Mississippi Gulf Coast Travelogue

I. Biloxi Thursday Night

This is such a beautiful stretch of the South, Highway 90 right along the coast line, a short dip down from Interstate 10.  Ever since my 1967 trip to San Antonio, it's been the highlight of the southern route between Georgia and Texas. (I will take the northern route back, the one that includes The Natchez Trace.)

Like everywhere else in my married days, however, we didn't stop; we just looked from the car.  We didn't walk on the beach or explore, we did what Will called his dad's "Operation Haul-Ass" style of travel: drive the whole 1100 in 24 hours, maybe grab a motel if there was a game on he wanted to watch.  (It doesn't take years of therapy to explain why I later chose Traveling Solo--or traveling with fun, compatible traveling companions.) 

I have loved Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, for the past 25 years when I first went there with Minnesota Bob.  He took his time, bought great food, went to local museums, always on the lookout for learning about the history and culture of places we visited. (Unlike me, Bob did great pre-travel planning and discovered Breaux Bridge.) 

I took Kate and Carlene there, separate trips, and Kate danced Saturday morning zydeco.  Mike and I had hummingbird cake in a bakery where the banjo players jammed and danced at a big Cajun food restaurant--then wended our way down the coast and visited Mandeville and Covington.  Betty and I didn't go as far west as Breaux Bridge on her 70th birthday trip, but we sat  in a little gazebo on the Mandeville edge of the lake, across the causeway to New Orleans.  

To revisit all kinds of personal history, I always feel compelled to stop in all these places on solo travels. 

2. Present Day

Breaux Bridge seemed changed, the bakery and art gallery gone, the antique store still welcoming but less intriguing than before. 

After the storms, Mandeville and Covington were forever changed from sleepy little towns to traffic filled cities with high-rise hotels, malls, and chain stores. Thousands of displaced people relocated to these towns after the hurricanes. 

The coast itself has been modernized with walkways and steep concrete steps, but the sight of the beach, walkers, gulls and kites always makes me happy.  The countless grand houses flattened by  the storms have been rebuilt or replaced.  Bay St. Louis to Ocean Springs is still a beautiful drive. I didn't discover Ocean Springs until a couple of trips ago, a charming town just east of Biloxi where I'm staying tonight. 

It's extremely difficult--I discovered yesterday--to get down the steep steps onto the beach.  I did find handrails at one spot in Gulfport, so Luci and I walked to the water's edge and back.  This is the only photo of that venture:

3. Traveling with A Dog

Beaumont to Baton Rouge was tricky.  Dogs are not allowed within 300 feet of the Visitor Center restrooms and it's too hot to leave a dog in the car.  The only way to make that equation work is to have a human traveling companion  to hold on to the dog while you go inside the bathroom. 

A woman outside the Mississippi Welcome Center said, "Oh, you have your baby too!  My husband has mine!"

At first, I was a little envious.  She had a sweet, jolly, helpful husband, someone to walk around with her dog!  

In a few minutes, however, I saw said husband.  A paunchy grumpy-looking man held the dog's leash and stood staring into the distance.  He was wearing a red Trump cap.

My envy evaporated. The slight snags in my day suddenly diminished imagining a day in that particular truck, leash holding notwithstanding. 

4. A Good Ending

I'm spoiled by San Antonio.  Luci is welcome almost anywhere I go except indoor restaurants.  We have enjoyed water-bowl-provided meals together on patios.  The clerks in our favorite stores call out her name when we walk in!  So I was surprised when I had phone trouble yesterday that the AT&T store (in spite of my being stranded for a while without a working phone) wouldn't allow Luci to come inside.  

San Antonio is, I now see,  extraordinarily pet friendly.

Last night I was having second thoughts about traveling with a dog.  I was tired and hungry after eating only fast food and snacks.  I took a chance.  I asked the manager of a Waffle House on the beach if he would let Luci come inside.

"Of course! She's a support dog, right?" --wink wink.

"That she is tonight," I said. 

When I left, he said, "Just walk in like you own the place and nobody will say anything.  Just say she's a  support dog.  Go to Ocean Springs tomorrow.  They love dogs there!"

That Waffle House meal--and their hospitality--made it the best meal I'm likely to have on this road trip!  

Luci--the best-behaved dog ever--sat quietly at my feet while I scarfed eggs and grits and waffles. 

My hopes returned--for a good Day Three, a stop in Ocean Springs.  I will not let one challenging day make me forget: "All dogs are support dogs; some just free-lance."  

This chalked sign on a neighborhood sidewalk where I walked Luci (Beaumont yesterday morning)--was one of the hidden treasures of the trip so far and coincided with some more--but those stories would take two or three more pages!)