The Mississippi Coast from Bay St. Louis to Ocean Springs...

Yesterday, we left Lake Charles, Louisiana.  I-10 East took us on a drive that we have never experienced...and that was across the Atchafalaya River Basin...and it was miles of

swamp lands.  The

bridge that seemed endless was about 18 miles long.

The speed limit is only 55 and trucks are only allowed to drive in the right lane.  Wow, guess, it didn't take much to entertain me today. LOL

Well, on to our destination and layover for the next couple of days...the

Hollywood Casino and RV Park in Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi.

We settled in to our site by early afternoon.  Once we were set up and everything was in it's place and

cleaned, we decided to take a break and have a late lunch/early dinner.  So, we headed up to the casino.  Wow, we were in time for the senior buffet, which was open until 3:00.  My choice was salad, veggies, grilled fish, and a little dessert...all for $3.49 including iced tea.

Afterwards, we took a drive around

the Bay St. Louis area.  It has been a couple of years since we were here and were anxious to see how much re-building was going on.

It is still really sad to see since Hurricane Katrina in 2005 that

there is still so much clean up going on and

roads that are still under construction.

  There are those who have decided

not to rebuild...and there are those who

have brand new ocean front property.

After a Wall-Mart stop, it was back to the RV Park, then off to the casino for a little penny fun.  We both actually had $25 of free play on the casino.  Can't beat a deal like that and a fun evening.

This morning, we were up early...a 2-mile walk, computer time, and breakfast before we decided to head out for today's adventure.  We grabbed our cameras and headed east on scenic highway 90.

And, once again, from Pass Christian to Ocean Springs, we were humbled to amount of

clean up and

rebuilding that is still taking place all along the coastline...now almost 5 years later.

The

beaches are so pretty and white.

Today, was a perfect day for

windsurfers.

These

big tricycles looked like they would be fun.

Once again, the closer to got to Biloxi, more rebuilding was taking place.  From

high rises...to

to the rebuilding of the Jeff Davis House and Presidential Library.

When lunch time came around, there was only one place to go...and we took off for Exit 57, on I-10E to

The Shed for barbeque.  We discovered this place a couple of years ago and have talked about it ever since.  It is very unique to say the least.  It has

$1.00 bills hanging from the ceilings and posted to the walls.  There are

license  plates everywhere, from everywhere!

To make a long story short, Brad Orrison was a junk collector from his college days.   At the age of 24, he decided to take all his collection of stuff and build a barbeque joint.  Now, everyone bring him just to add to his junk. LOL.

  He then practiced cooking, smoking, and perfecting his rubs and sauces...And, pretty much the rest is history, as he has been recognized with many awards...one being the best pulled pork sandwich in America...and I agree!

Great place, great food...it is worth the trip.  And, it is said you might have to wait in line cause it ain't fast food, it's FINE food!

Next stop for us, was at

Gulf Islands National Seashore.  Yep, you guessed it....another stamp...and my first for this area.  And, we just stumbled across this park.

They have a campground here...one small loop.

The sites have water and electric only.  The nice thing is it will accommodate rigs 40 feet and longer.  It was a pretty nice park other than a few low hanging branches in a couple of spots around the loop.  Also, no reservations.

We took a walk looking for the local resident,

a bayou gator.  I guess it was too hot for him,

as we found him submerged in the back of the pond.

We also decided to leave the

hiking trail to another trip.  It was time for us to head back the 32 miles to the RV Park,

where we found that Kevin and Arlene had arrived and I was in charge of dinner for the evening.

Mark grilled chicken and we made sandwiches and caramel apple salad for dessert.  Then after dinner, the four of us decided to try our luck at the Silver Slipper.  And, this was the end to another great day on the Mississippi Gulf Coast!