Mississippi: A State of Luxurious Living

When you think of Mississippi, honestly, you don't think of luxurious living and upscale shops... but after my last visit there, my whole view of Mississippi has changed. I went down to Mississippi for our family reunion in July 2009; specifically to a town called Ridgeland, which is just outside of Jackson, the state capital. We stayed at the Embassy Suites Ridgeland which was newly built this year. From looking at the website this place looked like it had it all, and fancy at that. The hotel was nice, but my first point of impression was when I got off of exit 105B on Interstate 55.

I had been driving for 13 hours from Chicago; I was ready to relax. I was excited about finally making it to my destination but then I looked to my right, and I saw this outdoors complex that caught my attention. I've seen malls before, both indoor and outdoor, but this mall really sparkled to me. I made it a point to go to this mall at some point during my weekend stay in Ridgeland. The complex was called the Renaissance at Colony Park. Inside this Renaissance was a Williams-Sonoma store... a Barnes and Noble... an Apple Store... a P.F. Chang's China Bistro... an Ethan Allen... a Banana Republic... and much more. I also came across a grocery store called The Fresh Market which reminded me a lot of a more intimate version of Whole Foods Market. If I had have come at a later date I might have been in time for the opening of the Ruth's Chris Steakhouse that was coming to that location. I could honestly say it was one of the nicer malls that I'd ever seen in my life... and it was in Mississippi.

There is plenty to do in the Jackson area than just go shopping, and Ridgeland alone was enough to take up two or three days of excitement. Ridgeland offers its visitors antique shopping, haute cuisine, as well as home cooking. You can experience leisure with outdoors activity along the Natchez Trace Parkway or the Ross Barnett Reservoir. If you're interested in arts and crafts, you must visit the Mississippi Crafts Center. It is a 20,000 square foot facility representing 400 artisans from 19 states showcasing arts and crafts in excellence.

I've been to Mississippi before, but it didn't look anything like this. I went for the first time in 2001 to visit a friend of mine and I remember I stayed at a Super 8 off of the freeway and we ate at a diner nearby; it did have good sweet tea though. From then to now my experience of Mississippi has come full circle. I'll have fond memories of my visit there as well as the family reunion. I'm looking forward to actually visiting the Jackson/Ridgeland area again and seeing more of it. Maybe next time I come down I'll be able to get some real estate while I'm at it.

For more information about Ridgeland, Mississippi go to: http://www.visitridgeland.org/.

Sources:

Welcome to Ridgeland, Mississippi
http://www.ridgelandms.org/

Ridgeland Tourism Commission
http://www.visitridgeland.org/