The Senior Weekend

Several weeks ago Elder Lauper made arrangements to get together for a weekend with the Bible's and Hastings, 2 of the other senior missionary couples here in LA. This was the weekend! But before we met up with the others we dropped off a new dryer for the Natchez Elders. When we finally reached them on the phone they were somewhere in Natchez on their bikes but said they'd hurry home. Let me just say that Mississippi is not flat like Louisiana, so hurrying home meant peddling up and down hills on a very warm day, but they didn't complain. Elder Ware, who'll be going home next month, says his pants fit a lot better than they did before he was transferred to Natchez:) Maybe I need to be transferred to a bike area!

Elder Ware and Elder Martell

After the delivery was made we met up with the Hastings and Bible's for a little driving city tour with Elder Lauper as the tour director. And it's a good thing we did, because we were so disappointed with the horse and buggy tour we took later in the evening. Our guide was nothing like Gus, the guide we had in September. Fortunately, it was a beautiful evening--about 80 with a gentle breeze. Okay, back to the Marc Lauper tour. We took a drive through the City and National Cemeteries to show off the beautiful iron work around the family plots. Neither of the other couples had been to Natchez before, and they loved it! Then we drove around looking at houses, churches, city buildings and business establishments sharing what we remembered from our previous times here. The homes below all face this view of the Mississippi River. Beautiful setting!

Dinner at Johnnie Mae's Seafood and Grille in Vidalia LA--just across the River from Natchez. The food was great, but the company was better! We enjoyed their version of a"bloomin' onion" and onion rings made with the famous Vidalia Onion. Yes, this is where Vidalia onions come from. In addition to that, we had fried green tomatoes, lots of shrimp, catfish, salmon and all the trimmings.

Six Senior Missionaries

Allison feeding Champ his carrot just before we left on our "tour."

Ok, maybe we learned something. This is the church that inspired the part of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer when Tom and Huck attend their own funeral. Mark Twain attended this church and wondered how the congregants got into the balcony seats. There's an outside door on the side where people of color entered the balcony and were allowed to sit.