12 May 2023 - Biloxi, Ocean Springs, Afternoon at the Pool - Last Day at Biloxi Beach RV Park

 

This morning we did a sweep through the Biloxi and Ocean Springs areas as this is our last day here.  We started with a drive-by on the new Keesler Air Force Base FamCamp, which is not yet open.  This FamCamp has been in the works for a couple years but seems to have stalled.  There is not a lot of information online about the status.  When it is done, it will be a beautiful campground!  For now, it is a beautifully fenced compound!

From there we headed south to highway 90 and the Biloxi Lighthouse.  In 2019 we climbed the lighthouse and visited the Biloxi Visitor Center across the street, which contains a museum and multi-media presentations about Biloxi.  The lighthouse is or was only open on certain days so we did not climb it again today.  Charlie and Elaine Philbrook were engaged here at the lighthouse back in the day!

The Biloxi Lighthouse

Biloxi Visitor Center

In the parking lot of the lighthouse is a monument for Biloxi native Fred Haise, one of the astronauts on Apollo 13.  In the movie I remember Tom Hanks calling Bill Paxton, who played Fred Haise, "Fred-O"

On the south side of the parking lot is Biloxi Beach, and a pier that is currently unusable.      

I think we walked out on that pier in 2019.

Not much activity on Biloxi Beach right now.

Before returning to the campground we headed across the Ocean Springs bridge and down highway 90 a bit before we stopped at a hardware store to pick up some parts I needed for a lawn chair repair.  We also stopped at Walgreens and Walmart.

The Ocean Springs bridge did not look like this in 1973, that I can recall!

Back at the campground we repaired the lawn chair and then headed down to the pool area for a while.  We met a nice couple in the hot tub from Pennsylvania who was roaming around the US like we do. Doreen and I cooled off in the pool and then enjoyed supper from the food truck along with a margarita from the bar.  Today's special was a shrimp dinner for $10.  Doreen ordered the chicken plank meal.

That's pretty much it from here.  We have enjoyed our stay here and are so glad we were able to reconnect with Charlie and Elaine Philbrook.  This is a nice campground and we would recommend it if you are going to be camping in this area.

Tomorrow we pull chocks and head about 225 miles up I-10 and I-65 to Maxwell Air Force Base FamCamp in Montgomery AL for a couple night.  Next report from there!