The last battle of the Civil war and hopefully our last radiator repair
We leave New Orleans for Vicksburg the site of the final battle of the civil war. We left about 08:00 and within 10 minutes had all lost each other, heading north up the Mississippi all on different roads. Chris chose Waze ‘no highways’, ham the main Highway 55 and Nigel], despite his new water pump was still experiencing overheating problems somewhere in the boondocks of Mississippi.
Ham found Chris, Amelia, Sophie and Amelia around midday This part of Mississippi is flat and unexciting, covered in very fertile agriculture and not a lot else. Shortly after we reunited the Rolls grounds to a halt unable to change gear. A vital bolt had fallen out of the gear stick and after about 15 minutes of fiddling about Chris and Ham managed to get a replacement bolt in place, it would just mean that Chris would have to drive in 4th for the rest of the day, fine on the flat or downhill but somewhat challenging if stationary uphill. And then it began to rain……
Chris and Ham arrived first at the Holiday Inn express, Vicksburg by which time it had begun to rain quite heavily. Nigel arrived 30 minutes later having continued to have a torrid time with overheating. It couldn’t be the water pump which meant that the radiator needed to come out and be given a really good wash through. As Nigel was checking in a stranger arrived to see the cars with his wife. Jeff and Nicole love to go on bike trips on their Harley and Jeff’s father loved old cars so when Ham explained the problem Jeff immediately offered his shed, about 0.5miles up the road. As the rain was falling this offer was gratefully received, Nigel reappeared and the car was moved into Jeff’s shed. When say ‘shed’ I really mean an industrial unit full of his father’s collectables, old cars being restored, signed, brass pots and pans etc etc. Jeff and Nicole could not have been kinder and as I have said many times, we stand on the shoulders of the ‘kindness of strangers’. There was no need for Jeff to make the offer that he did, there was no need for Nicole to go off and buy Draino for us but they stepped up when most needed. As we worked on the car the rain really tipped down and we were so grateful for the cover that had been provided. The radiator was cleaned, replaced and Nigel went for a falt free drive so fingers crossed for tomorrow.
By the time we finished there was no time to visit the site of the seige of Vicksburg but perhaps one day we will return and be able to enjoy the experience.
Dinner was spent at Walnut Hills Restaurant and as a thank you we invited Jeff and Nicole who joined us for the evening. Interestingly the sign outside said ‘no firearms permitted’. We are in God and guns territory!
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