Monday, October 15, 2012

Ocean Springs Day TWO

Once again, I let my mouth overstep the bounds of my available time.  I was not able to do the study required to do a good blog post on the remaining Daily Dozen.  So, let's go back to the gulf coast!  I have had so much going on lately, and I've taken pictures of all of it, so I am LOADED with inspiring pictures, just totallly no order for them.  Oh well, it'll be like the surprise in the Cracker Jack box... you never know what you'll get until you open the post!
Ok, so I HAD to take my first full free day to go to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, which happens to be one of my favorite places on the gulf.  I started out looking for a lunch spot that was "local" and had seafood.  I was on the gulf after all!  And so, I found BB's.  If you'll notice the hours, above, you'll see they have very limited hours.  Another reason I bet it would be pretty good!
And I was NOT disappointed!!  I had a simple little appetizer of crab claws.
Oh.  and a shrimp and crawfish bisque.  DUDE!  I couldn't eat all the crabclaws, but I surely did LOVE sitting there with my John Maxwell book and people watching while enjoying such a great lunch.
And apparently lots of famous PEOPLE have been in BB's.  There were photos of famous athletes covering the walls!
Look.  There's Tiger Woods, and Greg Norman, and Arnold Palmer, and lots, lots more.
and then there was the football wall.  Just as impressive.

When they closed, I headed to downtown Ocean Springs.  It is the cutest little place.
This part of the coast is lined with 100+ year old oak trees on the streets.  What is so sad is that so many of the very old trees were destroyed when Hurricane Katrina hit the coast several years ago.
Luckily these survived.  This is Washington Street.  It is home to shop after shop, privately owned and operated, and each so quaint!
This is an AWESOME toy shop.  I bought my girls gifts for Christmas, and loaded up on educational tools for the clinic.  My OT's are going to love me!
And I was sort of saddened when I saw this area.  It was on the day of Jake's angelversary that I was in this store.  This would have been the very thing I would've been shopping for him when he was in the hospital.  I wonder what he'd be into now if he were still with us.
This is a therapist's heaven for SHO!
Then, I wandered upon this little garden-y shop.  SO, so cute!
I asked permission to take pictures, so I suppose I should also mention their name since they were nice enough to let me take a few pics.
I just LOVE trees.  I LOVE them.  They make me feel safe. 

I especially love trees that have ART GALLERY signs next to them!
When I went in The Pink Rooster gallery, I came out with a cute pair of turquoise and coral handmade earrings.  I don't know what it is about galleries.  I feel a comraderie with the artists and a deep seated need to support them by buying their wares!
Oh my.  SWOON!!  Doesn't this make you want to go there?!
Oh wait.  Here it is all instagrammed and awesome!
After my awesome day of exploring all by my lonesome, I headed back into Biloxi.  I like how this bridge looks like I am about to take off into the air.  You can't tell that it goes back downhill.

And this is some bay in south Mississippi.  It is expansive to the Gulf of Mexico, just like the condo we go to in Gulf Shores.
All in all it was a successful day of adventure.  Man, I do LOVE an adventure.  Meeting new people, going into new unchartered territory, checking out new, intimate eateries....
I feel so inspired when I travel.  Am I the only one?!  How bout you?  Do you travel?  And if you do, do you mind doing it alone?!  What's one of your favorite places to visit? 

I took a little self awareness test today and realized that I am not where I'd like to be in the area of "fun and recreation".  I know, I know... but it was a SELF realization test, and I realized I should be going more, if it is indeed the seat of my soul!!  So.... share a few of your faves with me!

MO




10 comments:

nss said...

Hi from beautiful fall in Missouri! You make me realize I am not "where I want to be" in organization and fitting time for what I love to do. I am trying to have a PLAN! Enjoy today!

Sharidrew said...

Love your little shopping trips. I too need to explore places like you visit. I love the little shops too. And the seafood....oh how I miss that since moving to the midwest. We may know steak and BBQ but we sure don't know seafood! I don't usually travel alone. We do go on a couple "girls" weekends and we definitely shop. We mostly enjoy adult beverages though. :) Keep sharing!

Hugs from Missouri,
Shari

(2 posts from people in MO...awesomesauce!)

melanie, aka Mo said...

Hey hey... way to represent, Missouri!!

MO

firefamily said...

We love to travel, I prefer to travel with my husband and kids and share the adventure with them. Of course our favorite place to go is Louisiana and our favorite stop along the way is Memphis. Taking the back roads and stopping in little towns along the way is a favorite of mine. I love the small towns and unique shops, you never know when you make the find a century in one of those places but mostly it's sharing the time away from technology with the kids and the hubby. never knowing where we will end up stopping for the night and the great places to eat when we do stop.
Greetings from the North, hugs from MN (it should be snowing here soon). Can't wait to head south to see ya'll soon.
Cyndi

Holly said...

I HAVE to get to the Ocean Springs area! That is my idea of the perfect trip! We love to go to Santa Fe NM and spend a couple of days going through all the art galleries. The surrounding area is also a beautiful area.

I love trees too and was heart broken when so many of the really old one were killed in Hurricane Ike! Many of them were turned into beautiful scuptures in order to preserve them in some way. There is a driving tour to see them all, but here is a link to a video of many of them:
http://youtu.be/sWI7WvQ-PhM

Galveston doesn't have the beautiful white sand, but these trees give hope and make us realize that beauty can still always be found!

You know I love your blog! Just thinking perhaps I don't say it enough! It's always the first think I check in the morning!

Love Holly & JakeDog!

Lisa said...

Mo - have you been to Fairhope, Alabama? If you haven't, you need to because you would LOVE it. Lots of shops owned by individuals and lots of eateries - only about an hour from your place at the gulf - good day trip. I sometimes like to explore alone also - love time with family and friends but can enjoy time exploring alone, too!

Sam said...

We traveled more before our daughter was born. I love Arizona! I could have stayed in Sedona and been happy. My husband however loves grass and trees so we have to come back to NC. You should really come to the Outer Banks of North Carolina...lots of little shops and some great seafood! Our favorite town is Corolla. It has the wild horses! And it is not so commercialized as the others.

Emily said...

I think its funny that you knew all those golfer's names like it was nothing...only a golfer's wife would know those! :)

Tori said...

Ocean Springs is such a fun little town! We visited 5-6 years ago and ate the best seafood EVER at a little dive called Tarontos (sp?). I'm not sure if it's still around though. An intersting bit of info, I actually designed part of the bridge and the bay that it crosses is called Biloxi Bay. My husband lived in Slidell for 3 years and we've been back up north in Kansas City for the last 4.5 years. I miss the Gulf Coast and it's yummy food and great arts!

Tori said...
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