Ocean Springs, MIssissippi

If you look on the map, it is not a great distance from Pensacola to Ocean Springs, Mississippi. We took our time and stayed on back roads until we approached Mobile, Alabama. We have found that it is better to travel through Mobile on I-10 because of the tunnels. One time when we were going through Mobile, not on the interstate, we came upon a tunnel where it was questionable whether we would clear the entrance. We made it by inches! So, after that trip, we always stay on the interstate to 'clear' Mobile. We exited the interstate just before Ocean Springs. Our next stop was Davis Bayou Campground, another part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. We would use that as our base for the next week.

 The campground was nice and it had a short nature trail that led to the visitor's center. Along the way we found some interesting trees.

 One day we drove to Pascagoula to do some geocaching. It was a cold, windy day, but we thought we might find a few caches. A few was all we found. Many were missing.

 Since the weather wasn't cooperating with our outdoor activities, we found a nice museum in Biloxi, Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum. The museum chronicled different types of boats used by the locals as well as a history of the seafood industry---especially oysters and shrimp. This is Nydia, a sloop built in 1898 and restored not too long ago. She was a frequent winner in local sailing races.

 On our other days, we spent a little time in some of the casinos. Friends from home met us in Biloxi. Bob played golf with Rich on the only good day we had. While the boys golfed, Marilyn and I played slots. We had all planned to stop at Bill and Bonnie's in Crawfordville to do an escape room. Unfortunately, Bill was under the weather and we decided to stop another time.

Since we didn't go to Crawfordville, Bob and I took I-10 all the way to Chattahoochee, Florida. We stopped at East Bank Corps of Engineer Campground. We got the last site! It had just been graveled and it was a bit muddy since it was raining. We stayed for three nights, then headed home to get ready for the next leg of our trip.