A Faulkin' Good Time

Another year, another attempt at a surprise. This year, Rose tried to surprise me for my birthday, but she decided to drop a hint first. She said, "We're going to Oxford" — thinking that was innocuous enough and I'd never guess. However, I read the William Faulkner biography and knew we were going to the homeplace of my favorite author! 
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It might not have been a surprise, but it was definitely a fun birthday I won't forget. 

We love off-season camping. There's never anyone around — and that includes bugs! It's especially good when you travel to somewhere warm(ish), like Mississippi, so you don't have to freeze. I wouldn't say it was warm, but this campground was definitely quiet. It was just us and the camp host. Needless to say, birthday weekend was off to a strong start!

​The campground sat back in the woods on the edge of Sardis Lake. It was really dry at the time, so the water level was down significantly. It actually made the lake look really cool with all the little tributaries. Plus, it made this huge sandy area around the water that was perfect for wandering around. Off-roaders would also make the trek down to the sand/mud to see how well their four-wheel drive worked — which was fun to watch. 

Once we got settled, it was time to explore the area. First stop: William Faulkner's house! 

As you might expect, Rowan Oak was the perfect southern plantation-style house with the big white columns and massive trees lining the driveway. It looked like a spot you could really get some writing done. 

Just like the campground, the house was completely empty. We basically got a private tour of William Faulkner's house! All the rooms were left exactly has he had it, complete with his library and typewriter. In his office, he actually wrote the outline of his final novel, A Fable, right on the walls. The plaque next to the wall said he did that after he got tired of the wind blowing his papers all over the room; he notoriously hated air conditioning, so the windows were always open. 

The grounds were just as cool as the house. Obviously the massive trees leading up to the front porch were prime "Mississippi." But he also had a crazy spiral garden out front, a large patio (where he often worked in the sun), another garden in the back, stables, and everything you'd need to be a sophisticated southern author. 

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Once imbued with the spirit of William Faulkner at his house, we decided to check out the town of Oxford. We sort of thought it'd be a quiet little southern town with bookstores and cafes and such. Of course, as anyone who's into college sports (not us) would know, Oxford is the location of Ole Miss and its nearly 30,000 students. And again, as any college sports fan would know, this weekend just happened to be some sort of baseball championship that Ole Miss was a part of. It wasn't as quiet as the other places we'd been so far. 

The town itself was indeed cute. It had a central square (which looked cool but wasn't much fun to drive on) filled with all sorts of shops. Since Oxford is now a big-time college town, let's just say some of the prices weren't necessarily "Camera Couple-friendly." 

But despite some of the hoity shops, we did sniff out a little bar that had dog pictures covering the bar. It was our type of place! So we stopped for a post-explore "soda" and a snack.

Of course, there were also some bookstores we had to explore. The main bookstore was called Square Books — no, not because books are square; it's located on the central town square. After hearing the cool story about how Faulkner wrote the outline of A Fable on his walls, I figured that'd be the perfect book to buy in Oxford. I also got a fun mug with one of his quotes. 

My own experience has been that the tools I need for my trade are paper, tobacco, food, and a little whiskey.

We also found a hidden bookstore that specialized in rare books and first-editions. My favorite book of all time is As I Lay Dying (by William Faulkner, of course). I have no idea what a first edition costs, but I was hoping I'd find something here. Unfortunately, they didn't have any copies... But we did get to talk to the shopkeeper for a while. He knew a ton about books and the area. Naturally, he also had a lot of really interesting editions and signed copies to look through. 

We finished out our tour of Oxford with a little jaunt around the square, where we ran into William Faulkner himself! Or, at least his statue. We had a nice long chat about what it's like to have to hold your hand up for for that long and whether he ever got tired of crossing his legs. 

Apparently when you visit Oxford, it's tradition to have a drink with Faulkner. Since he doesn't really go to bars much anymore, you have to go to him. Before the trip, I made sure to do some research and find out what his favorite drink was — I didn't want to be rude... I knew he was a whiskey drinker, but what kind!? 

Apparently, he really liked Jack Daniels. But that seemed too easy. So I did some deep diving and found out that Four Roses was another one of his favorites. Since I hadn't had that one before, I picked up a bottle for us to share. 

After the bookstore, we drove just out of town to the local cemetery and started our search for William Faulkner's gravesite. It's surprisingly hard to find because there aren't really any signs or banners, and it's just a normal stone. You just kinda have to wander around until you find it. 

Eventually we stumbled on a grave with several small whiskey bottles on it. It had to be the one! I took my sip and let Faulkner have a bit, too. Hopefully he liked the Four Roses as a change, since most of the other bottles around seemed to be Jack Daniels. 

With our exploring done and enduring baseball weekend at Ole Miss, we headed back to the campground for some peace and quiet. We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out at the campsite, sitting around the campfire, taking walks on the giant beach by the lake, and enjoying a few "sodas." 

And since it was birthday weekend, I had to finish it out with a pizza. It was an amazing trip! And although it wasn't necessarily a surprise, I had a ton of fun. Thanks Rose! Maybe next year you'll get the jump on me.