Shack Up Inn Fun

It's the serendipitous moments that make life sweet.

I was tooling around on Facebook a couple of nights ago and saw that my pal Stephanie Dwyar was going to be attending the Barefoot Workshops screening event at the Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale. I replied that I was jealous (I have had a strong wish to attend a Barefoot Workshop for about five years now...). Five minutes later, my phone rings. It's Stephanie. Asking me to go to Clarksdale with her. No thinking that one through...I'm in!

I've been wanting to write an article about Shack Up Inn and Barefoot Workshops for some time now, and I have just the publication in mind. Talking to the go-to guys for both would certainly help with my pitch. 

We got away late Friday afternoon...Stephanie, me and her two precious pups, Tripp and Gracie. Two and a half hours later, we drove up to our home-away-from-home, the Legends shack. Next it was off to the movies!

One of my favorite flicks was a documentary about Erica and Hayden Hall, owners of Oxbow restaurant in Clarksdale. 

Nicole met them last year when she was in Clarksdale working on another documentary. It was great to be able to learn more about this amazing couple by watching a film about them.

After the film, we went to eat at Rust restaurant, where our friend, Allen, took care of us.

(Stephanie and Allen)

We woke up to a glorious day. I haven't been to the Shack Up in about five or six years, and I walked around to see how much it had changed. Stephanie's thumbprint (and bottle trees) is all over the property, including graffiti by someone who was inspired by her trees.

Sweet Allen cooked us breakfast...scrambled eggs with pesto and tomatoes and artisan bread from Rainbow in Jackson.

We met two fun women from Memphis, who have shacks across the road at Shackland. Sandi and Erin each gave us tours of their shacks. 

Before leaving, we had a visit with Blue Mike, who was converting a houseboat into an apartment for Betsy, who runs the front desk at the Shack Up Inn.

Then is was off to town to meet with artist Joey Young. His studio/gallery/apartment was as creative as he is, and playing with is kitties was fun.

And before we knew it, we were back on the road, leaving the dust from the flat Delta landscape in our rearview mirror. It was the perfect getaway: short and sweet and filled with great food, music, people, and fun. 

Thanks, Stephanie! I'll accompany you to Clarksdale any time!

Blessings to all who read this!

Susan