Family Fun & Exploring Ocean Springs

The past week has been FILLED with everything from giving thanks with family and feasting on all our favorite holiday dishes to exploring and enjoying almost every nook and corner of Ocean Springs, MS.

Here are some highlights:

• Made a rental car road trip back to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with family

• Decided to spend a few extra days there to help Christie’s mom and Nana put up Christmas decorations, run some errands, and just relax with loved ones

• With our rental loaded down with fresh foods, Thanksgiving leftovers! and other provisions, we returned to Ocean Springs with a cold front right on our tail
• While waiting for the weather to pass, our marina neighbor, and new friend Gene, was generous enough to play tour guide and took us exploring all over Ocean Springs, Biloxi, and D’Iberville
• We were introduced to the BEST shrimp and crab po-boys along the Gulf Coast at Ole Biloxi Schooner (a local fav and now ours!)
• Picked up Gene’s favorite baguettes at Le Bakery (with the air smelling so amazing that you could taste the french bread and pastries)
• Took a tour of Back Bay and learned all about the damage and reconstruction since Hurricane Katrina
• Received three Mississippi seafood recipe books as an early Christmas present from Gene (thanks!)
• Stopped by the Walter Anderson Museum of Art (fascinating character, incredible depictions of nature)
• Had Gene over for dinner and reviewed the next leg of our route through Florida on the charts he’s lending us (thanks for all the advice and tips!)

• Meandered all over town, stopping along the way to enjoy a good old fashioned buttered pecan milkshake at Lovelace Drugstore on Washington Street (Ocean Spring’s “Main Street”), picked up pecans that had fallen from neighborhood trees (we must have at least 3 lbs onboard), and played at the beach.
• Discovered that the first restaurant we dined at in the marina, Harbor Landing, had closed. We heard they were selling to the city for office space but we are hoping someone reopens it for others to enjoy. It was a gem along our route.

Ultimately, we learned that connecting with friendly folks like Gene are what makes the difference between just being tourists in a new place and truly becoming part of the community for a little while. We have so enjoyed this charming town and are grateful to have spent some extended time here. Tomorrow, we untie from our slip and get back underway toward our next anchorage at Daulphin Island, AL.