DAY TRIP

The Hub City

Hattiesburg is full of adventure and affordable fun

Story & Photos By Gracie Byrne

Hattiesburg, also known as “Hub City,” showed me a rainy adventure I won’t soon forget.

My boyfriend and I traveled to Hattiesburg on a rainy Saturday morning. The rain was heavy enough to be noticed, but light like dust.

I’ve driven through Hattiesburg plenty of times on my way to the beach, and I’ve attended several camps and workshops at The University of Southern Mississippi, but I’ve never really been to Hattiesburg.

You haven’t been anywhere until you’ve seen where the locals go.

Once we made it to downtown, our first stop was one many visitors like to make in Hattiesburg: The Lucky Rabbit.

When we stepped inside, it felt like we had traveled somewhere else. The organized chaos of it all really reminded me of “Alice in Wonderland.” Nothing made sense, yet it all flowed together as if it did, the way things were stacked and arranged throughout the building.

One attraction I was excited to see was the Pyrex bus. This particular oddity, an old bus turned glassware shop, was one of my favorite things to see on this trip. Looking around, I admired the sets of casserole dishes and serving bowls.

If they could talk, I’m sure they’d say a lot.

Each booth was more interesting than the last. While we both enjoyed perusing the booths, I think my boyfriend enjoyed the Lucky Rabbit’s most recent setup the best.

The Lucky Rabbit is located in downtown Hattiesburg. The warehouse, featuring local artists and vendors, is open one weekend a month. Because of COVID-19, they are temporarily open every weekend to cut down on crowd sizes.

Their setup room was made to look like “The Office,” and any fan would have enjoyed pretending to be Jim or Pam in this lookalike Dunder Mifflin office. We enjoyed taking pictures and pretending to answer the phone.

As we made our way upstairs, we could see more characteristics of the building. The Lucky Rabbit originally served as a warehouse, with train tracks running behind the building. It was a supply depot, and many engines came and went with new shipments in tow.

The original elevator, which operates with a pulley system, is still used today to move furniture and other large objects to the upstairs level.

Truth be told, I could have stayed there all day. But for the sake of this trip, we moved on to our next stop.

As we drove to our next destination, I couldn’t help but notice the architecture of the older homes in the area. Majestic white homes with perfectly manicured green lawns — there isn’t anything like it.

Our next stop was Bombshell Comics & Stuff. The store carried anything your nerdy little heart desired, whether it was Marvel or DC Comics. The people were nice, and so were the comics.

We didn’t stay long, but I made sure to peruse the Archie comics section while we were there.

The next stop on our rainy day adventure was down the sidewalk at T-Bones Records and Café. This was a place that came highly recommended to me, both for the food and the records.

A good friend of mine always talked about T-Bones, and I can see why he liked it so much. It had a nice vibe,

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Bottom: T-Bone’s Records & Cafe carries vinyl records and books and includes a cafe and sitting area.

and it felt like a warm sweater on a cold day. It reminded me of him and how cozy he always seemed.

This was another place I could’ve stayed at all day. I loved looking through all of the vinyl they had, and I found several pieces I would’ve bought if I owned something to play them on.

The store also had a great collection of books. I spent a lot of time looking through those as well. Due to the pandemic, the stage was empty, but that didn’t stop the patrons from enjoying their afternoon sandwich and coffee under a sea of string lights.

We left empty handed and made our way to meet a friend for lunch at Ed’s Burger Joint. I had heard about Ed’s from a lot of friends who attend Southern. After researching the menu, my decision was made.

We sat in the back of the

restaurant after we ordered. I chose the “El Magooey,” an Angus hamburger with a scoop of pimento cheese on top, side of fries and ranch on the side. My boyfriend ordered the barbecue chicken nachos, something akin to a stadium food.

The two of us shared a cookies and cream milkshake. Thank the Lord for the diameter on that straw, because we surely needed it.

Once our meal was over, we departed and began the drive back up Highway 49 home, with antiques and milkshakes on our minds.

With the way we enjoyed ourselves, I’m sure we’ll be back soon. I just know it.

Ed’s Burger Joint, a local eatery in Hattiesburg, is known for their Angus hamburgers and milkshakes.