BAY ST. LOUIS GETS READY FOR CRUZIN’

Tuesday, October 4 – Well, we didn't win the millions we hoped for at the casino last night. Marsha did win $37, but Paul lost his usual $20. It was a fun evening regardless.

This morning we were on the beach, across the street from the campground, bright and early to take full advantage of our last day. Another beautiful day!

We cleaned-up around lunch time to head downtown Bay St. Louis, MS, to do a little window shopping among the many small shops. If you visit this area and love delicious breads, stop in at Serious Bread: Handmade Artisan Breads. Yummmmmy!  The gal at the Visitor’s Center suggest we try there Garlic Rosemary Sourdough bread…awesome. We had to buy a loaf. The sales gal suggested we slice and freeze the bread. She said it is still delicious when you take it out of the freezer. Paul also loved the lemon poppy seed muffin.

The sales gal was so excited to explain the benefits of sourdough. Some of you might be interested in the details of the sourdough. Their motto is “All Bread Is Not Created Equal.”

Things are in an exciting mood due to the upcoming Crusin' beginning Thursday. The shopkeepers can almost hear the cash registers ringing. This is a huge event for this entire area. We were told over 7,000 cars are entered in the show. Many are already here. The downtown area is sure a busy place.

We stopped for a delicious seafood lunch at Tony's Seafood in Waveland, MS. We ate here years ago and found it clean, reasonably priced, and plenty of yummy dishes. Paul had the grilled catfish and shrimp dinner, and Marsha enjoyed the grilled shrimp dinner. Both were scrumptious!

There is a tree several yards behind our site that Marsha just loves. She says it has so much character.

We then headed back to the campground to relax and get ready for tomorrow's travel day. We may try to make it all the way to Houston but have a couple places to stop if we decide to it's too long of a day. Normally we wouldn't drive that far but there is only one site open at the Houston Elks, and we would like to get it. Also, our AC/heat pump replacement has arrived at PPL in Houston. We are anxious to get it installed. You can’t believe how hot it is until you don’t have AC.

Bella actually crossed the street with us and walked a short ways to the beach before she scrambled to get back to the safety of her home.

So stop back tomorrow and see where we finished our day. Regardless, we'll be in Houston by Thursday, so if you're passing through in the next several weeks, give us a shout out!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

BAY ST. LOUIS, MS.

Sunday, October 2 – It was an easy 3.5 hour drive to our next stop at the Silver Slipper Casino CG in Bay St. Louis, MS. This is a frequent stop for us. As a matter of fact, this is our fifth stop at this casino campground. The price has increased significantly since we began coming here.

We really like that the campground is only 100 feet from the beautiful blue water of the Gulf. The sites are FHU with concrete pads, a patio with a picnic table, and all sites have a great view of the Gulf. We are in the 2^nd lot this year – our first time, and we love the site we were assigned. Site #25 is an end site giving us a very large grassy area to enjoy.

Looking right.

Looking left.

The casino is about a half mile down the coastal street.

We'll spend a couple days enjoying the beach and most likely try our luck at the casino one night. We plan on winning a load of money!

We are alone yet again.

We had a visitor that entertained us.

There are several sites we would also like to see in the neighboring towns. We only have three days to enjoy this stop because beginning Thursday, Crusin' the Beach starts, and all campgrounds are booked solid. Prices go up too!

The resident eagle is back. It frequents a tree in back of the campground.

A beautiful sunrise.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!

WE ARE HAVING A BIT OF BAD LUCK

Saturday, October 1 – We've spent the last three days at Doc's RV Park here in Gulf Shores, AL, and loved it!  We feel this would be a great place to spend a month. That's something we think we'll do in the next year or so.

We would have considered doing it now, but we've had a week in hell dealing with mishaps. “Times that try men's soles.” Since leaving Ohio a mere one-week ago we've had a few problems.

---First our new Tire Tracker tire pressure monitor died. Luckily it is under warranty and is being replaced.
---Then our fresh water hose splitter and short connection hose failed. Gave Paul a little bath. And our shower head was leaking and had to be replaced.
---The check engine light on our F350 came on indicating a need to service the exhaust filter. We finally were able to get the truck into the Ford dealer here in Gulf Shores where they were able to clean it instead of doing an expensive replacement. Cleaning was expensive enough.
---Our worst problem was our air conditioner/heat pump gave. Unfortunately they do not make Carrier any more and parts are no longer available. We decided to order a new Coleman from PPL in Houston and have it replaced when we get there. Of course with the hot weather here in the south, having no AC forced us to change our travel plans and head directly to Houston to have it replaced. $$$
---Gulf Shores, AL, is loaded with bike trails, so this morning we hit the trail for a little exercise. About 2.5 miles from the RV Park Paul's rear tire exploded. Unfortunately, the trend continues and isn't quite over.
---Marsha's less-than-a-year-old Kindle reader also died today. It just wouldn't charge. Luckily, it is under warranty and will be replaced.

So, hopefully that will put an end to our streak of bad luck.

As stated above, we love the Gulf Shores, AL, area and have enjoyed our stay here in Doc's RV Park. The park has gravel streets and RV sites, FHU, a nice swimming pool, very quite, sites are arranged in a nice park setting arrangement, connection to the city bike trails, and friendly management. We walked around the park last evening and marked down several attractive sights.

Looking right.

Looking left.

The beaches here in Gulf Port are amazing. White, sugar-like sand, warm Gulf water, and plenty of public beaches to spread out the crowds. Interestingly, we were here in 2010 when the oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster was coming ashore. It sure has recovered nicely. Although, in a conversation Paul had with the Ford Dealer, he said the area is still suffering economically from the oil disaster. Tourist found other areas to vacation at and haven't returned as hoped.

We had lots of friends join us on the beach.

Paul took a dip, and said it was great.

One of our favorite places to sit and look out over the Gulf.

We are leaving Gulf Shores on Sunday and heading to Bay St. Louis, MS, for a few days. We're staying at the Silver Slipper Casino RV Park – right on the beach – so maybe we can win a bunch of money to recover from our streak of bad luck!

Life goes on.....check back to see how we've recovered. :-)

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see y’all back real soon. Have a great day!