We wanted to start spending time on the Gulf Coast, something we haven’t done in the past and so far has been awesome! In Biloxi we stayed at Cajun RV Park (Cajun RV – Biloxi) which is right on Beach Blvd and we could see the coast from our site. Great location and walking distance to the beach! Of course there were the casinos and great seafood restaurants to try but we learned what happened to Biloxi during Hurricane Katrina.
Ship Island!
We took an excursion to Ship Island just off the coast from Biloxi. Great boat trip with dolphins following behind us! We quickly walked thru Fort Massachusetts on the island but we wanted to do something more important – relax on the beach! We rented two chairs and a huge umbrella and just took it easy!
Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum
If you are a shrimp and crab fishing expert, this place is for you! We learned a lot here about the local fishing and boating industries. Everything concerning fishing boats, schooners, shrimp and oyster fishing and canning. Building these boats by hand and how that was done in the past is here. The schooners here were awesome with the Nydia on display including the 3 story mast and sail! Tons of information here and you definitely could spend all day walking thru the museum but there was one exhibit that was fascinating, educational and answered some questions we had about Biloxi. This exhibit was the Hurricane Gallery which featured the history of hurricanes that have hit Biloxi and a fascinating 2 hour DVD chronicling Hurricane Katrina.
Biloxi and Katrina – who knew?
Maybe everyone knew that Biloxi was hit hard by Katrina but we didn’t. We heard about New Orleans like everyone else but I would argue Katrina hit Biloxi just as bad if not worse than New Orleans. We noticed throughout the coast of Biloxi and Gulf Port were dozens of cement foundations on and off the beach. It wasn’t until we saw the DVD concerning the impact of Katrina to Biloxi did we understand why there were empty foundations up and down the coast. At one time, there were some casinos that were anchored just off shore on huge barges. The Grand Casino was on a huge barge and due to the storm surge, torn off the moorings, pushed across a 4 lane road and landed on a hotel! Below are links to videos that show the devastation and what Biloxi looks like now.
After watching these videos we drove up and down the coast and discovered the different landmarks that were once buildings and now just steel beams sticking out of the ground. Amazing….
Off to Mobile, AL!