Touring Natchez!

 First thing this morning we headed to "old downtown" and took a carriage ride.  We wanted to do this early before it got too hot.  Well early for us is 9:00 and the temperture was 84 degrees!  This is Mack and our horse drawn carriage.  Our tour guide took us around to see all of the homes and different buildings of interest.  He had lots of information on everything.

The doors on the left side of this building are the home of William Johnson.  He was a freed slave that did very well as a barber, doctor, tradesman and pimp.  It seems when the men got off the the boats they came to Mr. Johnson for a haircut, shave, bath and be de-liced and then wanted a woman for the evening.  LOL  Mr. Johnson left dairies of everyday life.  Even though he was a freed slave.  Mr. Johnson himself owned several slaves.

This is the oldest court house in Mississippi.  It is still being used today.

 This is the "Guest House" hotel.

 This home was built in 1859. It is 3 times as deep as it is wide! Huge Home!

 A row of houses that are privately owned. It seemed like every other house was being repainted.  There is a lot of maintenance on these old homes.

 I love the curved porch on this old Victorian home.  Did you know they painted the ceilings on the porches a light blue so that dirt daubers and wasp won't build nests.  They think it is the sky!

 This is our horse wrangler/tour guide.  He did an excellent job.

Since this is such a long post, I will write a Part II.  It will be about this house. The Rosalie!

A Night out with Family and Friends!

I believe that we spent the majority of today being lost on the streets of Natchez!  We ended the day the same way!  We were to meet our daughter-in-laws parents for supper tonight at Roux 61.  It's simple, just down Hwy. 61S.  Well the GPS sent us to old downtown Natchez. Wrong!  Went to Urban spoon to look for the restaurant and it sent us to the same spot downtown, just took us a different way.  Finally we found Hwy. 61S and called for reinforcements.  We found it the same time that they arrived.

 John and Shiela ( Kaitlyn's mom and dad)

 Cindy and Jeff (friends but more like family)

Jim and Libbie (friends like family)

We were a rowdy bunch!

 This is their version of fried green tomatoes.  It has a crawfish and crab sauce poured over it.  I must say it was delicious!

This was the real surprise of the night.  This is Crab and Alligator sausage cheesecake! I think it had the same sauce poured over it.  These were appetizers.  This was good too but I had a hard time eating it because my head didn't want to wrap around the idea of eating "gator"!

We laughed and enjoyed each others company.  Doug gave the poor waiter a hard time. It seems that that young man could hold his own with Doug.  This wasn't his first rodeo!
We said our goodbyes and headed back to the RV park. Yep,  we went the wrong direction.  We were headed towards Vicksburg!    After another round of "who's on first", we finally found the right road, going the right direction and made it back to the RV's!  Tomorrow if we can find them, Libbie and I are going to see some old homes!
Later!

Change of plans

We headed out yesterday morning for the state park and decided to just skip it and go on into Natchez.

Of course on the way we had to stop at the Watermelon Patch!  It's a shoe store outside of Hattiesburg that has lots and lots of flip flops (and other shoes).  They seem to be carrying more t-shirts also.

 Our site at River View RV Park in Vidalia, La.

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 This is a very nice park.  They do have full hookups and wifi.

The park is right on the river.  It is a Good Sam park and a passport America. I think the PA is only for one night here.  Though the roads are gravel, all sites are concrete and level.
We spent today just riding around looking at some of the old homes. I think we rode 50 miles trying to find homes that were in a 6 mile radius.  I have never seen so many one way streets.  Of course they were always going the wrong way!
 Libbie and I are going to do a few tours tomorrow.  We are also going to take the horse drawn carriage through old down town.  It takes you by all the houses that are on the tour.  The guys aren't so interested in this.
Tonight we have dinner with my daughter-in law's parents.  It will be a fun night at Roux 61.
Later

Cypress Hill RV Park in Brooklyn, MS.

We arrived at the rv park around 1:30.  thankfully the rain had moved on and we had a nice day for driving.  It stormed all night last night so this was definitely a good thing.
We got pull through sites so we didn't have to unhook the cars.  There is a pond directly in front of us. They said it was loaded with fish.  I saw a bunch of minnows and other small fish.  Doug and Jim saw a great big catfish.  They didn't catch anything though.  Doug got his bait caught on a log or something and broke his rod.  Later Jim got his bait caught up on the same thing but he was able to get his bait loose.

We cooked hamburgers outside on the grill for supper. Yummmm  We had lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, cheese and sliced avocado to dress our burger out.  Very good.
This is a small RV park with what looks like several full-timers.  The people here are very nice.  The sites are gravel and not very level.  It cost $26 for one night.  Right after we finished supper we discovered that we had no water.  It seems that some workers out by the highway had broken a water line.  They had conveniently, already left.  The managers made some phone calls, but as of 11:00 pm we are still using water in our tank.  This park doesn't have wifi so I am using our "hotspot". This place would do for an overnight stay (which is what we are doing) but I wouldn't want to stay any longer than one night.
Tomorrow we drive around 85 miles to a State Park.

Later

Rainy days and Sunday!

Our last day here at Gulf Shores was a day of wash and relaxation.  It started raining around noon today and has continued off and on all day.  I caught up on my laundry and enjoyed listening to the rain hit the roof of the motorhome.
Tomorrow we pack up and leave this paradise. We head towards Hattiesburg, Ms.  I forget the name of the campground we are heading to.  We will have a terribly long day of driving tomorrow.  158 miles!
I hope the weather gets better by morning. One of us doesn't like to travel in the rain.  LOL
I hear thunder so I guess our rain shower isn't over with.  It can rain all night if it wants, I just want sunshine for tomorrow around 10:00.
Later

A Day at the Beach!

Libbie and I got up early (for me at least, I had to set an alarm) so that we would be at the beach around 9:30.  We wanted to beat the crowd.  More for a parking place than on the beach. LOL

We set up our newly acquired bright orange umbrella so that I would have shade.  We brought plenty of water, coke, lemonade and snacks.  We were set.

The sea gulls were hoping that we would share some of our bounty.

The best part of the day, I didn't get any pictures.  If I could have had a video of what happened, I know that we would have won "America's Funniest Videos"!  You know the pretty orange umbrella? Well the wind on the beach is a pretty constant.  I had it tilted so that the wind hit the top of the umbrella.  Well it seems that a gust got under it and lifted it off the ground.  I looked up just in time to see it flying my way.  I reached up and grabbed it and thankfully caught it before it went flying across the beach.  Good news, bad news... Good... I caught it.  Bad.... I caught it... LOL  When I caught it, the wind flipped it over so that it wanted to be airborne.  I pulled as hard as a could and it hit the sand but unfortunately, I did too.  I am laying on my back with my arms over my head holding a 7 foot umbrella as tight as I can.  With the wind still pulling it and me too old and let's say voluptuous (lol).  I couldn't move.  I couldn't get up, I couldn't roll over.  I was stuck.  Libbie was laying out in the sun and saw the commotion and rolled over to get up and couldn't.  She is on her hands and knees hollering, "I can't get up!"  Finally a young man came over and Libbie hollered for him to help her up first.  He obliged.  He then came over and took the umbrella from me and I got up.  We secured it a lot better the second time and it thankfully stayed put all day.  If we could have just filmed this fiasco we could surely have won the big bucks!  I'm screaming and laughing and Libbie is hollering "I can't get up".  We needed a life line!  I've fallen and I can't get up!!
What a day..... What a day!

Libbie and I are trying to decide if we want to parasail tomorrow.  I am afraid of heights and she is afraid of water.
hmmmm

Arrived at Lazy Lake RV Park in Gulf Shores, Ala.

We left Gulfport, Ms. this morning and headed for Gulf Shores.  Coming into Mobile, Ala. I had to cringe because we ALWAYS get lost in Mobile and miss I-10.  Well guess what, we were already on I-10 so no problems.

We did of course, have to go through the dreaded tunnel.   We made it fine, still have both air conditioners and the roof.  I don't know how many times our old GPS tried to make us go through the old tunnel that has a max. height of 11'6" and we are 12'3".

 If you look real close you can see the USS Alabama. If you haven't toured it, put it on your bucket list.

Here we are crossing Mobile Bay.

This was one of our long travel days.  We had 119 miles to cover today.  Boy I hate these long travel days.  We arrived at our new campsite around 1:00.  This of course called for nap time for the driver.  While he napped, Libbie and I found us a Nail Salon and got a Mani-Pedi.  Next I need to find someone to cut my hair.  without fail, I get my hair cut every 6 weeks.  It popped up yesterday that it was time for a haircut.  I didn't need the reminder. Now I just need to look around and find someone with a cut similar to mine and ask them where they get their hair cut.  No big deal!

Around 6:00 we headed for the Tin Top Restaurant for supper.  The food was excellent but our waiter was horrible.  We didn't leave until 8:00!  If everyone was waiting a long time for their food, I would have just chalked it up to overflow of people.  That was not the case.  People with other waiters that came in way later than we did were served and leaving before we got our food. Would not return for that reason alone.

 As we were leaving, I couldn't help but notice how post card perfect this scene was.  The tree lined road, the white picket fence and the quaint little house.  Could this be Mayberry?

The quality of the picture is not too good, but it was dark by the time we got to the beach.  This is the fishing pier at Gulf State Park. This park has 497 RV sites, yet it was full.  We drove through and it is a very nice park.  The sites are very wide, so you are not on top of your neighbors. It is across from the beach, but the way it is laid out you would never know it was even there.  The RV park is hidden behind trees and swamp land.  I would still drive to the beach.  After walking in that soft sand, I'd be too tired to walk all the way back to the campground.   Just because it's across the street from the gulf, it doesn't necessarily mean "it's across the street from the gulf"! If you want to stay here, book a reservation early and wear walking shoes!

LATER!

Our last day in Gulfport, Biloxi and Ocean Springs

We spent most of today in Biloxi and Ocean Springs. Katrina really did a lot of damage in this area and it is still recovering.

The pictures directly above was once a beautiful home across from the gulf.  All that stands now is the marble framing.  This lot and what is left of the home is for sale.

This is what is in front of that marble frame of a house.  Nice front view!

 There were several lots where the homes had been destroyed and the owners chose not to rebuild.  The lots are still for sale.  The good news is that everything that is there is new and clean.  This area also had to deal with the oil spill.  BP has done a great job of cleaning all the beaches and the water.  They brought in white sand and the water is clear.  It's not blue here because the sand in the gulf is a tan color so that it doesnt reflect the blue sky like the white sands of florida.  But the water is clean and clear.

 This I believe was once a parking deck. The top deck is completely gone.

Some of the homes have been beautifully restored.

 Shrimp boats are back in the waters fishing!

When we left Biloxi, we headed for Ocean Springs.  Of course, being this close we had to go to The Shed.  Featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, this Dive is a BBQ place.

 They started out collecting junk.  It's all still there.  This is definitely a dive!

Yes, the floor is gravel. That red tube with holes cut in it is the air conditioning ducts.  LOL

 The Pulled Pork platter with baked beans and slaw.

 The Rib platter with beans and macaroni salad.

The Sampler Platter with pork ribs, pulled pork, brisket, sausage, chicken and beef ribs and chopped beef with corn and beans.

 Notice the old satellite dish on top of an old bar stool perched on top of a tree trunk!  Great use of the dish I guess.  LOL

 On the weekends, they have bands play here.

This was part of the original building that burned.

The food was excellent and I would recommend stopping by if you are in the area.

We finished off the day with a stop at Margaritaville Casino.

I went in with $20 and came out with $240! Not a bad way to spend the evening!

We headed for the RV Park to get ready for another day on the road.  Tomorrow we head for Gulf Shores, Ala.