Fri. Feb 18th from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Our last full day in Mexico Beach FL had us rising to thick fog outside and no heat in the rv.Peter was up in a rush to check the camp itself...they were fine. Meanwhile I ate breakfast and drank orange juice instead of my tea.The campground attendent thought we were using too much power on our site but we are always careful to use less...so we pull 25 amps in a 30 amp site. Peter reconnected things and there was a 'pop'. When I smelled burning...I began to panic! It was a horrible smell...Peter unplugged everything again and spent the next 3-4 hrs testing and searching out the problem.As usual in these type of situations, you can't tell how serious a problem it is.Peter finally got it narrowed down to 2 outlets...he kept at the search and then found the melted plastic cover over some wires that had burned.Not an exspensive repair and he drove off to the local hardware store for fixings.
During this time I had been packing the rv and my car for travelling the next day.
Fri morning I walked the Mexico Beach with Dave...feeling the cold and damp but  enjoying the  sounds of the waves and Dave's company...
Fri evening Carol Ann gave us a fine farewell dinner...we shared stories and food and laughter.When we left their place the rain started to come down very heavily. I was glad Peter had brought the car over earlier because the huge puddles and driving rain were nasty. It seemed appropriate 'goodbye' weather. That night I kept waking up to gusts of wind rocking the rv and the sound of rain pounding down as well as having some nerves about travelling the next day. It had been a wonderful visit with our friends who took us all over a beaautiful area of Florida and renewed our friendship.
We were awake early Sat morning Feb 5th. Packed up the last items in the rain and departed at 8:35 am...gassed up in Panama City and decided to try to drive along the shoreline for as long as we  could ...hoping the wind and rain wouldn't make us  head north to an interstate highway.Such emerald green waters and white sand beaches.We finally turned at Hwy 85 to head to hwy 10...the sun came out but the wind was cold.We stopped a couple of times and arrived here (Bay Hide Away camp) at 4pm but didn't get settled til 6pm.
Our first night was cold but we slept warmly. It was odd to look out and see mostly darkness in a full camp! But it is peaceful and usually the sun warms up later in the day. We have met many people here...many northerners trying to escape the cold of winter. Settling in here we drove around and explored the nearest place, Waveland. It was a shock to see the signs of damage from Katrina which happened 6 yrs ago.More on this later.We also bought groceries and then joined other campers in the rec hall to watch the Superbowl Football game.Good to meet people but I returned early to the rv...noise levels were loud...understandably.I nested and unpacked some things..hung a painting up. Noted the various birds we have seen and a whole herd of robins!There was a crescent moon.
Our first week here was a combination of settling into the area and getting some work done on our car at Preston's Auto,LLC at 610 Faith Street, Waveland. We had excellent, timely service there.The days were cloudy with some rain and the nights were cold. But we were getting to know the ins and outs of the camp...getting a picnic table for the site and some firewood. We took a drive to a beach in Waveland and stopped at a hardware store...Peter was looking to buy some wood and our GPS kept  getting us to empty lots or empty buildings...again due to Katrina. So the hardware store looked busy and we like to go through them when we travel.Hubbard's Waveland Hardware on Nicholson Ave has been in business since 1954 and was a delight to me to look through...they also had some local maps available AND they were the local lumber store.After walking on the beach and seeing many concrete slabs with no houses on them and braving the cold winds on the beach we decided to drive a back road on our return to the camp. The local map was useful and the drive was full of interesting  French and Spanish street names.
On Fri Feb 11th we drove to a Camper's World about an hour away...stopped at the Louisiana tourist info...it was great to walk in and hear French being spoken. The  guides at the desk were very helpful and we collected brochures and booklets.Driving back at night, we  had set  a resturant into our GPS...It took us off the highway...through an industrial area. I was not comfortable with this and there were no streetlights...again  the restaurant had moved as we noted when we ended up under a bilboard telling what exit to go back to. In the daylight that would have been a totally different experience! So a good dinner and back to a cold night which had a weather freeze warning!
On Sat Feb 12th, we drove into Bay St Louis for their "2nd Bay St. Louis Art Walk" which happens on the 2nd Sat of each month.Artists and musicians are at their studios or on the street. Store owners have wonderful nibbles and goodies to share. There was so much to see and listen to.We enjoyed the Bay Books bookstore (http://www.mybaybooks.com/),  Bay Breeze was a delight with many many items for coastal living. As we walked up and down Main Street we drifted into some stores that were all joined in some way and the art displays went on and on. We stopped for some food at The Buttercup on North Second St run by Jamie Temple and George Cossitt. Bright and cheery and decorated for Mardi Gras season. We were warmly welcomed and the food was excellent.We walked about some more as the sun set...going into more galleries and stores.I liked Bay St. Louis at once. We were very warmly welcomed.As I learn more about the community from a book I bought (Under Surge Under Siege by Ellis Anderson) I respect and like them even more.
The 'later' part: I have learned that Waveland and Bay St Louis were hit very hard by the surges during Katrina which explains the blank slabs where houses stood...the broken and bent thick live oaks...and the many businesses that are gone because many people did not return.But I do have to say that in driving around we see many construction sites and new buildings...small businesses continuing to serve their community needs.
On a different note: Sunday, Feb 13th Peter & I went with a group from this rv park to see our first Mardi Gras parade in Slidell, Louisiana. We left early with our chairs and food...water bottles and hats.I didn't know what to expect but listened as others told their stories of other parades.There was a long time of sitting and waiting...then long times of people watching. When the parade got started there were big speakers pounding out music...marching bands and yes some floats throwing out beads. I did note that not too many parade participants actually looked glad to be in the parade. I continued to people watch. The sun was shining and there was a washroom close by.Later that day we lit a fire in our campsite and enjoyed a beer.
Posting this for now. Will continue writing up this past week in a while.
Sunshine & Laughter
Anne