May 18, 2013 - A Shrimping We Did Go

A great day that began with a cruise. We saw an add for an educational shrimping trip and took a chance that it might be interesting. Well it began with the singing mate who actually was pretty talented. After the pelicans saw us off, we went shrimping. The net this small boat used was what the shrimpers use to test various areas before deploying the big guns. We made a pretty good haul and learned a lot about shrimp and the industry. They grow very rapidly in warm water (70 and above) and 95% of the shrimp caught is by natural predators....

May 17, 2013 - A New Beach

Left our Louisiana this morning and moved to Biloxi, Mississippi. A beautiful white sand beach, but the water is no match for the clarity of Corpus Christi. Water temp is very warm. Weren't able to spend much time on the beach, but tomorrow is coming. Found a barbeque joint for lunch and a little Deli for ice cream this evening after crawfish etouffee.

Apr 24, 2013 - From Biloxi to Mobile

While we were in Biloxi we found their lighthouse. It is in the middle of the beach road that runs right along the gulf coast! This lighthouse has survived the Civil War and untold number of hurricanes, even Katrina which almost leveled Biloxi! Right across the street from the lighthouse was the Biloxi visitor center. It is located in what looked like a beautiful plantation home. Inside it was absolutely gorgeous! The docent at the information desk was so very friendly and informative. From her we found out that we were actually in a new...

Apr 14, 2013 - Birds Galore and More

We left Sam Rayburn Reservoir and Twin Dikes Campground Monday morning and headed south to Vidor, Texas. We were on our way to see Ted Williams to have a slide gear replaced. Found his place, real close to Bairds Bayou. Real nice guy, lots of stories (lots and lots of stories) and he had a huge metal building in which to do RV repairs. It is also used to garage a couple of boats he owns and two big, white limousines. One of them was almost 50 feet long. It was a Cadillac Escalade, or at least it started its life out that way. Now it can...

Apr 8, 2013 - getting warm on the Gulf

We headed out for a little kayaking on Back Bay this morning so of course?.......windy, what a surprise! At least the tide wasn’t against us as in Biloxi area they have only one high and one low in 24 hours. It recedes at about an inch an hour for 12 hours then gains that inch an hour back for the next 12 so no noticeable current. We gritted our teeth and headed into the wind and eventually came to the PMQ’s for the huge air force base here. We aren’t sure if this location or Tyndal air force base outside of Pensacola is better, but either...

Apr 7, 2013 - can't leave just yet

A lazy Sunday as we poked around the trailer after a morning run on the deserted beach here. After my run 5 guys were bracing some pilings on the beach for a new building so I wandered over to be nosy and BS a little. As I got closer I could hear them yelling at each other about how to attach the cross braces so decided it might be wise to just keep walking. Construction near the water must be a bitch as all buildings have to be on 14 ft high pilings so that means ladders everywhere and everything has to be lifted before any construction...

Apr 6, 2013 - more BBQ & Blues

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is comprised of “the six sisters”, which is the number of towns/cities that spread out along the coast. Having already checked out Ocean Springs, Biloxi and Gulfport to the east, today was a day of exploring the western “sisters”. The sugar sand beach stretches the entire length of the coastline and the whole way is accessible to the public. The road runs along the beach with the homes on the inland side of the road. The beach is spectacular, the parking is plentiful and the homes are unbelievable. The entire...

Apr 5, 2013 - BBQ & Blues

Wayne has found nirvana in Mississippi too (he found it in Terlinqua, Texas when he did the chili-cook-off judging). Mississippi nirvana isn’t quite as good as Terlinqua but he was happy, nonetheless. Back to that later. Our morning was spent on the water again – kayaking in the Mississippi bayou checking for ‘gators and any other bayou creature we might see. We put in at the state park and took off up the bayou only to hit a dead-end so round we go, back down the bayou and up another arm (we are getting quite good at doing 180’s in the...

Apr 4, 2013 - Dat Mississippi shor is fine

We loaded up Tonto and UNB for our tour of Biloxi today. We first stopped at the beautiful Visitors Center which is housed in a new spectacular 2 story building built to replicate the old classic manor that was destroyed in Katrina. We were also shown a book which showed several before and after Katrina photos. It was a very powerful book and showed how Biloxi has bounced back from the devastation of Katrina - quite remarkable. Honestly you feel embarrassed about how long it takes to do things in BC as we nitpick and whine about every...

Apr 3, 2013 - Bye-bye 'Bama

Woke to pouring rain and loud thunder this morning. They get serious lightning storms down here and they continue for hours. The rain was bouncing off the ground and was forecast for tomorrow as well so we decided to move over to Biloxi and park beside their beautiful seashore. After a wet hook-up we headed out on what looked exactly like a dreary November day back on Vancouver Island. Even though they were not quite so scenic this morning we putted along the coast roads through Fairhope again to join the freeway just before Mobile. Once...

Mar 17, 2013 - Biloxi, MS

3/17/13, Sunday St. Patty's Day!! With regret, we left New Orleans today for Biloxi, Mississippi. We really loved New Orleans! It was just a short journey to Biloxi. We stopped at "Infinity" at the NASA Stennis Space Center. While the visitor center was closed (Sunday), there were a number of outdoor exhibits that we were able to see. Then we went over to the Mississippi Welcome Center which was unbelievable. It was like stepping into an grand old home. The people were very friendly and gave us some good tips on things to see. We arrived at...

Feb 21, 2013 - Finally Out of Florida

Today was another good day. We left Falling Waters Park to head for Ft. Walton Beach and thanks to the fact that we forgot to turn our clock back, we gained an extra hour. I am having a hard time figuring out how we both got up and dressed for work within an hour and it takes us 2-3 hours to get out of a campsite in the morning. We had our usual geography issues. When all else fails I just keep heading west. As usual, if we want to go right, we are in the far left and if left, then we are in the far right. I only had to back up once on I10...