2010 gulf coast trip

[hardybob]

just returned to the memphis area from a week at the gulf coast to see the post-katrina damage and get to warmer weather for a few days. was very nice, 60's, jeans and sweatshirt beach walking weather. bay st louis is still pretty bad off but you can get a free night at the silver slipper casino for signing up. as you go further east through pass christian, gulfport, biloxi, and pascagoula, the damage is less noticeable and they are recapturing the beaches, and businesses are back to some extent. overall was better than i thought it would be. there are alot of pull offs right on the beach around gulfport and biloxi that seem to allow boondocking as we were not bothered, and also some large open parking lots in biloxi (example across the street from the treasure bay casino) that you can also boondock. if you get down that way, i highly recommend Ole Biloxi Schooner in town for seafood. very good and locals go there. happy trails. bob

[VernM]

If you get down to the Gulf there are a whole lot of nice spots. Dauphin Island, on the west end of the mouth of Mobile Bay, has a county owned campground that is connected to miles of white sand beech and the very educational bay Interpretave Center and also Fort Gaines that dates to pre Civil War days. If your rig isn't too long in the overhang, you can take the ferry boat across to Fort Morgan, passing one of the dozen or so natural gas platforms. Their supply boat docks just across the street from the campground. You can watch its captain perform a miracle of parking as he gently docks it tail-first in an unbelievably narrow spot. Makes a camper with a trailer feel inadequate. And, once you've reached the Ft. Morgan side of the bay mouth, you can boondock on the sand there too, or motor on to wonderful Gulf State Park that, I understand, is refurbished after its last hurricane battle. Lots to see and do on the Gulf from the Everglades to Brazos Island and Boca Chica State Park in South Texas. Been all the way via blue highways and loved every minute of it.