Biloxi is all that I suspected

Jun 30

Observations:

* The south is the south is the south.

* Arriving Saturday evening in the midst of something called 'Scrapin the Coast' - billed as a hot rod show but it was all lifted trucks with massive stereos. My beachfront RV park was truly in the center of it all. The beach road in was lined with spectators like it was the Macy's Thanksgiving parade. It was noisy, and honestly stressful. Navigating the park itself, locating my spot and backing into place in the dark in such cramped quarters is not the most fun I've ever had. It emptied out on Sunday and was quiet on Monday. I left Tuesday morning.

Busy event

The main expo area, a few blocks way

* Only saw one confederate flag in the crowded park the next morning, and oddly it was not the battle flag that you commonly see stretched across the back of common (not sexy, lifted) pickup trucks. Did see trump signs. Have seen them continuously since entering the south. Some are still the Trump 2020 signs, some say Trump 2021; many just say the name. Thankfully people started leaving in droves throughout Sunday.

* Oddly invigorating to see a pretty even mixture of black folks and white folks at the event. It's true that I have not lived in the south for a long time, but you would never have seen that back then. There would be events for the rednecks and separate events for everyone else. So - I found this heartening even if I found the event itself unpleasant.

* The gulf water is a muddy brown. There are multiple stories about why but the most common is the great muddy Mississippi River dumping out here. I've heard also that there are three other rivers that dump their muddy waters here. High temps and low salinity have led to deadly algae blooms. Plus some articles I read suggested that the Mississippi River is a dumping ground for agri-chemicals all the way down the country and they are all dumped out here in a vile, toxic soup. Other articles insist, "It's just mud, the water is clean." What I can tell you for certain is I had no desire to submerge my body in it. The sand is soft and white though, so there's that.

* I did try to eat lunch at this fabulous looking diner on the beach. This is when it really drove home to me that no one can get anyone to work. You really just can't get service because no one will work. I heard at the campground in Lafayette that they are offering $500 signing bonuses at the fast food places.

Sooo - things I didn't do. Swim in the ocean. Hang at the beach (there was no one at the beach -- but driving up and down the beachfront road there were some places where people were out there, and even a few were swimming. Seriously, not many.) I didn't eat at this diner, pictured below. I didn't go to the Jefferson Davis home/museum. The museum/history nerd in me warred with it for a bit. I am trying to see all of the Presidential Libraries. I even tried to tell myself it would be good to witness for myself if the exhibits put it all in the right perspective. In the end, I couldn't do it. Maybe some day, but not now. They have several confederate flags flying outside the place and I find it "interesting" that this promo picture so carefully obscures all but the American flag.

Jefferson Davis home/library/museum. I did not go.

I did not go. They said "Sure, come on in. We'll get to you in about an hour."

I did the usual dog-walking and driving around. Went to the Katrina memorial, described thusly: Tile mural of a wave, a group of items recovered from after Hurricane Katrina, and a 12 ft black granite slab representing the height of the storm surge in 2005. Also nearby, a seating area around one of the large trees that survived the storm.

Katrina Memorial

The next day it rained. I worked for awhile then decided to take a personal care day. My neck has been stiff from the camper bed and from driving. Called around and got a massage appointment and a pedicure appointment. The pedicure was great, got lucky. What was even better was the massage - just went to Massage Envy (the fancier spas and casinos didn't have an opening, I tried.) But I got a great massage and a fascinating history of the area from a gentle bear of a man who was as liberal and as big of a history nerd as I. What a bonus!

It rained while I broke down camp the next morning. I was trying to keep the sand to a minimum, but once it started pouring, I gave up. A few pics of the beach and campground.