02-09-2019 2 Days in Gulfport Mississippi

Current Location: Indian Pass Campground, Port Saint Joe, Florida

Cloudy, foggy, thunder, spitting rain 66 degrees F at 6 PM

Back on the road on the Atchafalaya Bridge after the blowout

I know better.  This always happens to me when I miss too many days writing.  I am behind, and I have three sentences of notes to try to help me remember all the things I wanted to say about our time in Gulfport, Mississippi. I did at least manage to write about the museum we visited on one of the days we were there, thank goodness.  Now…really….where are all those words that were rolling around in my head, just waiting for a keyboard to get them down? 

After the blowout, which happened on our way to Gulfport, we were several hours later arriving than we had originally planned.  Traffic through Baton Rouge over the huge bridge across the Mississippi River was horrendous.  The nice thing about the mostly ‘stop’ and a little bit of ‘go’ was that we got to see the river and enjoy the rumbling rocking feeling on the bridge.

As I might have mentioned previously, when planning this trip, I originally made reservations at Keesler Air Force Base Family Camp.  What I didn’t realize was that there are two Military Family Camps very close together, one at Keesler AFB in Biloxi, and another at Shields RV Campground at the Gulfport Naval Construction Battalion Center.  I was grateful for so many resources that helped me make the decision to switch campgrounds as we were leaving Louisiana the day before. 

With the extra hours on the road caused by the tire delay, it was pitch dark when we finally arrived at the Naval Base camp.  Landing in the dark is always stressful, and we do everything possible to avoid it.  Sometimes though, stuff happens, and we have to find our way in unknown territory, find the right gate, get on base, and find our site without anyone around in the campground.  Remember that photo of a glass of Jack Daniels that I posted that day?  We were so happy that we were at Shields instead of Keesler.  I had read that the roads at Keesler were narrow and had overhanging trees at some of the sites, and that the power pedestals were notorious for frying inverters.  (Remember that part about trying to find Camping World in Lafayette?  We never did, and still have to get a surge protector).

Shields was easy, thank goodness, and we were so tired that we settled in without a problem.  I have no idea what we did for supper that night, but I am sure it was a reheat of some sort. 

The night was COLD, and we were glad for our electric heater and warm comforters.  The next morning was gray, cloudy, cold, and windy, so we took our time getting out and about.  After exploring the base a bit, doing some shopping at the small but perfectly nice commissary, we piled ourselves and Mattie in the Tracker for an afternoon of exploring.

We had driven through Gulfport and Biloxi just 2 years after Katrina  devastated the city back in 2007.  There are still huge swaths of empty lots among the gorgeous mansions, but only those who knew what it looked like before the hurricane can really notice how different it is now.  Casinos are all along Beach Boulevard, getting bigger and brighter as we approached Biloxi.  The Gulf was steely gray, and not really conducive to walking much.

We drove over the big bridge toward Ocean Springs, visited the museum, and afterward drove down toward the beach once again.  Ocean Springs is a dog friendly town, and we were assured that dogs were allowed on the beaches.  Walking Mattie for a bit, we ran into a couple of nice women who told us they knew of no place where Mattie could run off leash, but we were happy to at least find someplace to let her enjoy a walk.

It was late afternoon as we meandered once again along Beach Boulevard toward home.  I had been thinking about shrimp all afternoon, after all we are in the Gulf world of seafood!  Shrimp and oysters everywhere.  We chose a place called Felix’s Oyster Bar, with a beautiful porch overlooking the gulf that would have been wonderful if it hadn’t been cold and windy and raining.

It was still pretty darn wonderful, and I finally got my shrimp fix satisfied with plump, juicy, perfectly cooked pink gulf shrimp.  Simple, tasty, a bit of a kick, and just a light breading.  Even the french fries were incredible.

After our early supper we found another beach where we let Mattie run a bit on her own.  It wasn’t all that pretty, and it wasn’t for much distance because there were signs everywhere saying leashes required.  Still, we gave here a bit of freedom where no one could see, and Mattie is great about coming right away when called.  made me nervous as a cat, though. 

Home to settle in for the evening, enjoying a Redbox dvd movie from the base express.  We decided on “Crazy Rich Asians’, and it was light and silly enough that it didn’t demand much from us.  We wanted to be sure that we were buttoned up and ready for the next day on the road. 

I can see that there is much that we missed in Gulfport, which could qualify as a lovely winter destination on its own, with plenty to see and do, and often relaxing good weather.  The Gulf National Seashore and campground, lovely bike trails, charming shops in Ocean Springs, all could fill up a couple of weeks of time without a problem.

However we are just one 310 mile day from our Florida destination.  This seems like a very long trip, a very long trip.  It is one that we won’t repeat any time soon, or probably not ever, but we are both glad we are here and that we did it, and that some of the trials of the journey are already beginning to fade.