Gulf Coast offers a lot to do during Mardi Gras season!

Things have not changed much. The Mississippi Gulf Coast has a lot of fun opportunities, and the Mardi Gras celebration there last weekend was no  exception. 

  We took off early on Friday and headed to the Coast to meet Magee friends Jonathan and Debra Styron.  We had the extra pleasure of being there when Buddy and Ginger Banard were there. We also enjoyed the company of Skip and Tracey Russell.

 Our traveling entourage included Brien Hubbard and fiance’ Brittani Boatwright, along with Bennett Hubbard and a friend.  In addition we had old friends Debra and Stanley Kelly come over from Troy, Alabama, for the weekend. 

 We stayed at a really nice place in downtown Bay Saint Louis, the Baytown Inn, which is really neat.  It is a hotel but much nicer and includes all kinds of ammenities like fresh cut flowers and complimentary breakfast, which is a culinary treat in itself.  One breakfast was a homemade ham and cheese quiche; the next morning was baked apple french toast and all the sides like fresh fruit. 

 The inkeeper, Mrs. Moon, was extremely accomodating.  In addition to allowing us to tour her gardens she shared what the plants were as well as where she got them.  We went the nursery and got several of the plants and will be putting them out here at the house. 

 The inn is right in the middle of things in Bay St. Louis so it is a literal breeze to find things to do or places to go.

 I would highly recommend this as a place to stay if you are planning a trip. 

 We were located right across from the Blind Tiger.   There is a restaurant called Raw, which specializes in fresh seafood as well as hand-rolled sushi.  Nancy and I enjoyed local rolls while Debra and Stanley had raw oysters and boiled shrimp.  The shrimp were some of the best I have ever had. 

 Nancy and I enjoy visiting shops and out of the way places.  The bakery, which is located in the middle of everything, has some of the best baked treats you can imagine.  I brought home flat bread and shoe souls.

 The shoe souls are really good; they are all natural and similar in tasty to a cinamon roll, but it was more like baklava.  It was flavored with fresh walnuts and was really delicious.  The flat bread was flavored with fresh rosemary and other herbs--  made a great flat-bread pizza. 

 Sunday was a fast day. We had that great breakfast and made ready to go home. 

 We are still in the renovation process at home so we made stops along the way.  This renovation even has us replacing the commodes, which now means we need a plumber. Thanks to Matt Boehs for the toilet.  That is a bit of an inside joke. 

 The Mardi Gras parade, was a lot of fun.  We had a chance to eat at Darwell’s before hand and there signature dishes are hard to beat. 

 Until the next episode, happy travels.