Judging by the state of its thrift store racks, the ladies of Pascagoula, Mississippi, are a snazzy group. There were more sequins per square foot in the Goodwill store there than you’re likely to see anywhere else other than Vanna White’s closet. Judging by the diversity of sizes, I don’t think they all came from one party-happy patron, either. It was impressive. The sheer amount of shiny and glitz nearly overpowered my steely, puritanical nature. I knew it was time to leave when I started seriously considering one particularly colorful sequined shawl.

After Pascagoula we hit the Goodwill in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, which seemed to be brand new. They had neat little niches built into the store where they’d set up vignettes and sections, like a little art gallery and a media room. Their T-shirts were even grouped by color. It made for a pretty store, but it almost felt a little too sterile. Thrift stores are supposed to be at least a little chaotic.

As we’ve drifted further south, I’ve noticed that another animal has usurped the monkeys’ reign as Chief Beast. In their place? Chickens. They’re everywhere. I’ve seen at least two Beyonces (warning: foul language. also fowl language) and countless other poultry large and small. I have yet to be quick enough to snap pictures of those on the roadways, but I’m now making a special effort to photograph the ones in the stores.

I’d never been to Mississippi before last week — although I’ve known how to spell it since my step-mother’s sister Pat taught me when I was 9 or so (em eye crooked letter, crooked letter eye; crooked letter, crooked letter eye; humpback, humpback eye). I’m pretty sure it’s my 29th state. We stopped at Biloxi’s Hurricane Katrina memorial on the way into town, and it was making me rather emotional right up until a guy on a bicycle rode over to try to get us to fork over some change.

We stayed the night in a rather sketchy-looking campground in the middle of Biloxi. You could see the Gulf from the laundry room, though. We spent a good part of the evening there reading Vogue, W and Redbook before coming back to HaRVey with clean clothes and an appetite. Jenna made dinner again, and then we commenced with the blogging.

Lessons learned on Day Five

First, an important note: Jenna has 1,700 miles and 8 nights left on her trip. Her funds are quickly dwindling. If you have a dollar or $5 or $500 to spare, she could use it. All Thrifty States is a very cool project, and Jenna is a great girl. Please click here to donate.

Now on with our show …

We spent Monday night at the home of Jenna’s friend Cecelia and her husband, Ryan. Before we all crashed, we ordered pizza and watched the “Breaking Bad” pilot. I’ve only been on the road with Jenna for a few days, and it was so nice to return to “normal” life. Jenna has been on the road for 30-plus days; I can’t imagine how welcome these little in-home oases are for her!

I woke up Tuesday to the rain gently falling against the window, with a soft light streaming through the trees. I pulled myself out of bed and got ready to face the day, only to snuggle back into our hosts’ couch to finish my book. I’ll take that every morning, please. After finishing “The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet” — which was weird but compelling, although I didn’t really find the end all that satisfying — I ate a few pieces of leftover cheese bread from Papa John’s and begged Jenna for some ibuprofen. Despite the day’s delightful beginnings, I’d woken up with a hoopendoodle of a headache.

The ibuprofen started to work its magic, and we headed out to visit the Goodwill store in Montgomery, Alabama. Goodwill is sponsoring Jenna’s trip, so she’s trying to visit as many of the shops as she can along her route. Like the Buckhead Goodwill, the Montgomery store was spacious, clean and well-organized. Many years ago I overheard a kid at a thrift store complaining to his mom that the shop smelled “like broccoli and old ladies.” Maybe Jenna just has a knack for choosing the best stores, but I’m thinking maybe thrift stores in general have cleaned up their act a bit. That is to say: I’ve been impressed at how tidy the stores we’ve visited have been.

The Montgomery Goodwill gets my vote for both Best T-Shirts and Most Wonderful Book Section so far this trip. They had a vast array of N’Sync t-shirts, as well as a host of goofy slogans such as “I (heart) hot moms” and I (cheeseburger) cows.” Their book section was actually its own room, which could have functioned as a small used book store. The lack of organization in there made me a little twitchy — the “Dune” books should all be together, for one, and I spied four copies of Robert James Waller’s “Puerto Vallarta Squeeze” and a variety of Paul Reiser tomes scatter wily-nily across the bookshelves — but they had an impressive selection. I bought a copy of Tom Wolfe’s “A Man in Full,” a circa-1964 cookbook from Brennan’s restaurant and a set of flip-through explorer cards for the kids.

We started the drive to Mobile, Alabama, after Jenna finished a few interviews with the local media, and we made it about halfway there before HaRVey politely requested an oil change. His little dashboard notification system said, “Pardon me, miss, but I could use a spot of oil. Pip-pip, cheerio!” OK, well maybe it wasn’t that, verbatim, but it was along those lines. So we made a brief pitstop, then carried on our way.

The sky was ominously dark in the distance for the rest of the drive, but we forged ahead anyway, with a song in our hearts and Nutella-graham snacks in our hands. The skies were clear when we arrived at our campsite, and Jenna made us some Butternut Squash Ravioli for dinner. It was delicious, but it made me miss my Poppy something ferocious. The clear skies seemed to be giving way to more rain as I typed this, and there was enough thunder to make me a little nervous. Let’s hope it isn’t a night like the one Jenna experienced in Iowa!

Lessons learned on Day Four

A shipping snafu had us spending an extra day in the Montgomery, Alabama, area to wait for a package, so we had a very leisurely Monday morning. Once we were finally up and (sort of) at ‘em, we opened the curtains to see a man on an ATV taking a pony on a leash for its morning constitutional. I’m learning to love you, Alabama.

After checking out, we drove to Opelika to find a couple of local thrift stores that we’d found online. One of them seemed to have disappeared, the second was actually a day-old bakery outlet and the third had a closed sign in the window. But there was a lady walking toward the door, so we pulled in in the hopes that they’d be opening soon.

It turned out that The Buildmore Store isn’t actually open on Mondays, but Lisa let us have a look around and chatted with Jenna for a bit anyway. The store is run by the Alabama Rural Ministry, which assists locals with home repairs. That’s a cause I can get behind, and even if I couldn’t? I’d shop at Buildmore if I were nearby. They had boxes of unopened, brand-new light fixtures; piles and piles of tile; a ton of doors and windows; and the largest shelving unit I’ve ever seen. It had to be 12 feet tall.

After parting ways with Lisa we drove into Montgomery in search of a Target. We ended up driving through a shopping area that I believe is the exact opposite of the thrift-store mentality (Williams-Sonoma, anyone?) on the way there, but I felt right at home again. We stocked up on supplies (c.h.o.c.o.l.a.t.e. mostly) and then went to meet Jenna’s friend Cecilia, who lives in Montgomery and graciously offered to show us around and let us sleep in her house.

Did you know that Montgomery is home to the Hank Williams Museum? It is, and we went. It was equal parts interesting and creepy. We drove by his grave, too, which was ornate and peaceful and not at all creepy. “Junior” pays for ornate floral arrangements for the site, but the lady at the museum said they’ve had some issues with people stealing the arrangements. They had a picture of a lovely guitar made mostly of roses that was stolen in the most recent pilfering. I can’t imagine a much lower petty crime than stealing flowers off a grave. (I didn’t get any pictures at the museum, because they were only allowed in the lobby. I was chastised for taking a picture in the gift shop. Which is adjacent to the lobby.)

So now we’re hanging out in Cecelia’s dining room, which at this moment looks a lot like a coffee shop, what with all the laptops and typing going on. Assuming that the errant package arrives on time, we should be heading off for Mobile tomorrow. Mobile is Rockford’s birthplace. I’m fairly certain they have neither a statue nor a museum marking the event, but they really ought to. He’s a great guy.

Lessons learned on Day 3