Life in "The Bay" - #73

The other day, when asked where in the Bay area we were living, my immediate response was "just outside of Boston". Well, apparently - "The Bay" - on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is nomenclature for Bay St. Louis. My northern roots were embarrassingly showing - but then again, what do you expect when you come from Massachusetts - "The Bay State".

It's hard to believe we've been here over a month; our days have been full and engaged. The Gulf Coast is just so beautiful! I find I say that a lot. 

The weather has settled into 70-degree days; 60-degree (or cooler) nights. It is perfect and hopefully will continue for as long as possible. We have gotten quite a bit of rain (mostly during the night) but now that we have our new upgraded roof, we sleep a lot more soundly! When it rains here, it doesn't mess around!

My favorite activity has become driving along the coastline (to wherever destination I have planned) and drinking in that view!  It is fascinating to look at all the homes along Beach Road; each one unique and exciting. 

There is just so much to do here within an 80-mile radius! We are approximately 40 miles east of New Orleans; 38 miles west of Biloxi. We have been concentrating on visiting our local sites and have expanded our day travels to Pass Christin, Gulfport - towns just before Biloxi. We will probably venture to Biloxi one day next week. 

We spent a couple of days strolling through the many antique and thrift stores in our immediate area - The Bay and Waveland. We drove to the Pass Christian Harbor, just over the BSL Bridge (destroyed and rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina) and purchased shrimp right off the boat. Of course, we spent over an hour deveining and removing the shell, but it was delicious!

 

In Gulfport, we enjoyed the Model Railroad Museum. What a great little gem! Each vignette was intricately designed with a specific theme. It was so much fun to watch them in action! A great outdoor space with a train ride not only for kids, but adults as well was included. We look forward to returning with the littles when they visit.

Yesterday, we visited the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. This was an interesting place to see dolphins, sea lions, stingrays up close. 

We've been frequenting the casinos and have been doing pretty well. The key is to know when to stop! Charlie and I are not big gamblers, $10 is usually our limit - even when we are winning. 

We checked out an artisan fair in the town of Kiln just north of us; it was actually held at an artist's retreat. I purchased a small piece of pottery hand-made by a young woman whose work I thought was really special. I just had to own something!

  

We've tried a few restaurants; our favorite still remains the Palm Court Cafe in the Silver Slipper. It's nothing special but the food is really good and is the best value around!

Our regular group playing Mexican Train, have moved on with their travels. Hope to get a new bunch together to play this week. I also initiated a craft activity using pinecones - made mini-Christmas trees. Rocks for painting are just not available like in other areas; I was told people actually buy them! I just cannot wrap my mind around buying rocks, so I have been on the lookout and have found a couple of resources! I will pick some up when I'm ready to begin my painting. 

Thanksgiving Day for us was relaxing and I enjoyed preparing our feast! We also finished watching a miniseries we had started on Netflix.

Today is down time for me.  I am writing, will go for my daily walk and maybe start a new book. The sun is out, and I am relishing not having any plans. (Actually, wound up doing a craft project I had been thinking about.  Came out pretty good!)

We Have Arrived! - #72

 We arrived at Bay Hide Away in Bay St. Louis, MS on November 1st, just after 1 pm. This final leg of our trip was about 200 miles from our overnight stop in Meridian, MS.

Bay Hide Away is a lovely, small campground. We were greeted by Lea, one of the owners (and her mom, Ginger). Lea, and husband Randy, purchased this campground in 2019.  They are a younger (50's) couple who after full-timing for 5 years, realized they needed something to do - hence forth, purchasing this campground. Over these past few years, they have gradually made improvements and are doing a great job!  

                                (we are on the right, second spot from the bottom)

We were informed 17 arrivals were expected that same day (November 1st) which considering the campground has only about 50 sites, that's a busy day! As we waited to be escorted to our pre-assigned site, Lea informed us a better site was to become available either that afternoon or the next morning (they were waiting for the trailer to leave) and we were given the option to claim that spot - which we ultimately did! Site 25 was much, much better; more spacious, private and backed up to the woods. We were thrilled! 

While we were waiting for our site to be vacated, we discovered a tire was going flat on the trailer! Talk about timing! We changed over to the spare; couldn't find any noticeable puncture or object embedded in the rubber; we'll take it in at some point to hopefully get it repaired or replaced.

Bay Hide Away hosted a barbeque dinner the first Saturday for new arrivals. It was a great turn out and gave us an opportunity to meet some of our neighbors. There are some younger families with babies and little children, temporary contract workers still helping with the rebuild from Hurricane Katrina and retirees like us, escaping the cold and snow from as far as Manitoba and Oregon.

Pavillion

    

 Pond

That same Saturday, just prior to the barbeque, we had a major rainstorm. And again - we were   apparently being tested. Water starting leaking into our trailer from all different points - a vent, a side window, the front window by our bed. This had never happened before; all we could do was damage control until the rain stopped and we could assess the situation. I used every towel, rag,   bowls and containers to collect the dripping water. Our sheets, bed and pillows were wet. It was   exhausting! As the rain slowed down, I hung up as much as I could to dry in our bathroom and set  up our two little fans to assist in drying our bed and bedding. We had to sleep that night on our  jacknife sofa (which thankfully, is pretty comfortable). The next day, the sun was out, it was warm and I was able to get our home back in order. I spent the morning at a local laundromat washing   everything. After climbing on the roof, Charlie discovered that a 3' x 1' piece of our roof had ripped off. Fortunately, we have a RV repair person coming to replace our entire roof within the week. In the meantime, Charlie has temporarily repaired the damage. Hopefully, we won't have too much rain before the permanent fix.

Before

After... much better!

Fast forward to today - November 14.  We have been here 2 weeks and loving it!  This area is really easy to navigate and everything you could need or want is nearby, within about 8 miles. I signed up for my library card and have been a regular at the Waveland library. It is a charming, southern style building, including rocking chairs on the front porch. They offer free classes - exercise, crafts, games; I have been getting involved! -  plus picking up books and lots of dvds. 

                                                                My Craft Project

I often travel the longer route along the coast to do my errands, simply because it is so beautiful! It has a kind of an island feel.

One of the big attractions in this area are the casinos. Bay St. Louis has two very close to us. Between Gulfport and Biloxi, there are over 20 casinos. We love (and have frequented) the Silver Slipper, a smallish hotel-casino just down the road from our campground. The machines really seem to give "play" and they offer a buffet with special senior pricing ($8.00 including a beverage!!) twice a week. We will be meeting up with some of the campers Tuesday.  In order to attract your money, casinos tend to compete and offer great deals to seniors. They also offer exhibits, entertainment and an abundance of dining experiences. Lots to do!

"Old Town" - the downtown area of "The Bay" is walkable, beautiful and clean. Lots of fun antique and interesting unique shops, coffee cafes, restaurants and a view of the Gulf Coast. We have just barely started our exploration, yet we have done a lot! We have visited the Ground Zero Hurricane Museum, Old Train Depot with Mardi Gras Exhibit and strolled through the Mermaids Arts and Crafts Show of local artisans held this past weekend. We checked out the weekly Hancock Farmers Market and bought some goodies! We watched the sunrise one morning on the beach and have been enjoying sunshine and warmer weather. 

         

                           

 

Activities at our campground generally doesn't begin until after January 1st, however, I hosted a Mexican Train meet up at the pavillion; it was great to have a group anxious to learn and play.  We will be meeting up again tomorrow.

I love being able to purchase the freshest eggs - right from the chicken coup at our campground. They also have a little store if you want a cold drink or a snack.  

Something we really haven't done before (on a regular basis) is utilize a campground bathhouse; this one is just so nice and clean; the showers are large; water is hot and one less thing for me to have to clean up in our trailer. We've been enjoying!

Well, another day begins! Off to explore!

I'll Follow The Sun - #71

The last few stops on our journey included Nashville, TN, Birmingham, AL, and Meridian, MS. The latter two were just overnighters; we didn't even bother to disconnect the trailer from the truck. We just hung out and relaxed at the campgrounds; there really wasn't enough time to explore the area nor at this point, did we have the inclination. We were ready to get to Bay St. Louis!

Our last free day was spent in Nashville. Charlie suggested we check out the American Pickers store (Antique Archaeology); we are fans of the show. It was fun to visit but honestly, really wasn't anything special. We then headed over to Opry Mills - a huge mall right next to the Grand Ole Opry. We did stroll the grounds of the Opry but opted out of the tour - we just weren't all that interested. I was surprised how large and modern the music hall is!  We entered Opry Mills through a large Bass Pro; those stores are always an adventure in their own right! Walking through the mall, we headed to have lunch at the Aquarium Restaurant, great ambiance! 

 

  

On Saturday night at our campground in Nashville, a d.j./singer performed on their outdoor patio- which was right near where we were parked. She was very good and we listened for a while but her     2-1/2 hour "concert" was just a bit too long. I think Charlie and I were the only attentive audience; eventually even we went inside. Seems like everyone and their brother are hoping to be discovered in Nashville. Even Opry Mills had open mic with lots of performers waiting to get their chance. There is definitely a lot of talent out there! I guess you need a lot of luck (and probably know someone in the business)

  

 

Birmingham South RV Park - Great Place!

Temperatures have gradually increased the further south we traveled especially at night. We were close to the freezing mark when we left on October 14th, and now are in the 50's-60's. During the day, mid to higher 70's. The sunshine is divine, and we are hoping to enjoy time on the Gulf Coast beaches.