Mississippi - Day 7 - Pascagoula

Santa Maria RV Resort
Tuesday, 7 January 2020

today's route

The main reason I've been staying in this area is the doctor appointment I had this morning.  I'm about out of blood pressure medication, and that's apparently not something there's an over-the-counter equivalent for.  I ended up at the Singing River Medical Clinic in Pascagoula and got very good care there.  (Singing River is a major river right next to Pascagoula.)  I saw a nurse practitioner, which I was a little leery about, having had a previous less-than-satisfactory experience with one, but she turned out to be great.  She ordered a blood test to be sure my kidneys were still functioning (blood pressure meds can be hard on them), gave me a flu shot, and asked questions about my general health.  Good visit.

After leaving the clinic, I got turned around by a section of road work and ended up at a laundromat that I wasn't aiming for but that I needed anyway.  I'd already had trouble finding the one I intended to go to, so I took this one.  Clean enough, functioning machines for a standard price - apparently I can't ask much more than that these days.

Mississippi law says wine can be bought only at state-certified liquor stores - which is fine by me but I've been having a problem with them.  All the ones I've seen - and there are many around here - have been such tiny, dingy little places that I've been reluctant to even stop.  They just don't look like they'd even have room for a selection of wine, like they probably have shelf space only for bourbon and rum and vodka, with maybe some half-gallon jugs of cheap-o wine.  Other states have at least a few very large liquor stores, or stores that say they specialize in wine, or fancy stores, or even ones with clean front windows.  And considering the number of tourists the MS Gulf coast brings in, I'd have expected something like that here.  But I sure haven't found one yet.  I'll keep looking.

I saw a billboard advertising the upcoming ABBA Shriners Gun Show.  I'm assuming that ABBA doesn't refer to the singing group though can't figure out what it does refer to.  I am a little familiar with the Shriners because Daddy was one.  They're a branch of Masons and they sponsor children's hospitals around the country.  The Shriners' Children's Hospital in Ft. Worth was Daddy's favorite charity.  But even in Mississippi I'm having a hard time fitting Shriners and gun shows in the same thought.  I guess this is an example of just how different things are here - as they are in every state.

This area is another batch of towns all strung together one after another after another, as they seem to be all along MS's coast.  Here, they're Gautier, Moss Point and Pascagoula, and they seem to be separated by rivers - or at least by water bodies of some sort - bayous or inlets from the Gulf - bridges are a constant of life around here.

I aimed for a place called Pascagoula Beach Park, which I found on the city map, only to discover that they didn't allow dogs in the park.  The park isn't actually on the beach but instead on a block just across Beach St. from the beach.  Very attractive park, but I sure wasn't going to stroll around there without my critters, so we kept on moving.

Longfellow House

I found a house called the Longfellow House, because Longfellow was supposed to have stayed here once when he was writing a book.  It sounds like this is one of those "Washington slept here" stories, though, because there doesn't seem to be any documentation for this alleged visit.  What is known is that this house was built in 1850 for Daniel Smith Graham (no relation), who was a slave trader, which means it was almost certainly built by enslaved people.  After going through several hands, the Univ. of MS ended up with it, but it was damaged in Katrina and eventually sold as a private residence.  These owners have done a fine job of restoring it to what was certainly its former beauty.  Note the grand staircases to the 2nd floor - this house is within a stone's throw of the ocean so it's doubtful if they've put anything valuable on the 1st floor.

I continued to drive down Beach St. and missed the turn I planned to take.  Which was just as well.

I found a stretch of beach called Buffett Beach and learned that Jimmy Buffett is a native of Pascagoula.  A few years back the town named a tiny bridge and this stretch of beach in his honor, and he came to town for the ceremony.

And at the end of the road I found a little park with a boat ramp and a lot of parking for folks who want to walk back along the beach.  Unlike that other stuffy park, this one didn't ban dogs so my kids finally got a walk.  I saw a large flock of terns, some pelicans, lots of egrets.  And I had an upclose view of Ingall's Shipbuilding yards, which this sign indicates is the backbone of industry in these parts.

I saw several of these nesting pads which look like they're for some bird of prey, though I don't know which ones would nest in this area.

The wind had been blowing all day but was picking up by now, and I saw white caps on the rivers and bays as we drove back across the bridges toward the campground.  I had to really hang onto the steering wheel.