The “Accidental Tourist” Uncovers History & Beauty
How many of you remember the movie “Deliverance?” Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds and Ned Beatty canoe down a southern river only to experience the unthinkable that left this writer still shaken decades later. That movie, John Grisham novels, and the dark history of the south has always made me nervous about making any vacations plans to several southern states, including Mississippi.
As my last blog ended, we were leaving New Orleans. Instead of heading west back to the Lone Star State, we drove east along Interstate 10 to The Magnolia State, Mississippi. Crossing the state line, you can clearly see the confederate symbol in the state flag. As a former journalist, I can only describe this as “interesting.” I’ll leave it at that.
The First Day
We drove just over an hour to reach our destination, Gulfport. Before visiting, my goal was to avoid the more tourist based destinations like Biloxi. After checking in to the hotel, we were struck by the number of beaches EVERYWHERE. The crazy part, plenty of white sand and very few people. You could literally park and have a mile of beach to yourself for hours. The other thing you could see, was the number of empty properties along the coast. Several years back, Hurricane Katrina overwhelmed this area and they are slowly beginning to recover. We stopped for a lunch. While not naming any restaurants, I’ll only say you’re paying for the ambiance and not the food. We later found better food inland. Driving along U.S. 90, you will also pass a pristine property called Beauvoir, the final home for former Confederate States of America President, Jefferson Davis. Here, plenty of Confederate Flags on display. The other thing you can’t help but notice was the strength of the gaming industry. Casino parking lots are packed with people trying to fatten their pockets. Last time I checked, Casinos are designed to “make” money. A former Richmond, Texas neighbor Kevin, figured out how to get the best of Casinos. Me, not so much. Shortly after driving through neighboring Biloxi, we stopped to take photos of the Biloxi Bay Bridge. This structure was also heavily damaged by Hurricane Katrina and was closed 2 years for repair.
Dinner, I can’t remember where we ate which means the food clearly wasn’t memorable. Outside of three 20-somethings trying to taunt us (insert banjo playing music here) while driving, it was a memorable experience. Later, we noticed the sky over the Gulf of Mexico and stopped in neighboring Pass Christian to take pictures. Here at a local marina, other photographers also stopped to capture this unusual sunset. Keep in mind, most of these photos are facing south and the sun was going down in a completely different direction. The colors though, were brilliant. We headed back to the hotel which had severe humidity issues, and called it a night.
Ship Island Adventure
Ship Island is the collective name for two barrier islands off the coast of Mississippi, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore: East Ship Island and West Ship Island. Hurricane Camille split the once single island into 2 separate islands in 1969. West Ship Island is the site of Fort Massachusetts (built 1859–66), as a Third System fortification. We took the 9am Ferry over to West Ship Island for an afternoon of beach, water, fun & sun. They key here, is to pick the side of the boat away from the sun, otherwise you’re going to bake. The crossing takes about an hour. While not that far from the mainland, shipping lanes slow down the speed of the ferry service. During the crossing, plenty of dolphins followed the boat, surfing in the wake. Occasionally, they would break the surface beside the ferry. Upon arrival, we toured Fort Massachusetts. It was built following the War of 1812, with brick walls during 1859-1866, and remained in use until 1903. Currently, it is a historical tourist attraction within the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The fort is located about halfway along the north shore of West Ship Island, near a boat pier. Volunteers told us during Hurricane Katrina, the entire island was covered under water. When National Park Service staff came back to survey the facility, all man made structures except for Fort Massachusetts were destroyed. But, for a while there were new tenants occupying the structure, sharks were trapped here and had to be removed. True story.
While the tour was fantastic, we came for the beach. Having experienced Texas beaches for over 12 years, I didn’t expect this kind of beauty along the Gulf Coast. While the water was a bit brown compared to the caribbean, I can tell you the sand here was amazing. Paying $29.00 a person to come here, kept crowds to a minimum. Still, probably 200 of my newest best friends were here on this day, and at any given time, the closest person was always 200 feet away from us. In the distance you could always see dolphin in the water. A good sign for me, as they usually kept the sharks away. Also, remember to wear water shoes as the boardwalk gets scorching hot. Trust me on this one.
On our last night, we had dinner in nearby Ocean Springs. Delicious food and great music was on the menu at Mosaic Tapas Bar. And just before wrapping things up, we ended up at a local Casino in Gulfport. While I didn’t gamble, my travel companion walked out with a whopping 22-dollars! We didn’t plan this part of the trip and it was a wonderful way to end this journey.
The drive back to Texas was uneventful, and the Houston traffic was tame for the most part. Thanks for reading, and please don’t forget to tell someone you love them. You could make their day! I extend love to my kids, Glenn Jr. & Madison. Dad can’t wait to see you!
Thanks for reading. Glenn~ “The Accidental Tourist.”
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