Wednesday, October 1 - We took a tour of Bay St. Louis this afternoon, and they even paid us! Yep, the Tourist Board received a grant from BP (oil spill settlement money), and all we had to do is show our driver license that we were from out of town, and we received $10/each to spend in most of the local stores and restaurants. The gal at the Visitor's Center liked us so well, she actually gave us $20 each! So we're heading to Tony's Seafood Restaurant for dinner tonight. Dinner out is an unusual treat for us. Thanks BSL!
Bay St. Louis is attempting to rebuild tourism after the BP oil spill and Katrina. It was practically wiped-out by Katrina. The good news about that is everything is new! There's tons of dollars being spent here.
These post lights are everywhere.
The walking tour begins on the corner of Beech Blvd. and Main Street. There are over 24 stops along the way at historic buildings and eclectic little shops. Some of the places we saw were the Main Street United Methodist Church built in 1895 an outstanding example of Carpenter Gothic Architecture. A style in which craftsmen attempted to replicate stone carvings by using intricate woodworking techniques.
We strolled by the Louis Piernas House where the first black postmaster in Mississippi lived.
We jumped the RR tracks to see the Depot built in 1928, now serving as the Visitor's Center.
Costumes were on display from the Mardi Gras.
Across the street is the Brothers of the Sacred Heart cemetery. A Cemetery exclusively for the Brothers that served at St. Stanislaus College, the oldest educational institution on the Gulf Coast.
Back across the RR tracks, we found the Cedar Rest Cemetery with graves dating from the 1820's. Interestingly, each Halloween the cemetery attracts hundreds of visitors for a unique tour where descendants of those buried here perform reenactments of their ancestors. The lady at the Visitor's Center described it “as if the buried descendants came back to life.” This isn't intended to be a scary thing, but rather a historical reenactment. Cool!
This is only a very small taste of the walking tour of Bay St. Louis. By the way, Tony’s was delicious. Paul had the seafood platter, grilled, and Marsha had the Gumbo. Both were excellent!
We want to share just a few snapshots of our beach time here at the Casino. Again, we had the beach all to ourselves.
We did have one little visitor.
When Marsha was doing some research about Bay St. Louis, she ran across this…Bay Saint Louis' newest resident: An American Bald Eagle. She said wouldn’t it be cool to see that awesome sight. Well, guess what. She was talking to her dad on the phone and stopped and yelled…It’s the Eagle. We saw it fly right over our 5th wheel into a tree about 50 yards behind us. What a treat.
Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day.
A nice tour of the area, we were there first time just after Katrina and it was devastated a couple times since, the improvements are amazing.
ReplyDeleteLove the beach ... any place, any where -- Looks like you're enjoying it too.
ReplyDeleteMore history and a fantastic tour to boot.
ReplyDeleteThat eagle looked like it was posing for you.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Looked like you are enjoying yourselves at the beach! And rewarded with an eagle appearance. Very cool.
ReplyDeleteNice little town, thanks for the tour since we won't be back to the east!
I remember enjoying Bay St Louis ... the walking tour was interesting. I see from your photos that perhaps some of the Mardi Gras costumes have changed since last year. And a bald eagle ... what a treat.
ReplyDeleteHow does the beach look? I always thought it was the prettiest I've seen.
ReplyDeleteoh man. . .the bald eagle pics are fabulous. . .wow!
ReplyDeletewould so love to attend the historical reenactment. . .and of course loved the beach pics. . .what a fabulous way to spend some time. . .nice!
being treated to dinner. . .BONUS!
Wow...getting paid to sight see....what a deal. Loved the eagle. I am a lover of birds of prey.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great tour and beautiful photos! That Louis Piernas House is sure a beauty.
ReplyDeleteMy fav pic today is the one of you guys sitting in the lawn chair on the beach. It looks like a beer commercial but the only thing missing is the babe in a white bikini walking by in front of Paul....I'm sure he wouldn't stare.....or, would he? I would!!!
Even though the bald eagle has made a stunning comeback from the brink of extinction, I still get a thrill every time I see one.
ReplyDeleteEagles and free money - how good does it get!
ReplyDeleteHow neat to get free money!! You stopped at the right time. Glad you were able to have a yummy seafood dinner on BP!
ReplyDeleteGreat walking tour. Boy, that reenactment in the cemetery is VERY unusual and strange. Not sure I would want to attend. The Depot/Visitor's Center is really cool looking.
So glad the eagle landed near by so you could see it and capture those photos:)
Oh, no, forgot to mention that beautiful beach you had all to yourself...so peaceful!!! Love the sunset!
ReplyDeleteYou are our heroes, getting paid to sightsee :-) Bob will have to try the gumbo.
ReplyDeleteSeeing and being able to photograph a eagle, being alone on the beach and a great tour....what else could anyone ask for.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of being paid to do a tour…what a treat! this looks like a cool town and having the beach all to yourselves would be wonderful. Finding and capturing photos of a bald eagle is always the icing on the cake. :)
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