Biloxi

Highway 90 along the beach in Biloxi has white sand and the gulf on one side and the effects of Katrina on the other.  Many of the stately southern homes appear to be repaired, replaced or just gone.  There are many cement slabs with a for sale sign.  The lovely old oak trees evidently withstood the winds but show broken branches.  I’m sure those fallen down have long been removed in the 6 years.  Several damaged trees in the median were carved into herons and fish and polished like a work of art.  There are a lot of pull-off parking spaces along the beach side which makes for a time to relax and enjoy the dune grass.

I did find my seafood shack on the beach and had a great captain’s plate.  I must have eaten every species that swims or crawls in salt or fresh water.   The restaurant had formerly been on stilts over the water but all was blown away.  They rebuilt on the land-side of the beach road where a Shoney’s formerly was located. 

I stopped at a casino called “Treasure Bay”.  It appears to be a new name or replaced one of the several that were damaged and closed.  The parking lot is fairly small and there were no RV signs so I hailed down the security truck and pointing to my rig (I don’t refer to it as my RV…just my little van.) I asked if I could stay overnight.  He looked at it and said; “O.K. but the parking lot gets full at night so just don’t carry-on like you’re staying overnight.”  I’m guessing that means no lawn furniture, campfire, or picnics.     

This is a military town so locals say that if the bases go…so does the community.  I wore my Seattle Mariners slicker into a store and the clerk said she and her husband were formerly stationed in Bremerton. 

After some shopping at a mall (it’s just too cold to be outside), I stayed at an RV park just north of I-10 and decided to drive east in the morning.  If it is warmer here on my return trip, I’ll spend more time.