Cross Country Trip – Day 2

21 March 2018

It was a fairly uneventful night with the exception of several school groups camping out at the hotel.  I must say they were well regulated.  After 9:30 pm, everything calmed down.  Kudos to the chaperones.

I left Tallahassee at 7:15 am with the temperature at 46 F.  I forgot to check the weather when I got up and I was in shorts and t-shirt.  I quickly got into the jeep and turned on the heater.

I-10 to Mobile was fairly uneventful, and again, traffic was lighter than usual.  At Mobile, I got off I-10 and decided to drive US 90.  I haven’t been on that highway in years and after fighting the gps which kept wanting to reroute me to I-10, it gave up and let me stay on US90.

When I was a kid (and I mean a very little kid) my grandmother would often take me to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for a vacation.  Sometimes it was extended to nieces and nephews of hers and sometimes just me and my brother Archie, but most times, it was just me and her.  I have very fond memories of the Gulf Coast.

I remember on time my great Aunt Buleah, her daughters Hilda, Sandra, and Ann, and my brother Archie , my grandmother and me stayed in a motel on the beach.  We had been crabbing that day and kept our catch in a large bucket in the room we all shared.  Someone got up in the night, tripped over the bucket because the lights were off and loosed the crabs upon unsuspecting toes and fingers of those bedded down on the floor.  I suspect the owners of the motel wondered what kind of wild party was going on. It took forever to round up all those crabs.

The best place for oysters (fried, of course) was the Friendship House on US90 between Gulfport and Biloxi.  I also remember a trip to a night club with my Uncle Ray and Aunt Minrose where we heard the Righteous Brothers perform.  That was my first exposure to club music.  “Unchained Melody” is still one of my favorite songs.  The club, of course, sold alcoholic beverages even though Mississippi was a dry state.

We would often stay in different hotels, but my grandmother’s  favorite was the old Buena Vista – a behemoth built in the 20’s.  It was also my favorite. The staff let me get away with pretty much anything.

At the time, there were hotels actually on the beach, along with restaurants, clubs, etc.  Camille solved that problem and pretty much destroyed all the beach front property.  There was some attempt to rebuild on the beach but Katrina finished that idea.  Now there is nothing but beach on the beach.  It looks more attractive but it certainly is less exciting that it used to be.

As you leave Pass Christian [pass chris CHEE ANN – as we say in Mississippi] US 90 gets more like Mississippi and Louisiana used to be in the 50’s and 60’s.  After entering Louisiana, you pass over rusted out bridges,

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and “camps” on pilings that push into Bay Saint Louis.  Some of the camps were primitive and in need of serious repair – much like I remember them as a kid – but some were million dollar “camps.”  Several had clever signs along US90 naming their camp.  For example, there was “Rhodes to Paradise”.  My favorite was a sign announcing “It’s a camp, not a condo!” I suspect that particular one would list for $1.5 million.

Another thing about using US90 to enter New Orleans is you are routed through the back streets, the industrial section, and some of the older parts of the city.  GPS eventually took me down to Bourbon, across Canal and to the hotel.

This is my first stay at the Hilton on Saint Charles.  It seems like a very nice, old, refurbished hotel, much along the lines of the Roosevelt.

View from the 18th floor of the Hilton.

Dinner tonight was at Arnaud’s, one of New Orleans oldest and finest restaurants, courtesy of my bro and his wife.  Thanks Archie and T!

I had an appetizer of Shrimp Arnaud and an entrée of Sheepshead meunière.  It was delicious.

Author: searcyf@mac.com

After 34 years in the classroom and lab teaching biology, I'm ready to get back to traveling and camping and hiking. It's been too long of a break. I miss the outdoors and you can follow my wanderings on this blog.

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