Day 14: Biloxi, MS to Columbus, GA

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Today we experienced a life in the day of Forest Gump of Bubba Gump Shrimp!! Ok....... so thats a bit of a stretch but we did head our on the Sail Fish to learn all about "shrimpin!" Did you know that there are three colors of shrimp? I didn't! There are brown, white and pink. The pink ones are the high high dollar special ones because the boats have to go out up to 35 miles off the coast to catch them from March to May / June. There is actually a bit of science involved in trolling for shrimp. The nets are thrown out with a tickler chain and a lazy line attached. There is a knot tied in the end of the nets to in a very special manner to keep the dolphins from both playing with the nets and eating all of the catch. the lazy line allows the fisherman to only pull up the end of the nets which can be a huge help given that up to 65 or more ft of nets is let out. The tickler chain is to kick up the bottom so the shrimp are forced to swim instead of remaining buried under the sand. The nets stay out for 20 mins exactly and then are puled in and all of the shrimps are sorted in to 1 lb piles. the number of piles determines how good the area is and whether or not to stay. When our nets where pulled in my kids faces lit up with delight at all of the shrimp, crabs, minnows, squid, oyster fish, carr, flounder, and other fish lay inches in front of them flipping and flopping around. The part they enjoyed the most was feeding the seagulls the catch. All of the kids were picking up the shrimp and various other fish and throwing them back in the water except when the did the seagulls would swoop down and steal the little fish. It was a really fun and interesting tour. I am so glad we went as learned all about shrimpin! After all that Shrimpin, we were pretty hungry so we packed up and headed for Mobile, AL. to the Famous Brick Pit for some BBQ. This was the neatest little place to eat. the only serve BBQ, bean, slaw, and potatoe salad but that's because there BBQ is why you come to the Pit, and the portions are healthy. The coolest part of this restaurant was the decor. Every inch of space was signed by the guests, covered in pictures and plaques and newspaper articles. Reading the things that people had written over the years was very entertaining. Of course we found our little spots to add our own design touches. When in Mobile stop by the Brick Pit! After lunch we settled in for the first leg of two long drives headed for Savannah, GA. Tonight we will hang our hats in Columbus before heading out in am to Savannah where we will meet up with my husband to finish out our trip. SSSHHH!!!! I hear Hannah Montana is hanging in Tybee island right now making a movie! Stay tuned, maybe we will have a Hannah siting!!:)

Day 13: Gulfport, Ms to Bilox, MS

Today was a great day of chilling! We drove from New Orleans to Gulf Port, MS.. During I drive I was stunned to see how much damage stilled remained from Katrina. The evidence of her destruction is mostly gone to the eyes of someone whom has never been to this area of the country, yet even through my eyes it was clear the magnitude of what this region, both its land and its people, suffered at the hand of mother nature. What I have found to be consistent through my travels across LA and MS in talking with the people who actually lived through it, is that the media failed to accurately portray the devastation both its magnitude and the accuracy of what was being done to help. Unfortunately it seems the media continually fails to present an un-skewed view of the news both good and bad stories.
When we arrived in Gulf Port we boarded the Ship Island Excursions Ferry bound for Ship Island. Ship Island is 11 miles off the coast. Its a part of the barrier islands which serve to protect the mainland from hurricanes. It also a National Park because Fort Massachusetts is located on the island. The ride over was about and hour and quite pleasant. The breeze served to cool down the beaming rays of sun. Watching the schools of dolphins play brought many ooohs and aaahhhs! When we arrived we had a good long walk past several construction sites. They were rebuilding all of the facility that Katrina flattened and carried away. At the end of our walk we were greeted by the most beautiful white sand beaches and clear warm water. My kids beelined for the Gulf with smiled from ear to ear. Mema and I set up camp under an umbrella as the sun was blazing hot! I walked down and touched in a toe to discover the water was like bath water at a warm 84 degrees! The kids were delighted to find several types of sea life right along the shore, such as hermit crabs, live sand dollars, and a horseshoe crab although he was floating in the water dead. Whole sea shells were scooped up and given as gifts from my children. We saw schools of minnows and lots of little fish darting around us. They waves were very small and the shallow floor allowed for walking out a good distance.We spent 5 hours on the ferry and at the beach before driving to our hotel just 20 mins away in Biloxi. We checked in and dead tired, ordered a pizza. While waiting for the pizza we went for a quick swim in the pool which turned out to more like a giant hot tub! It was a really great day!