Gonna miss Mississippi

So many people have told us to stay out of the south for various reasons from the heat to the so called "hicks". We heeded their opinion and set a northern route. When we found out that the mountains might be way too much to climb plus the cold might cut our trip short we decided the best thing for us would be to go as south as possible. The lack of hills/mountains in the south would enable us to get more miles in per day plus stay as warm as possible for longer. Now we found ourselves in the state of Mississippi. I have to admit, I was a little concerned of what might transpire here, I have heard so many stories and saw many movies based here that don't quite have an inviting theme. The first stop was Meridian. We stayed with a host from couchsurfing.com.He showed us so much hospitality and love it was unbelievable. We stopped at a volunteer fire department to get directions but got so much more than that. Dana and her husband helped us with our mission, contacted the news and supplied priceless motivation. The next day we did a news broadcast with WTOK-TV.
Leaving Meridian we were on a high. We thought the momentum could carry us into Laurel 65 miles away but leaving so late in the day we  only made it to Saundersville. That night we ended up camping in the yard of a church counselor. They weren't expecting us but still showed us southern hospitality. He brought us pounds of fruit to appease our vegetarian appetites and even called ahead to our next to stop make sure we had a place to stay. Fueled and on the road we stopped in Laurel to get water and directions from the local fire department.They were amazed by our trip and also gave us blessings. We continued down the road only to get waved down 5 minutes later to get a donation. He surprised us both we he called the mayor and told him to meet us at city hall. We took pictures with the mayor and got an awesome unexpected surprise. They contacted the news station to do a story on us. On the road once more, not even 10 minutes later, one of the fire fighters chased us down. He said that he wouldn't be able to sleep that night if he didn't help us out. So he called the chief of the F.D in Hattiesburg to see what he could do for us. To make a long story short we had an escort waiting on us when we entered the city limits. It was not your ordinary escort. It was the assistant mayor John Brown. We rode with flashing lights to the closest F.D where to freshened up to take a tour of the city! This was an experience like no other. Not only did we have a complimentary lunch, we got to visit the only black history military museum in the nation. They even got us a complimentary room where we could get some much needed rest. To phrase up Hattiesburg in a sentence... This is an incredible city with incredible people. John got in touch with the media in Picayune(our next stop) and also made arrangements for a comfortable nights rest. One of the reporters even took us out for dinner! All in all we have nothing ill to say about Mississippi. One thing that we have agreed upon and learned from our travels is to never judge a place, person, or thing based on someone else's opinion. Go there and find out for yourself and make your own opinion based on your own experience.You just might be pleasantly surprised just like we were!