Who wouldn’t want to spend some time in Mississippi? Even with being as well traveled as Bill and I are, we had never spent multiple days in Mississippi. Well, that changed this week as we ventured to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, a quaint town filled with art and food, and music, located on the eastern shore of Biloxi Bay and known as “The City of Discovery.”
And as is often the case with us, we even did some exploring on our way from Murrells Inlet to Ocean Springs. After departing Wednesday, we drove about 7 hours and stopped for the night in Auburn, Alabama. What a great college town! On the recommendation of the gentleman who checked us into the hotel, our first stop was Jim N’ Nicks BBQ and it did not disappoint! They boast of “no freezers and no microwaves” and take pride in the freshness of their products. We both chose brisket as our meal and it appears that we jumped into our platters before we even thought about taking a picture!
After dinner we drove through the Auburn University campus and promised to repeat the drive on Thursday morning before we left town. The next day we were curious to locate the Toomer Oaks, where a cluster of very old and majestic oak trees stand and get covered with toilet paper by students every time Auburn beats a ranked opponent in any sport. Sure enough, two men had already begun the process of removing the toilet paper because Auburn’s men’s basketball team had beat South Carolina the night prior. We originally had thought that the “papering” only occurred when Auburn beat its rival, Alabama, in football. We had learned something new a;ready. After a very inclusive tour of the Auburn campus, we were back on the road toward Ocean Springs.
Our first stop once in Ocean Springs was the Government Street Grocery for lunch. We could tell in an instant that this was indeed a place for locals to gather and solve the problems of the world. We enjoyed a delicious lunch and then spent some time exploring the locally owned downtown shops – clothing, antiques, novelties, art galleries and more.
By late afternoon we were able to check into our Airbnb cottage, which would be home for the next few days. Located right on the main street of town, the cottage was perfect, so we settled right in. Since we had eaten a large and late lunch, we considered it “linner”, but we did venture out again later to The Office, a BYOF (Bring Your Own Food) cocktail lounge in the center of town. No food is served – only drinks – an interesting concept.
Friday morning, after a brisk walk on the beach, we visited the Tatonut Shop, home to “the only real donut,” where the secret ingredient in their homemade creations is mashed potatoes! We enjoyed coffee and a donut before setting off on an exploration of the various towns along the coast traveling west toward New Orleans – Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach, and Pass Christian. Did I mention it was raining all day? Didn’t bother us in the least! In Pass Christian we stopped at Shaggy’s on the water for a cup of she-crab soup and a shared chicken quesadilla.
We had discovered that many of the local eateries offer live music most nights, so after our daily exploration and a little down time, we chose Murky Waters for our evening repast. Not only was the food satisfying, but the male/female duo providing entertainment was enjoyable. We certainly couldn’t fit anything else into our day but wait! We returned to The Office for a nightcap!
So far our visit to Ocean Springs has been wonderful and we still have two days left before heading home. A lot more tales to tell, so stay tuned…
thervdreamlife 