetically attached to the car door for these pictures. We finally gave up with trying to find a good pose and just hugged each other. Of course we were laughing pretty hard by this time as well.
Honey Tasting and Peach Strawberry Lemonade
Even though we had already purchased honey we decided to try the samples in another store as well. However, our purpose for entering this store was to get a Lemonade. If we had gotten one of these when we first arrived I would have gone back for a second one before they closed. They were that delicious. The lady in front of us ordered hers with strawberries and peaches. It looked so good we tried that insead. The lemons, peaches and strawberries were fresh. The large scoop of sugar didn’t hurt the taste a bit either. This young lady below was the one to squeeze the lemons and shake it all up before her mom added the extra fruit to the top.
We were past crazy by now and almost couldn’t walk straight, laughing at each other so hard. We got it together to pose in front of another mural before driving around town looking for houses that had been shown on the Hometown T.V. show.
A Loop Around Town
I haven’t watched Hometown in a while, but Amy had some specific places she wanted to see. The Bird Dog Cafe was one we checked off her list. The purple B & B was too purple not to get a picture.
Murals and Our Poses
The Rusty Chandelier
The Rusty Chandelier is only opened on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. We were there on a Tuesday, so we had to settle for pictures outside. It is a vendor market with antiques and unique odds and ends. If you ever go to Laurel, I need your opinion on the sign at the back of the building. When we first saw the store sign Amy asked, “What is the Busty Chandelier?” That will forever more be what I call it in my head.
The Loft
Since we had ended up eating later than planned, we were not overly hungry. Amy and I chose to share two appetizers. You can’t go wrong with Bang Bang Shrimp and Chicken Strips. YUMMY!
The Laurel Creamery
I never turn down birthday cake ice cream. I ate all of mine. Amy is an ice cream wimp and only ate half of hers. I think they gave her 2 scoops instead of the one that she purchased.
Shopping Completed
I think the bag numbers are about even. I did get several Christmas presents purchased, so I’m excited.
The Purpose of the Trip
The REAL reason we ended up in Laurel was because we had a meeting about retirement options in Meridian on Wednesday. Since the meeting started at 8:30, we drove down a day early and spent the night in Laurel. When we arrived we were surprised to see so few people there. Packets had been prepared for more people, but they just didn’t show up I guess. We also decided that we could have just watched a webinar to get the same information. Our afternoon in Laurel is the only thing that saved this trip.
Two Hour Lunch Break
A former Colleague advised us on options for lunch. Her parents currently live in Meridian. From the options, we chose Binke’s Restaurant. It seemed to be a family run restaurant and the food was fabulous looking and tasty.
This polite young man gave us directions since we seemed to be clueless about what we were doing. I picked up my tray then got my utensils cafeteria style. First came the dessert options, which is probably a smart business move. Always choose dessert first. I asked a few questions about what stuff was and then made my selections. He described my meat choice as ROAST (remember that fact). I also chose fried okra and butter beans. I drank sweet tea with lemonade added.
Very excited about my lunch choices, I arrived to the end where it appeared MAMA was sitting behind the register. As you can see in the pictures, there were NO prices listed anywhere. She rang mine up and said that will be $21.91. I told her we were paying separate. She responded, “I know, and yours will be $21.91. You got the Boston Butt Steak. It is more.” I wanted to tell her, “He called it ROAST.” However, I kept my mouth shut (and you would have too) and paid the lady. Comparing the cost of mine to the cost of Amy’s, I realized I paid $5.00 more than her for my meat selection. It was a fabulous meal, but I couldn’t afford it very often.
We had to sit though almost 2 1/2 more hours of meetings before we could go home. After eating this, I needed a NAP! We dd arrive safely home and now have to make retirement decisions. Yay Us!!!
