Tenn-Tom Trivia

Before we knew about "The Great Loop" I thought the only way to go south from the Great Lakes was down the Mississippi...but, in 1985, after over 100 years of government wrangling,the Tenn-Tom waterway was officially opened.This waterway proceeds from the Tenessee river south and is the connection of many small rivers to create this wonderful gateway to the gulf.The Mississippi is NOT user friendly on the "Lower" (that's what Tow boat captains call the Mississippi south of Cairo, Illinois) so the Tenn-Tom was a boon to commercial tows and pleasure craft alike.We begin the journey on the Tenn-Tom today (we're in Iuka, Mississippi).This is a very remote area where in some places road access is 10 miles off the river.We will go through two towns,Columbus and Aberdeen and hope to have a look at the plantations and antebellum homes in the area. As we get south we'll be in alligator country...we'll send pictures but not "Closeups"...I will attempt to download some recent pictures of our adventures.Just a few "southern-isms" we've learned....We were in a restaurant and Tom had the server laughing and she said "Isn't he just a "meh-ess" (mess)...we were taken a back because Tom looked pretty clean to us...well in "southern-ese" "Meh-ess" means "funny"...so, of course Tom is "just a Meh-ess..Also when you place an order for a beverage the server will ask "do you want a coke?" Tom will say "yes please, diet" and the server says well, what kind of a "coke" do you want? Dr. Pepper, 7-up? Coke has branded itself well in the south...it is generic for ANY soft drink. Stay posted please!