Mississippi Gulf coast

We decided to play tourist today & started by returning to Boomtown Casino for their 1/2 off buffet again. That was noon, it's now 7pm & we are still full. There's more shrimp down here than we can eat. We drove out to a Gulf Island National Park & checked out their campground. We caught this raccoon foraging in the day. The boat is a shrimper heading home for the day. You can see the wide white sand beach here, it goes on for miles. The light house is metal & the only one to remain after 4 major hurricanes from 1906 to the last one, Katrina, in 2005. How about the live oak tree that was carved into porpoises? A chain saw artiste went along the beach after Katrina and carved many remaining tree trunks into unique sculptures along the shore.

Jody's residency graduation

Friday night was a biggie for Dr Bahnmiller. She is completing her 3 year residency at the University of Southern Alabama. We were invited to the ceremony, there were 6 graduates in Family Medicine. The food was really good, everyone was quite happy, the video spoofs were quite funny & the light at the end of Jody's tunnel is getting very bright. She has made us quite proud and it was strange hearing everyone calling her Dr Bahnmiller all the time, I always thought she was Jody.

Busy busy busy; planes & trains

Do you like how the firemen down here water their front lawn? We got a kick out of it!!!

Monday Jody closed on the Mobile home, Tuesday she closed on the new Biloxi home. Monday we did go to Boomtown Casino for the lucnh buffet, half off of course. Judy left the casino $11 in their slot machines. Wednesday Judy & I oversaw the movers packing & loading up her stuff in Mobile and the storage place. We did some cleaning after the movers where done and then met them in Biloxi to oversee the unloading. We did get to stop at The Shed in MS for some good BBQ. Thursday Judy and I did the kitchen unpacking and put kitchen stuff away. Judy has been especially busy. When it's in the 90s daytime & 80s at night it seems all you do is look for someplace cool.

The CG is quite near Keesler Air Force Base so we get to hear & see planes taking off often, if I was a little quicker I could get some better pictures. BUT...I got a good pic of the ever present train. CGs are often near railroad tracks!

Biloxi, Mississippi

We have escaped Alabama after 3 weeks. Thursday we assisted Bruce while he had movers loading up his stuff for his move to Jacksonville. After the movers left we did some house cleaning for Jody because she's in Dallas at a seminar preparing for another federal medical exam next month. Friday we made the 100 mile move west to Biloxi Mississippi to a CG we scouted out last Saturday. It's only 10 minutes or so from the house Jody is purchasing and the CG is across the street from the Gulf beach. We really had to hunt for acceptable CGs over here, much of the area has yet to be rebuilt after Katrina 5 years ago. At least there is no oil on the beach. Guess what....it's as hot & muggy here as as Alabama.

Oil in the Gulf & on the beach

We have just been hanging out this last week. Jody has been coming over so she & Judy have been running around. We went to their place Saturday and helped separate their stuff in storage facility then went to Biloxi. We checked out several CGs because we'll be moving there Thursday. We also rode by the house Dr Bahnmiller is purchasing. We finally isolated our CG search to one we can spend a month in, Southern Comfort on Beach Ave across from the Gulf.

Yes, there is oil on the marshes and beaches down here. BP is busing in workers to pick up some oil globs (tar balls) that wash ashore. At Gulf Shores the beach is open and there are a few people in the water. We understand that there are not near as many people on the beach as there should be this time of the year. You can see folks on the beach sunbathing with bags of oily sand nearby in the pictures. For the most part the locals do not believe BP is doing enough to clean up their mess & I agree. Business down here is hearting.

We have been spending some time in the CGs pool and it is NICE. Daytime its in the low 90s and at night the high 70s.

Swim anyone?

Hey everyone, the water's fine & there's room for all of us! Come on down Devyn! I really like all the green grass & trees here at the Summerdale Escapee Park plus the nice big empty pool. We have been spending time with Jody and puttering around doing odds and ends on our rig. It's been quite warm (90s) and humid. It usually rains in the afternoon but today it's been raining off & on all day. I am enjoying the lightening and rolling thunder, been missing that. We went to a very small and old Lutheran church 8 miles away this morning. Jody is here and I'm watching the Indy 500 while the ladies are off running around. We have come to the conclusion that we miss the western desert after a year or more but we just gotta have the green grass & trees of the east.

Patches has been getting lots of outside time and is enjoying it even if she's on a leash.

Moving moving moving, keep that trailer moving.....

We have been busy since our last post, we have travelled from Albuquerque, NM to St Augustine, FL and are now in Summerdale, AL. This is the most traveling we have done at one time since we hit the road in February 2007. I do not want to do it again. We decided to wander back to AL for Jody's residency graduation in June. Well, due to one reason or another we changed routes 4 times. On 5/17 we left Albuquerque & traveled to Carlsbad, NM. On 5/18 we went to Ft Stockton, TX & stopped in Pecos, TX at the West of the Pecos Museum. Barny Riggs had a bad day on 10/3/1896 as the shot & killed two guys in the bar where Judy is standing. Guess the others guys had a worse day. We then learned that Judy's sister Margaret had died. Although we knew this was coming Judy was still quite upset so we decided to head straight back. On 5/19 we were in Luling, TX and had a tire problem that we had repaired. On 5/20 we were in Duson, LA and spent 3 hours and 50 minutes when the LA bubba's closed I12 with no detour directions. It was everyone for themselves and after all that time we advanced 9 miles! On 5/21 we arrived in Summerdale, AL at the Escapee Rainbow Plantation and set up home. We are tired. Jody came over 5/22 and the three of us went to St Augustine. Bruce stayed home to work and watch their pooches. There was a short sibling memorial for Margaret at the grave site on Sunday 5/23 with Jim, Clayton & Judy plus their families. Mark, Clayton's son, came down from Atlanta and Jody was with us. Margaret is now at peace with Dick and Greg, I think that's where she wanted to be. We all then had dinner together with Trisha. Kim wasn't able to make it but we did go to see Kim & Tom before we returned to Summerdale today 5/24.

After we returned home Judy & Jody spent some time at the Gulf beach and the CGs pool. We plan on being at this site for 3 weeks, here's some pictures of the Escapee Plantation campsite. We like it here, it's dark at night, no traffic to speak of, everything is green, we have our own bed, lots of birds for Patches, not crowded and it's peaceful.