Biloxi Blues - Mississippi

A long day of driving was all worth while once we saw the coast.  It was like coming back to heaven.  The white beaches stretch for miles and miles.  We purposely drove Beach Blvd (Hwy 90) from Gulfport to Biloxi, stop light to stop light. The pace of the traffic was 'crawl' but we didn't care.  It was a cool day so parking along the beach was not a concern.  Kyle was able to leave his prints in virgin sand over and over.  Kaye tried to do some 'fetch' training and succeeded in adding many more steps to her pedometer.

The coastline at Biloxi has been re-invaded by Casinos.  This is Vegas on the Gulf.  The AAA book describes Biloxi as Before Hurricane Camille and After Casinos.  The casinos were originally on barges moored at piers along the beachfront but hurricane Katrina completely wiped out the entire waterfront.  The new version of casinos are Vegas style high-rise blights which is unfortunate.

We immediately decided to extend our stay mostly because when we pulled into our RV Park we were greeted by huge mud puddles, standing water in the moss grass and vehicles with hail damage.  The weather report showed that we had caught up to the tail end of the storm.  Kaye giggled; "Oh boy, casino time".

The famous Hard Rock Casino turned our 'free' Corona beers into expensive beers over the course of several hours but it was all fun.  The best part was reading all of the entertainment memorabilia that covers the walls everywhere, including the bathrooms.  My neck was killing me by the time we left, no matter how hard I tried not to look up, there was always something catching my eye! ps. There is a new smoke free casino called the Palace.

Do you remember the movie, Tin Cup? The scene after Kevin Costner wins the local tournament and takes all his friends to the 'Waffle House' to celebrate.  Well guess who fell in love with the Waffle House.  The staff shout out; "Welcome to Waffle House", whenever someone comes in and the place is buzzing with staff.  We played along with them and Kaye was presented with an official Waffle House hat and chest button.  The food was very inexpensive and good.  Now everywhere we drive I get to listen to Kaye shout out; "Welcome to Waffle House" as we pass.  And there are lots of Waffle Houses in this neck of the woods.

Our neighbour in the RV Park was a young lady with a newborn, a cat and a puppy.  Her husband was working locally and they have been living here for the last seven months.  She explained that; "Ther no point tellin yaal bout my town as nobody done nevr heard of it.  We'r rednecks".  We would never have guessed that ourselves.  She called Kaye, 'Miss K'. I think I just heard a banjo twang.

The owners of the RV Park also own the Shed BBQ on the same property.  It looks like a run down junk yard that you should run away from.  It turns out it is a famous eatery which has been featured on Regis, Drive-ins, Diners and Dives and other TV reviews.  It is operated by the now grown children of the RV Park owners and has been franchised.  It sports dirt floors, mix and match folding chairs and every variation of picnic table you can imagine.  All take out style service.  We had a single order of ribs with three sides and two beers, it easily fed both of us for about $40.  Military receive a discount.  If you ever come this way, this place is a must.  See the map link further down.

On the serious side we walked the beach front road and I took photos of the devastation that has been inflicted on this area.  Nearly all of the hundred year old stately homes that survived Camille were taken away by Katrina.  Many new buildings have been put up since 2005 but many, many properties are vacant.  Most have signs offering; Purchase or Lease. I have posted a separate photo album about this area.

Katrina took out the bridge across Biloxi Bay to Ocean Springs (Google Map link).  Only the cement pilings survived.  This was a 'lift' bridge to let the ships pass and the train bridge next to it was a 'swing' bridge that survived both on-slots with repairable damage.  The remains of the lift bridge are being turned into walkout piers from both coastlines.  They are already covered in fishermen. A completely new, 1.7 mile bridge that allows cruise ships to pass underneath has been constructed.  As we drove over it we took note of the joggers, cyclists and walkers.  This became our challenge for our last day.  There are brass marker plates every .2 of a mile, each one describing a piece of Biloxi history.  The markers motivated us to keep going and learn more.  Or it could have been the two old fuddy duddies that smoked past us.  Either way, it was a great experience.  Wear ear plugs, the noise of tires on the concrete deck surface was very loud.


There are more church crossing signs here than stop lights.  Seems that everyone in the South is a sinner?

The map shows the huge wildlife preserves and we discovered that the state parks have trailer hook-ups with services ($16).  Not fond of the alligator and snake warning signs, Kyle can't afford to give up any more appendages.  Spending the extra time here has let the storm progress fully inland and cleared our way to Florida.  Looks like more time on the Interstate.