Misty Mississippi

Dave and I just finished two weeks in Mississippi. First in Laurel and then in Biloxi. (No, unfortunately we did not get to see or meet Ben and Erin from Hometown on HGTV). Mississippi always brings back memories of our time when we met, married and lived in New Orleans. We actually spent quite a bit of time camping in some of the state parks of Mississippi way back in the mists of time. We certainly did NOT have a camper at that time, but rather did tent camping. It always seemed to remind us of Minnesota. So many woods and pine trees. We had no idea it is actually known as one of the top producers of yellow pine in the US. No wonder we feel so much familiarity of this state.

After spending the majority of our summer in the relative dryness of the mountains, the humidity hit us like a ton of bricks. We actually had rain several times and I don’t think there was even one morning we didn’t wake up where we didn’t have moisture clinging to all the outside of our windows. It was a curse and a blessing. It feels like nothing dries and at the same time we were very thankful just to have some moisture around us. Oh, the beauty of green grass! It’s just so lush!

Max and Rocky went to their first dog parks while we were in this state. They were the only ones in it and we let them run, and run, and run. Of course, they didn’t run even once. They mostly just smelled the area around us and then waited by the gate for us to re-attach their leashes and continue on our walk. I guess it’s just not the same after spending the spring at the cabin and chasing all the squirrels and chippies. They both got groomed while in Laurel and of course their haircuts came out just fine. I should of just had the groomer fix mine. Lol

Laurel, Mississippi

As we went through Laurel, we were actually surprised to see how large a town it is. More spread out with quite a collection of shopping around the historic areas. Talk about some beautiful buildings! Laurel is actually known for having one of the largest selections of different types of architectures within the state itself. As you drive down the shaded streets, you can see Georgians, Craftsman, Victorians, etc. Most of them are private residences so not open to the public, but beautiful just to see from the outside. We did visit both Ben’s Scottsman woodworking shop/store and also Erin’s General Mercantile. Both only sell products made in the USA and have kept the buildings in pretty much their original design states. Creaking old wood floors, pine shelving, old counters with display cases. As one guy told us, “Laurel is the new senior Disney land with smaller lines.” We all laughed at that and when we got to Miss Pearl’s diner, it was every grey haired person in the city waiting in line for lunch. We thought that was funny until we caught sight of ourselves and realized we fit perfectly into that same group. Of course that’s when the call came to pick up the pups, so no Miss Pearl’s lunch for us.

While we enjoyed seeing Laurel, we discovered it’s not the place for us to settle. It’s a great little town and they are definitely working to improve the historic area but the lack of lakes/water, just doesn’t work for us. So if you were all hoping to visit us in Laurel someday, you might have to find a cute B&B and go on your own.

Biloxi, Mississippi

The beach, ahhhhhhhhhh, to be at the beach. For whatever reason, we love us a great beach. Biloxi has some of the nicest beach sand you will ever walk on. The water may not have that blue/green color you see in other places on the gulf, you won’t get to surf as the waves aren’t very big, but the beach itself is beautiful. They say this is the secret coast and to be honest, we kind of feel that way about this area. It’s the off season right now and we didn’t see that many people enjoying the beaches while we were there, so it must be a secret is our theory. We also discovered that Max and Rocky are beach dogs. Between the sand that they basically run on top of, to the boardwalks that are made for tiny paws, they really enjoyed every walk we took on the beach. It didn’t hurt that home was just across the street and we could actually look at the gulf out our back window. Dave definitely did some “power walks” with Max on the beach. As soon as they hit the sand, Max really did just want to run and run and run. Who would of guessed they would love the beach as much as we do.

Don’t get us wrong, there are down sides to the area. We were shocked to actually see people pitch their fast food containers out their car windows, to see several homeless people and the amount of clothing and trash they leave in the sand, to know that the infrastructure in the area basically dumps the cities rain water runoff into the gulf and can cause water issues and stop people from swimming, but the gulf seems to call to us. We did experience our first hurricane impact when Nicholas landed in Texas. We just got rain, but boy, did we get rain and in fact, still are getting rain. Between our time in Biloxi and this first overnight in Pensacola, we have already received about 9″ of rain. If only we could send that North to our family and friends. So, Biloxi is not perfect but for whatever reason, it feels good to us. We are already making plans on how we can clean that beach in our area each day this winter.

Right now, we are thinking we will spend the majority of the winter in Biloxi. Prices are reasonable, all the shops stay open through out the year, we don’t need a car to get to the beach and we found a place just down the street from us that has the best shrimp Po boys, we have ever tasted. Plus they have really good Mac n Cheese as a side. Delicious! If any of you are looking for a beach get a way over that long, cold winter in Minnesota, you know where we will be.

Mississippi is a wonderful state and we have thoroughly enjoyed our two weeks here. We know wherever we land, it will need to have this type of culture and laid back attitude. Easy going, flexible, fun, a little naughty, but with some of the nicest people you will ever meet. Kind of like us.

See you on the road,

Dave and Theresa