Cathead

The spousal unit loves to do her Groupon thang and she came across a 2 for 1 for a tour of the Cathead Distillery. It's the first distillery founded in Mississippi since prohibition, and located in downtown Jackson,  behind the convention center.  At $15 for the two of us, why not?

As part of the "tour" you get the run of the place and four samples of their product at the end.   They sponsor events at the Distillery throughout the year, with one coming up in several weeks.

You can see from the picture that as you approach the building from the road, the name is clearly visible.  A taco food truck is usually there on tour days, which in this instance was on Saturday. The tours are on the hour from 1-5, and are limited to small groups, the biggest being the one at 5.

Once you are inside, you go to the bar and check in, to validate that you are on the list.  The building is an old warehouse with lots of space for entertaining groups and those special events.  They have a dart board, corn hole, connect 4, Jenga, and card games for you to occupy your time while you wait for your tour or afterward.  They also sell beer by the bottle or draft.   Their products are not for sale in the Distillery but you get to sample 4 at the end of the tour.

They have several of these homemade tables and benches for you and your crew to use before and after the tour.  There was a gal there playing and singing, but the acoustics in a warehouse are something to be desired.  The resident dog enjoyed it though, as he joined in with her, howling along as she played and sang.

When it's your tour time, you gather up with the tour guide,  beer in hand.  A rarity, I think the spousal unit and I were the only ones without a drink, during the tour!

This was our tour guide.  He's the computer tech dude and part time tour guide.  He gets all the free beverages he wants, see the cup???  Behind him is the workings of the Distillery.  The acoustics of the building makes hearing him a challenge, especially with the gal and the dog singing in the background.

The tour lasted about an hour.  You get the history of Cathead and how it got its name, you See the process they go through from start to finish, and then, the best part, you get small samples of their products.

I left out a lot of the details, which is all part of taking the tour.  I recommend that you go as a group, and include dinner afterwards to round out the day.  I "liked" their Facebook page so I can keep up with their sponsored events for a return visit, hopefully in a group of friends.  The more the merrier!

If you plan your day just right, you can also hit Lucky Town Brewery, but may be another blog post!

Angels on the Highway

You never know when you will find or encounter an angel.  Today I met two!

Today, we were on our way to the funeral of my Uncle Bubba, up in the Delta, in the sleepy little town of Inverness, MS.  The family was gathered at Cousin Will's house for a meal prior to the visitation and funeral at the Baptist Church.  We were running late, and I didn't want to be a bother at Wills so I decided to venture on to Indianola for a quick bite.

I knew a finger or two would be shaken at me for not coming by.  In small towns like Inverness, you never go hungry, especially during a funeral. Feelings get hurt if you don't come by, even if its for a slice of pie or a cup of coffee.

With time to get a quick bite, and make it back for the visitation, we approached the intersection of hwy 49 and 82.  Suddenly i had a sneezing attack as i was pulling up to the stop sign, and the next thing you know, pop!, I had hit the curb and blown out the front left tire!

Well crap!  So much for making it to the funeral service! I slowly made my way into the parking lot of the old Webers truck stop.  Boy, the memories that flashed through my head from my youth!

We were in the spousal unit's Acura.  These days they do not put spare tires in the trunk, you just get a tire inflation kit.  Those damn Japanese!  Time to dial 1-800 Acura roadside assistance, and the two hour wait for a tow truck and ride back to Brandon. :-(

I made several calls and a text message to see about getting the spousal unit to the funeral service while I saw about the car, but no luck.

Just then i had my first encounter with a highway angel!  A black guy was in the parking lot working on an 18 wheeler.  He walks up and asks me if he can help me with my flat.  Bless him!  I went through my issues with Acura's and the lack of a spare in the MDX.  He then proceeds to tell me, "well, I have a friend that does tire repairs on trucks."  Now, keep in mind, this is Sunday, 1:00,  in the Mississippi Delta, what's my luck in finding a 19 inch Japanese specialty tire???

Well, son of a gun!   The tire repair guy answered the call, and he just passed the only tire store open on Sunday in Indianola. He makes a u-turn, gets the specs for the tire from us, and low and behold, they have one used tire, $40, cash.  Sold!

The tire repair guy, Chris Barnes, arrives, picks me up, and we are off to get that tire!  I have just met my second highway angel of the day!
Yep!  They had the used tire, including a hand full of leaves in the bottom to go with it.  Back to Webers truck stop parking lot we go!

We get back to the car, and highway angel #1 and the truck he was working on, are gone.  I look at the rim and notice the need for a specialty socket for the locked lug nut.  Ok God, you have had my six so far.....  yep, the lug socket was in the back!  My new friend Chris worked his magic, and Presto!  Used spare 19 inch tire is on the ground!  I asked him how much I owed him.  He says, "what ever you want to pay."  Did i mention this is the Mississipi Delta?  I gave him all I had, $55, and offered to meet at an ATM for more.  His response, just drive safe my friend.

Would you believe we made it to the funeral service with five minutes to spare.  God was in that santuary, but he had his highway angels working overtime, on a Sunday, in the Delta!  God's country, yes indeed!