Spending The Holidays - #104

Being away for almost all the major holidays is the toughest part of wintering away from home. Starting from just before Halloween; we miss seeing the littles dressed up in their costumes and the excitement of trick or treating. Then it’s my favorite holiday of Thanksgiving. We have lots of options where to have our traditional turkey dinner in the Bay; I usually opt for preparing it myself, but it’s just the the two of us. It’s not so bad; it’s cozy and relaxed.

This time of year, every town boasts a ton of holiday craft fairs, parades, parties.  We’ve been to a couple of fairs and that’s probably enough; the vendors become repetitive and at this point-  really nothing we want or need- except the foods. We like buying a baked good or two or some homemade preserves and trying different foods offered from food trucks. There is one very special art fair I do like to attend; it is sponsored by an artist colony and the crafts offered are unique and really beautiful by talented artisans. That one is coming up shortly. 

                    Loaded seafood nachos 

I do like to decorate for the holidays and the past couple of winters away, I hung a “ tree” I made from lashing branches together and using lights to illuminate the shape.  This year though, because I have no easy place to hang this setup, I am trying something new. Charlie actually gave me this idea by showing me a video of things other people do when lacking space.  I am excited to try one of the ideas! 

              Previous Years Decorations 

The Plan ( photos forthcoming)

I already hung lights inside the trailer and those will be up permanently throughout our stay; they just add the perfect ambiance for the evening when we are in watching tv.  

I’m not sure what Bay Hide Away has in store for celebrating the various holidays.  As I previously mentioned, it has been very quiet here. However, we are looking forward to getting together for a post-Thanksgiving pot luck this Saturday; this will give us a better chance to become acquainted with our fellow long term campers. Hoping that after Thanksgiving we will have more events. I will be hosting rock painting the Wednesday after Thanksgiving; I’m trying to get things going. 

My biggest surprise when surfing online through the calendar of events in our area was discovering The Matzoh Ball!! Imagine- celebrating Chanukah in Bay St Louis! I’m undecided about attending this event  mainly due to the cost and for the price, it doesn’t seem to include very much, but I am very curious and am still considering! 

For New Year’s Eve, Bay St Louis has their Oyster Drop, but we probably won’t be attending that event; honestly, I can’t remember the last time I stayed up to ring in the new year! However, it is a funny and appropriate idea for this area!!

And so that wraps up 2024.  

Right now, I’m preparing our Thanksgiving feast as I finish writing this blog. This morning, I completed our tree decoration - it came out pretty good! 

Happy Holidays, Y’all!

Mississippi Raining - #103

 When it rains on the Gulf Coast - it really rains! The forecast projects rain for the next couple of days; this is probably the part of Raphael we are getting. It is a change at least from the relentless humidity of the last 10 days; my rubber duckies are ready! 

Besides floating my duckies, I got out my swifter and sponge and cleaned the outside of the trailer when the weather was just a little misty. A dab of Dawn helped to remove the grime and bugs from the road; then a nice torrential downpour giving the trailer a final rinse! I think I’ll do the truck next! 

Today is Monday, beginning of a new week. We’ve decided to take a drive to Biloxi and check out the Golden Nugget.  We have a “rewards” coupon for food and betting. It is a nice bonus having those betting coupons; would have been even nicer if we won something but -  oh well. We spent our lunch credit at Bubba Gumps and took home half our meals for dinner that night. It was a good day for a drive and the weather held out for us. 

Tuesday our campground host, Lea, organized a “Ladies Lunch” at one of the local restaurants. A handful of us signed up. We dined at the Beachside Bistro which was very good. It rained this entire day so it was really great to have someplace to go. Charlie spent his time checking out a local pawn shop.

On Wednesday, I attended my first incredible exercise class at the library! What a workout! I had to take a break in the middle just so I didn’t overdo. It was a good sized class - very friendly leader and fun bunch of ladies ( and one charming man, Sammy). Charlie came for the ride and hung out in the library with his laptop. 

Afterwards, we walked over, just as it started to rain again, to the Ground Zero Hurricane Museum; it will be 20 years in 2025 since Katrina devastated this coastline. The museum runs a great movie covering the storm and experiences of locals along with artifacts and personal stories. One also can not leave the museum without getting a coffee, pastry or sandwich at Sugar Pop Bakery - the little restaurant inside the museum. This place is an absolute gem and I loved coming here whenever I was at the library in Waveland our previous winter. We were hungry but didn’t want to overdo and decided to split a Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich. Each half sandwich was so huge, we only ate half of the half! And it was the best we ever had! We took our halves home, along with a Napoleon to split later also. I guess that’s dinner!  This turned out to be a great way to spend some time while heavy rain and thunder echoed outside the building. 

Upon returning home, the rain stopped for a bit and Charlie and I took a walk over to the fitness room. I was proud of him for using the treadmill while I pedaled a bicycle. We both need to get stronger and do better for ourselves. We made it back to the trailer just before it started to pour again! Then we cozied up to finish our cheesesteak and happily watched our TV.  

Thursday was an absolutely gorgeous morning and I was determined to attend a stretch class at the library. This was a very small group and much more intense than I realized. I literally limped out of class after the hour and collapsed on the couch for several hours afterwards! A couple of doses of ibuprofen, I started to feel better but still felt sore the next day. 

So what was on our agenda for Friday? Found out about a Farmers Market in Diamondhead (a couple of towns over where our CVS happens to be too) and bought some nice veggies, peach preserves and olive oil- eucalyptus soap. We also planned a stop - at a new to us coffee shop - Coffee Culture back in Waveland, which I heard some good things about. We hadn’t had breakfast so we each had a breakfast sandwich plus Charlie couldn’t resist this cinnamon bun. I tried a piece - it was heaven! Then we headed over to the Silver Slipper to try our luck. 

Hard to believe on Sunday it will be a month since we left Massachusetts! The time just goes by so quickly! 

Time in Bay St Louis - #102

We have gradually been setting up our home. I still have a list of things to do but our trailer feels comfortable, accessible and organized. Today we plan that trip to Walmart we’ve put off and plan to get items to enhance our outdoor space like outdoor rugs, plants. I also need to do food shopping.  

Our time so far has been relaxed and we’ve been spending a lot of time together. The campground is actually very quiet and still waiting for the influx of snowbirds; we’ve met the few that are here for the winter. It has been really warm and humid; we enjoyed swimming in the pool to cool off, hung out at the Silver Slipper Casino a couple of times including getting food at our favorite- their Palm Court Cafe. We enjoyed the free coffee and beignets they offer on Thursday mornings. (It’s great to be able to take advantage of the specials we learned about on our previous time in the Bay.) We took a walk together the other night; it had rained earlier and took the humidity with it; it was a wonderful, cool walk. And we have definitely been enjoying that new TV in the evenings. 

We started revisiting many of the places we enjoyed our last winter here including antique shops; we really enjoy browsing not necessarily buying. We’ve been eating out more but eating less due to the heat; we are just not as hungry.  We retried a local southern restaurant - Dat Kitchen Too; on our previous visit, they were surprisingly out of grits; this time I had my blackened shrimp and grits. It was good but nothing to write home about; I’ve definitely had better and the service was not the best. So, we won’t be going back again. Yesterday we planned an outing to the Mermaids Arts and Crafts show, held over by the BSL train depot only to discover it had been cancelled. I still don’t understand why (apparently it was a last minute decision). So we decided to head over to the Hollywood Casino- the other local casino on our side of the bridge. On the way, we discovered another antique store to browse and the location of the Hancock Arts Center where they hold a lot of classes and events; I’ll keep them on my radar. 

Hollywood Casino had a Corvette Car Show in one of their parking areas so we walked through and checked out those beauties. Our favorites are definitely the older models- late 50’s and 60’s. Then we ventured to the casino and finally won a little and had some fun play.

On our home days, we take it easy. I keep the trailer clean and organized, go for walks and have used the fitness room a few times. ( I also have my own equipment with me) Charlie spends time on his radio, computer and keyboard. Today is Sunday 11/10 and we plan to hang out at home.  

We are still adjusting to the time change, still getting up early so the days seem really long. We look forward to the campground activities forthcoming.  

We’re Here, Because We’re Here… #101

We are so happy to have finally arrived at Bay Hide Away - our home from now until mid April. I have such detailed recollection of our previous time here; in reality it was only 1-1/2 years ago. It’s a great feeling to have this familiarity! 

We arrived a day earlier than planned on Wednesday 10/30. I was still feeling really uncomfortable- unfortunately the antibiotic didn’t do much and we cut our last stay short to get here sooner than later. We started our set up and then Charlie took me over to the ER. We have a hospital just a few miles down route 90. 

I was taken right away and received great attention. After bloodwork and CT scan - all my results were normal and unremarkable. That was both a relief and frustration; I wasn’t making up how I felt. I still had a Dr. appt scheduled for Friday which I planned to keep. 

Fast forward to Friday… the dr’s office required me to get a referral from my primary care in MA, so I couldn’t be seen. However, I am feeling better; like my normal self! My thinking is I had a pinched nerve in my spine; perhaps aggravated by the traveling. And I think I had …constipation. It just felt different in my body due to the nerve pressure. Anyway, I’m back to life!

The weather has been in the 80’s and fairly humid. I’m not a big fan of air conditioning but we definitely needed it in the evening and to sleep; temperatures at night still in the mid 70’s. Luckily, we had the a/c serviced and it works great. Minnie is feeling the effects of the heat and is loving the air conditioning too!

I have gradually been getting our interior space organized. When in traveling mode, we really limit what we use or wear. I did laundry a couple of times and we recycled wearing the same clothes. I just don’t want to start pulling things apart when everything is so tightly packed. Same goes for cooking stuff and other personal items.  I just try to keep it simple so it doesn’t become a major repack job every time we have to move. But when we are parked for the long range, our trailer really becomes our home. 

We brought a couple of new items with us this year. Firstly, we purchased a narrow, mobile shelving unit from Ikea which fits perfectly in our bathroom. I have several solutions to make items organized and accessible. If you have to go digging for stuff, it becomes frustrating and messy so these solutions are a necessity. The issue is always the limited space you are working with. Against Charlie’s preference and because we need the extra space - I am using our shower as a closet. ( we use the campground facilities; they are much nicer, more spacious and I don’t have to clean it!) We are planning a trip to Walmart and I plan to pick up a bar to put across the inside of the shower to hang clothes to make more space in our tiny closets. 

The second new item we brought with us was a gift from my sister and brother-in-law; a new TV! The original tv in the trailer was not “smart” and we were not able to pick up any stations at all. But the new one is fantastic! Easy to program and we are really enjoying having some tv in the evenings. We are both big fans of YouTube and it’s nice even to listen to music with a fun screen ( like fireplace or beach scene) while I’m just working in the trailer.

Charlie set up the screened tent behind the trailer as his “HAM Shack”. During our travels, he met a couple of HAMs; they noted his “call”letters on the back window of our truck. It was nice for him to meet others with the same interest. 

We also finally have an appointment on Monday with our local RV service tech. Besides the toilet issue, we now have an awning problem; it is starting to delaminate. So, we probably will have that replaced.  I’m still thinking about doing some redecorating inside as well just to update and refresh. I did cleaning today, rotated our mattress and changed the bedding. It does look so cozy but I think a little change might be in order.