Davis Bayou, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Ocean Springs, MS, 45 mile jump
This was a much anticipated jump along the Beach Hwy from Ground Zero at Buccaneer SP to Ocean Springs, MS. Penny and I stayed at both of these parks last year and fondly remember the scenic drive. We departed about 10:45 AM and arrived about 2 PM; stopping along the way to photograph the wide, white, manicured sand beaches on one side of the road and the many huge live oak trees on the other. This scenery goes on for miles, interrupted by the occasional hotel/casino with the typical nearby Waffle House, Walgreens, and Souvenir Shop.
A few more of the vacant lots had houses under construction, but the vast majority have only FOR SALE signs a decade after Katrina. The new houses are much more utilitarian than the large ginger bread southern mansions they are replacing. It is certainly a high risk venture to build on a venue that was so thoroughly ravished by Mother Nature. Hopefully, the new building codes will be effective in mitigating the damage.
Stopping in Bay St. Louis, We noticed a dead live oak that had two angels carved into it. When Katrina hit, four people were being washed out of the historic hotel the Bay Town Inn as it collapsed and clung to this tree almost eight hours until the eye passed. Then they could get down and seek shelter; the tree was carved to show two angels, The Angel Tree.
Passing over the Bay St. Louis bridge, we traveled through the coastal towns of Pass Christian, Long Beach, Gulfport, Biloxi under bright blue skies making the sand sparkle. Arriving at our destination, Ocean Springs, MS, we stopped for last minute supplies and headed for our campground. We love so much about this place from the alligator pond to the bike paths which make it so easy to access the attractions in town. Number one on that list is the Walter Anderson Museum of Art. Anderson was a prolific painter. He had an interesting way of stylizing his subjects, usually landscapes and/or wildlife. His family also started Shearwater Pottery in the 1930s; that is a fun place to tour.
After setting up camp, we had BLTs for a late lunch, a quick power nap, and a bike ride to see our friend the alligator in the pond, the boat launch, and a quick jaunt into town to the beautiful white sand beaches. It’s so good to be here; 74F as we watched the sun going down!
Up late typing, Penny fell asleep long ago; I just “finished” this post. So, this is a post script.. Checking my list of things to do, I was reminded to check St. George Island again. It’s midnight, but I checked again. Sure and begorrah, five nights were open in site #33! Needing to run this by Penny, I roused her. She was in a deep sleep, so it took awhile to convince her I had the right park and the right days. She agreed; we booked it! We have accommodations through March 2, with the exception of this coming Sunday night. We will find something that works; don’t worry!