LA, MS, FL – Oct 2022

Luuuuucy, I’m home!  Well, almost. At least I’ve crossed the border back into the sunshine state.  I’m in the panhandle currently, with one more overnight stop near Gainesville, then it’s homeward bound.  I’ll be pulling into my winter hideaway sometime late morning on Wed, Nov 2nd.  While this year’s adventure is certainly one for the record book, I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to the home base and enjoying a somewhat slower paced winter hibernation.  I can tell from my security camera images that I’ve got a lot of garden weeding and cleanup to do, so I’ll get on that soon after I arrive.  This last leg was filled with new adventures, and most importantly reconnecting with someone that I’ve not seen since 1994 – over 28 years ago.  So, lets get to it!

Iowa, LA

My first stop after leaving Texas was to the small town of Iowa, LA.  I only spent a couple days here, and frankly, there was not too much to see around there.  But I did manage to get a tour of Louisiana Spirits Distillery company – home to Bayou Rum, the official Rum of the New Orleans Saints (whoop whoop).  This was the only nearby Roadside America site that was worthy of a visit.  And it actually turned out to be very interesting.  It starts with sugar cane, grown locally at a farm just south of the distillery, which is then combined with molasses then cooked in copper kettles at precise temperatures.  Once fully distilled, the rum will rest for a minimum of 40 days (producing white rum), while their other products will age much longer in either bourbon and sherry casks or Napa wine barrels. Their top of the line offering, Bayou Rum XO, will age for up to 6 years before reaching the bottle.  It was an interesting tour taking us through the entire rum making and packaging process, and ended with a tasting in their bar.  I skipped the tasting part as I’m not much of a rum drinker.  But others from the tour seemed to have really enjoyed that part.

Bay Saint Louis, MS

My next stop would take me to Bay Saint Louis, MS.  There’s lots to see here, including meeting up with some friends, so I planned to spend a week at this location.  While here, I met up with Wes, a former General Dynamics employee, who I had the pleasure of working with for several years.  He is now retired, and enjoying life, including buzzing around on his really cool three-wheeled CanAm motorcycle.  We enjoyed a nice lunch and catchup conversation at the same restaurant he and I went to back in our working days, and where I had had the best PoBoy sandwich ever.  Once again, this place did not disappoint.  It was great seeing you again Wes!

On another day, I took a drive east about an hour to Pascagoula, MS to catch up with someone I’ve not seen since she was a teenager.  Carrie is now in her mid 40s, and doing reasonably well for herself.  We had the pleasure of hosting Carrie in our home for over a year and a half in the early 90s back when we were doing foster care.  As she reached 18, she transitioned out of foster and into a more independent living program.  I lost track of her over the years, but through the magic of Facebook, was able to reconnect with her virtually several years ago.  I had always hoped that my travels would bring me close enough to her that would allow me to see her once again, and this stop was just perfect.  We enjoyed a nice lunch then spent the afternoon together chasing several Roadside sites in her surrounding area (more on that below).  It was truly special to catch up and spend time with Carrie again, and I wish her continued good health and wellbeing.

One of the Roadside stops we made was to Lighthouse Park to find a plaque that marks the spot where Charles Hickson and Calvin Parker were reportedly abducted and examined aboard a mysterious alien spacecraft.  This happened in Oct of 1973 while the pair were fishing along the banks of the Pascagoula River when a football shaped object appeared, several strange creatures emerged taking them back to the spacecraft, then examining them with a “robotic eye” before returning them to their fishing spot and scurrying away.  After being interviewed by local sheriffs, passing lie detector tests, and being scanned for possible radiation at the nearby Kessler AFB, it would seem most concluded that this was to be one of the most credible alien abduction incidents in history.  Apparently, much has been written about this event over the years via magazine articles and two books all telling the story of this bizarre event.  Who knows for sure – certainly I don’t!

Actually, the place where Carrie and I had lunch was itself a Roadside attraction.  Located in Ocean Springs, MS, The Shed BBQ is well known for its terrific food, and eclectic atmosphere.  It is seemingly built from a collection of random wooden pieces, and decorated with an eclectic collection of antiques and junk.  But don’t let the bare dirt floors and picnic table accommodations fool you, this place commands a huge audience of fans as was notably evident during our visit there.  Also the ceiling was covered with $1 bills, stabbed into the foam filled top insulation using plastic forks.  The BBQ ribs were great as was the unusual decor of the place.  Truly a memorable meal.

Next, I took Carrie around town showing her what I do in my travels – namely chasing Roadside America sites.  We visited yet another entry in the Peter Toth Trails of Whispering Giants series of wooden Indian head carvings (at right, center right).  This one located in Ocean Springs is titled Crooked Feather and according to Roadside is actually a replacement replica that was sculpted by Thomas King in 1999, to replace the one Peter did in 1975 that had apparently rotted away.  I love seeing these incredible sculptures, and look forward to chasing several others along my travels.  We also visited an interesting traffic circle center sculpture located in Gautier, MS.  It stands 45 feet tall and is adorned with gators, turtles, and fish, with a stained glass sphere that sits atop the entire structure.  The story that goes along with this piece is somewhat sad.  Following the devastating destruction caused by 2005’s Cat 5 Hurricane Katrina, the town of Gautier found itself in need of rebuilding.  They received $6 million for the effort, and chose the theme of “Nature’s Playground” to drive their comeback.  This art piece was commissioned by the town and was to be the centerpiece of the planned new town center.  However, the plan would never catch on and the revitalization would never come.  Today, this traffic circle and centerpiece remains near a massive parking lot of an abandoned mall.  Sadly, there is absolutely nothing around this beautiful art piece, and the playground that was to be, remains elusive.  Our last stop (pictured right, bottom) was to see a house in Ocean Springs known as the Charnley-Norwood House.  This house was designed and built by the father of American Modernism, Louis Sullivan, and his then-apprentice, Frank Lloyd Wright in 1890.  This house has been through a lot.  It burned down to the ground in 1897, and was rebuilt by Sullivan to nearly the same design.  The storm surge from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 would severely damage the home.  Volunteers salvaged many pieces of the building from piles of debris, and stored them in in large containers.  It would be several years later when the restoration was funded after the purchase of the property by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources.  There apparently are tours available of the home, but not while I was there.  In fact, the gated driveway and heavy vegetation prevented us from even getting a good look of the property.  The picture I’ve included is the best I could get.  Oh well!

On my way back to BSL from this trip to Pascagoula, I took the coastal Highway 90 for a different view from I-10.  I had actually travelled the coastal route through Biloxi several years after Katrina.  Even back then, there was still lots of signs of destruction including concrete stairs leading to empty concrete foundations that once held beautiful seaside homes.  I was pleased to see that now, some 17 years later, all those remnants from the storm are now long gone and replaced with new structures and a bustling community.  Along that Biloxi route, I stopped at the Hurricane Katrina Memorial.  It has a beautiful 12-foot tall black slab of granite, with the names of all who perished in the storm.  There was also a pole nearby with colored markers showing the surge level from Katrina (in red) and from Hurricane Camille (in blue).  I attempted to do a selfie to show the height of those markers relative to my hight – truly amazing!

Once back to BSL, I took the opportunity to explore some interesting sites in this area.  One such place would take me to Picayune, MS to visit the Teddy Bear House Museum.  I was honestly torn about whether to visit this place, but in the end, I’m forever thankful that I did.  What an absolutely amazing place.  With its house design featuring several “room” themes, this place was filled with tens of thousands of bears of all shapes, sizes, and types.  I was the only visitor at the time, and host and museum maintenance engineer Christian provided a terrific personal one-on-one tour of the place.  The owner/collector is reported to be a successful business man who has sufficient disposable funds to maintain and expand this hobby collection.  The museum was originally located in New Orleans, but relocated here to Picayune where they tripled their space, and since more than doubled the collection.  They believe there are over 30,000 pieces in the collection, spread out among seven themed rooms including the Tea Room, Bathroom, Roosevelt room, Living room, and others.  Just incredible collection of anything having to do with a bear.  I even spotted a record album titled Yogi Bear and the Three Stooges – that I once had in my own Stooges collection. So much more than a boring bunch of stuffed animals, this place should be on everyone’s visit list when in the area.  Thanks Christian for a terrific tour of this amazing collection.  Note: The pictures I included above really don’t do justice to the vastness of this collection.  Please visit the full picture library (link at the bottom of this blog), to get a full appreciation of all this collection has to offer.

Next was a visit to a special tree that has been carved with angels.  Known as the Angel Tree, its carvings are in tribute to the three people who clung to it and survived Hurricane Katrina.  Doug Niolet, Keven Guillory, and Nikki Moon all survived the 40-foot-high storm surge by clinging to a large oak tree.  The tree later died and had to be cut down, but the three survivors had a chainsaw artist carve its limbs into angels.  The result was then anchored in concrete and located in a prominent spot right along the seashore, just a few hundred feet from where the tree had saved their lives.  Pretty cool!

No trip to the BSL area would be complete without a visit to the Stennis Space Center, and the Infinity Science Center.  Despite my attempt to actually drive through Stennis, it was not open to such travels by the public.  So I had to make do with a visit to their Science Center.  That was pretty cool though, and included lots of one-of-a-kind artifacts to see.  This included the command capsule from the Apollo 4 mission and the first stage of a Saturn V rocket.  Also present was an actual moon rock from Apollo 15, and the spacesuit of astronaut Fred Haise, a Mississippi native, from his Apollo 13 mission.  There’s even a mockup of a Lunar Lander that was added in in 2019.  Overall a really cool place to visit.

Cottondale, FL

My entry back into my home base state of Florida would take me to the panhandle and the town of Cottondale – a small town along I-10 about 50 miles north of Panama City Beach.  Though I’m only here for a few days, I did spend one full day playing tourist to see the many things offered in the area.  Actually, there was not much to see in the immediate area so I travelled north across the border to Dothan, AL.  There, I would find several Roadside attractions to explore.  Here I would find yet another Peter Toth sculpture from his Trails of Whispering Giants series.  This one, located in a small park in Dothan right next to the Dothan Houston County Library, was actually not listed in Roadside America.  I found it from the list of locations of all Peter Toth sculptures on the web.  I will submit this location, along with pictures, to Roadside for their consideration to add it to their list.  This makes number four out of fifty that I’ve visited so far.  I actually had the opportunity to visit another one that was located in New Orleans, but that was 90 minutes away, and I figured there is enough to see there that I’d spend some time down there in a future trip.  I also visited a metal pig – all 26 feet of him, made of scrap metal, that was a marketing piece for a feed store from the 1960s.  Apparently, this pig is painted often, and even decorated for various holidays.  Today, he is appropriately masked to prevent pig virus.  Also in Dothan is what is billed as the worlds smallest city block.  Recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records, this triangle shaped piece of grass features a stop sign, a yield sign, and two street signs, along with a granite marker declaring its world record status.  Very strange indeed!

Last up in Dothan is this collection of fiberglass peanut sculptures.  Dothan is the eighth-largest city in Alabama with a population of just over 71,000.  Located in the southeastern corner of the state, it is about 20 miles west of Georgia, and about 16 miles north of Florida, making it a main transportation and commercial hub for a significant part of this tri-state area.  About one-fourth of all U.S. peanut crop is produced nearby, and much of it processed here in Dothan – making it the self proclaimed Peanut Capital of the World.  A golden peanut was made part of the Dothan Visitor Center, that then led to several community art projects creating peanuts all over the area.  In fact, I got a map from the visitor center that listed 78 peanut locations that, had I had my scoot, I would have attempted to see many of them.  But taking the truck along this trek was not in the cards.  So, I visited and took pictures of a few of them, including the Elvis Peanut located inside the visitor center.  Down the road on highway 231 is the large fairgrounds arena and amphitheater that is home to the annual National Peanut Festival.  So clearly, peanuts are a big thing here in Dothan.

Family Event

October is the birth month of my youngest granddaughter Savannah, and I got to virtually attend her 3rd birthday party via our Portal devices.  It was lots of fun watching her enjoy her Paw Patrol themed event, opening many of her presents, then having a piece of the amazing cake that crafty mom Samantha made for her. Among the many gift she received, the doctors kit and tool set were certainly big hits.  She commenced to give all attendees a complete physical, followed by numerous construction activities with her various tools.  She even tried to drill her virtual PopPop! I continue to really enjoy these Portal video conference devices, that allows me to at least be virtually present at these significant events even when I can’t physically be there.  Happy third birthday dear sweet Savannah!

Final Thoughts

Well, this will be the last Luv2RV blog post for this year’s travel adventure.  My next blog will find me back at my home base, settling down for a nice long and warm winter stay.  In the next blog, I’ll recap the epic travel adventure I had in 2022, and layout some of the plans and activities I’ve got up my sleeve for my winter stay.  This will include some planned landscaping with some of the pieces I picked up along my travels this year, a wonderful 50th anniversary celebration within my community, spending some holiday time with friends and family, and of course, details of the planning for next years travel adventure.  It’s gonna be a terrific winter season and I’m looking forward to some downtime after this almost seven month voyage.  Till next time, happy Halloween to everyone.  Be well and safe travels.

I only show a sampling of my adventure pictures here in the blog, and do so mostly in collage format for brevity and ease of reading. If you want to view an album containing individual full fidelity and hi-res images of all my travel pictures related to this specific blog, click the image below. Enjoy!