Just a Taste of Jackson

Jackson, Mississippi

Thursday, May 23, 2019 – Friday, May 24, 2019

Written August 21, 2025

Traveling from Memphis, Tennessee – Approx: a 3-hour drive. Part of a longer trip that started in Dallas, TX, then Houston, TX, then Little Rock, Arkansas, then Memphis Tennessee, then Jackson, Mississippi, then Birmingham, Alabama, then Atlanta, Georgia (only spent 10 hours there. some of which was trying to get a new flight arranged.)

Since we were very limited on time in Jackson, this post barely touches the surface of the experiences to be had in Jackson. Instead, think of this as a "what you can do or see" when you are pressed for time in the area.

We were off schedule. I mean, not that we had tickets to anywhere or were meeting anyone, but I anticipated arriving early to midafternoon. Instead, we’d arrive after dark. Luckily, the place I had bookmarked for us to eat at when we arrived in Jackson was open late. Even still, we would head there once we arrived in Jackson and check into the hotel afterwards.

Late Arrival & Dinner

It was a little past 9:00PM when we arrived at The Iron Horse Grill. The parking lot was still pretty active with cars arriving and departing, and people walking to and from their cars.   I took that as a good sign. But what caught my eye was that there were security guards in the parking lot. The lot itself was mostly gravel and very large, so I suspect using cameras might not have covered the whole area as effectively as a physical presence. Not to mention that If there was a scuffle out there, the response time would be quicker too.

Iron Horse was a bar/restaurant that was built in an old Armour smokehouse building.  My partner and I were lead to a table close to the stage where a musician was playing. We caught maybe the last 5-10 minutes and were still getting settled when the stage went quiet. It stayed lit up for the remainder of our time there, I wonder if musicians could just take the stage if no one was scheduled to perform. Overhead, there were giant iron pipes trailing overhead and through the whole public area. It was definitely a metal type place (ha ha, I will show myself the door).

Dinner started with mixed drinks, trying to get a local experience we ordered the Honeysuckle Blues and the Cat Daddy Mule, and we shared them.  For our entrees, I went with a smokehouse burger, but I can’t remember what main course my partner had. I think it included veggies and mashed potatoes, like garlic mash or cheesy mash. There were chips and salsa for the table while we waited for our entrees. I thought the Honeysuckle Blues was fabulous!

Photo 1: The Iron Horse Grill stage

Photo 2: inside the Iron Horse Grill

The hotel was less than a mile away and like down the road and make a left. We checked into our hotel around 11:30PM. This is much later than I’d hoped, but the staff at The Westin Jackson Hotel were lovely.  I chose this hotel because when I read up on places to stay, this hotel seemed to be centrally located to a lot of things in the Downtown Jackson area. Not that it pertained to this trip, but it also looks like it is close to the international airport, so that’s a plus for future travel.

Check out time!

Twelve hours later, our luggage was back in the car. We pretty much arrived, went to sleep, got up the next morning and got ready to leave. Although brief, our stay was nice, and we’d return. It was a big hotel, but the room was cozy and clean. The foyer and entry way were decorated smartly, and the hotel did really seem to be in the center of the town. A giant courthouse was just about a block away.

 Since we were staying in Jackson for the afternoon, we ate breakfast at Estelle Southern Table which is part of the hotel. Our seats were at a table with a window view, with a corner view that looked out to the sidewalk and street. Since we were on the first floor, it gave us a first-hand view of a day in the city.  The restaurant itself was elegant; I felt underdressed in my T-shirt and sneakers.

Photo 1: The Westin Jackson

Photo 2: Decor and beds of the hotel room (the morning of our departure)

Photo 3: Thad Cochran U.S. Courthouse - down the street from the hotel

Off to the museums we go!

Not being overly fond of warm weather (if you’ve read my other posts, you’ll find that as a theme) and visiting Mississippi in May, I wasn’t sure what weather would greet us. So, it was an inside itinerary for this trip. We went to the Mississippi Civil Rights museum. I mean, the history of Jackson, Mississippi, how can you skip the museums? I had a difficult time figuring out where to park. There were a good number of open spots, but nothing clearly marked for museum visitors. On the bright side we did get to get more familiar with the area by driving around the block a couple of times! In fact, there was an area nearby that looked like it might hold a fair or flea market on weekends. That could have been cool.

We parked behind the museum and when we arrived inside, we saw that the museum also shared space with the History of Mississippi, so we visited both! (Writer’s Note: both museums share the same website, so I am including the main link here as well.  https://2mm.mdah.ms.gov/ )

We started with the History of Mississippi and spent 3 hours looking at historic items, watching videos, reading about how people arrived in the area, it was much more than watching videos and looking at things on the wall. For instance, there was an interactive room that you walked into and showed what the road looked like when the first people arrived in the area. It wasn’t really a road; it was like a path through a forest. It was a big museum with lots of offerings. Three hours wasn’t enough. I’d suggest visiting on multiple days if possible. You’d get a more memorable experience that way. Truthfully, by hour 2 my brain was overloaded. It’s my fault really, I spent time reading everything in each room I visited, I wanted to remember all of it!

Photo 1: Wall labels inside the Civil Rights Museum

Photo 2: Central waiting area for the museums

Photo 3: Wall labes inside the History of Mississippi museum

Unfortunately, spending three hours at the History of Mississippi museum only left us an hour to go through the Civil Rights museum. I think dedicating one day to each museum would have been better.

If we had given ourselves another day or two, I’d have liked to drive around Jackson and explore areas outside of Jackson. Maybe gone to a place that had live music too.

We needed to get on the road though, Alabama was calling!

Photo 1: The Fair grounds close to the museums

Photo 2: Leaving Jackson, not far from the museums

Photo 3: Morton, Mississippi Route 20 heading towards Alabama

Things I learned from planning this trip: Being so unfamiliar with Mississippi, I had a difficult time settling in on an “event” or things to see or do while in Jackson. 

Things I learned from attending this trip: There were very fewer people on the street during a weekday afternoon than I expected.

Things I keep in mind when organizing a trip for myself: Go back for more! Food! Music! Sites outside! Time inside the museums!

Things I learned from writing this blog post: This could easily have been a post about how haunted I am with missed opportunities in Jackson or Mississippi in general. Although this visit was meant to be exploratory, and I enjoyed my time in the city, I find myself melancholy for what it could have been.

Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT or Perplexity.

​​©2025 Theri’s Travel Tales