When I went to bed last night, I thought I might do a road trip into Alabama to visit a Corps of Engineers park that I plan to stay at when I leave the refuge. I even packed up a lunch to take along. When I got up this morning, I put the address into my GPS and found out it was 174 miles one way. That kind of took care of that idea. I guess I’ll just have to pick out a favorite campsite when I get there in May.
A little later in the morning Diana knocked on my door. After chit chatting for a while, we decided to check out a restaurant in Ocean Springs that is only open for lunch. I had two reasons for going there. First, I wanted to continue my study of shrimp po-boys, and secondly my son, Andy, and his family will be arriving for a visit next month and he has requested that they be able to sample some regional food. Diana and John were more than ready to assist in my quest for the best shrimp po-boy. 
I have to report that D D’s in Ocean Springs served the best shrimp po-boy that I’ve had so far in Mississippi. It was not as good as a couple I’ve had in Louisiana, but it came close. I hope you understand what a burden it is to me to complete this quest.
Afterwards, we stopped along the bay to find a good spot to take Andy’s family to the beach. This place had a pier, beach, and a park with a playground. I’m thinking this might be the perfect place to take three little grandkids for an introduction to the gulf coast, and it’s only about 20 minutes away from the refuge.
The winds were blowing pretty strong as we walked out on the pier to view the bridge to Biloxi. Those same winds were really blowing the sand around on the beach so most sunbathers sought out more protected areas today.
Lots of old live oaks historically lined the gulf coast in this area. Many of them were killed by Katrina, but this huge one along the park paths lived through the storm. My guess is it’s almost 20’ in circumference.
There are benches along the paths of this park, and this butterfly one was super comfortable. The plaque underneath leads one to know it is dedicated to the memory of a child that died in 2010. The quote is: “What a caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.” A poignant resting place to contemplate the fragility of life. I think I would have liked to meet that little girl…
Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later, Judy
