Improptu Trip

I decided it was high time that I wrote about our trip to Mississippi. On the Friday before New Years I was running around getting the Camry fixed and inspected. It was a beautiful day and when I came home I texted Max (he was in the other room but I didn't want Jacob to hear) a proposed plan to head to Gulfport. It was solidified when we booked a hotel at a holiday employee rate of $18 a night. We packed quickly and left at 4pm. It usually takes about 2 hours to get to Gulfport but on the way we stopped at a few places. Just inside of Mississippi there is a rest stop that has a practice lunar lander from the Apollo missions. Jacob loved seeing that and peppered us with questions. We also stopped at a hole in the wall restaurant called Clawzilla that had good reviews. We ate on delicious fried catfish, fried shrip, fried chicken strips, fried onion rings, and french fries. Do you notice a theme? It was wonderful food (I have never had such great onion rings and my first experience with catfish was memorable) and resonably priced. We enjoyed our nice hotel room that night, ate a good breakfast and we were off to explore for the day.

First stop at the marina. It took a while for Jacob to warm up to walking the docks to see the big fishing boats.

Jacob was not wanting to smile or pose for these picts.

Lots of pelicans on the poles. See the large casino in the background.

A big memorial anchor amist all the marina reconstruction.

Our next stop we headed a bit inland to Dairy Queen for lunch. Quite a novilty because we don't have any in Baton Rouge. Jacob loved his first Dilly Bar and it loved his face! He kept asking if we wanted a kiss! Silly boy.

After eating we headed back toward the Gulf to enjoy the beach. Despite it being foggy, overcast, and around 60 degrees we could have stayed there the rest of the afternoon. The only thing stopping us was that we forgot to bring anything to sit on and we were getting very sandy and wet because of this. We ended up staying for an enjoyable hour or so. At first Jacob was not excited about the water. Just being his normal cautious self. He slowly got used to it and ended up completely drenched.

Jacob and Max having a water fight. He would splash dad and when dad splashed him he would run away screaming.

Trying to splash dad!

A very wet, happy boy next to his first sand castle on the beach. He was so proud as he decorated it with shells and sticks and poured water around it. As we drove away he said, "I don't want my sand castle to wash away. I will be sad."

Wiping him dry and trying to carefully get off all the course sand before getting on some warm, snuggly clothes. We didn't even bring a towel. You live and learn, right?

The beach is right on the highway. I took this picture from our car to show the sand on the highway and the thick fog.

Jacob loved his first time in salt water and said that is tasted sweet. He kept licking his hand and sipping from his shovel. Once he stood in the water while to small waves lapped around him and he said, "I'm moving backwards!!" He had that sensation. Jacob also thought it was fun to chase the seagulls after I showed him how. He decided that they should actually be called "sea eagles" because they are like eagles at the sea. And he kept calling them that too. What a guy!! When we decided to leave the beach it was hard to pull him away but we promised we would enjoy it again on a sunny day.

Little guy in a huge ocean. He was bringing water for the moat he dug around his castle.

We drove down the highway and looked at all the beautiful homes. We also saw many empty lots where homes once stood before hurricane Katrina. It was a beautiful area and I can't wait to go back on a more sunny (although not hot) day.