Return to Biloxi, Mississippi: Our second trip to the city!

 


It was during the winter of 2022 when we first visited the city of Biloxi Mississippi, on our way to the west coast.  We stayed for 7 nights/8 days at the beautiful Beau Rivage, the premier casino resort along the  Mississippi Sound/Gulf of Mexico.

We had such a great time at the city that we decided to visit it again during our winter road trip (December 2023-February 2024).  Like our first trip, we again used our Gold Status with MGM Resorts to get 3 free nights at the Beau Rivage.  With our accommodations secured, we were looking forward to our second visit in as little as two years.

On the morning of January 9th, we left our hotel in Mobile (Alabama) towards Biloxi.  We knew we had some time before the check in time, so we decided to make couple of stops along the way.  

The first stop we made was the Grand Bay Coastal Resources Center in Moss Point, Mississippi.  At roughly 30 miles from Mobile, the drive would take about half an hour.  

We found a parking spot (plenty of them on a quiet January Tuesday morning), then walked inside the visitor center.  The building itself looked modern with a new looking walking deck.



We browsed the various exhibits and dioramas of wildlife found around Grand Bay.  It wasn’t a big visitor center but it had plenty of interesting things to do learn about, one of our favorites being the artifacts found at the site dating back several thousand years!




Artifacts’ age

It’s always fascinating to find ourselves looking at a piece of human history.  It’s interesting to consider that down the road, stuff we use today like electronics, tools, etc., will also be considered archaeological artifacts…

Putting aside those deep thoughts, we walked outside to check out the marsh area.  We found a short boardwalk (length under half a mile) right outside the visitor center.  

We started walking, hoping to catch some wildlife.  We saw plenty of birds along the way, which is always a treat.  Fresh air with expansive views didn’t hurt either!




After few minutes of breathing in some fresh, crisp morning air, we headed back to the parking lot.  We were getting hungry as it was already well past 11 a.m.

We headed out towards our second stop, a lunch stop before arriving at the hotel: Bozo’s Seafood Market in Pascagoula, Mississippi.  Bozo’s was a place we had visited on our previous trip and we knew we had to stop by again to grab some delicious Po-Boy sandwiches!

We arrived at the market/restaurant within about 20 minutes at a driving distance of roughly 11 miles.  It was good to see a familiar place.  We walked inside greeted by that unmistakable smell of Cajun/Creole spices wafting through the market.

We ordered our usual, a catfish and a shrimp Po-boy sandwich, and a small cup of seafood gumbo.  We ate half of the sandwich as they are absolutely huge, then took the other half to go, hoping to eat the other half for dinner later on inside our hotel room.

As usual, the sandwiches were superb!  Exactly how we remember them.  Seafood gumbo was also sublime…

Bozo’s Seafood Market 



We left Bozo’s heading towards Beau Rivage.  We felt good our room would be ready by the time we got there.  

We took the nice coastal road, Highway 90, crossing the beautiful Biloxi Bay Bridge while enjoying the bay views, then arrived at our hotel within 40 minutes or so.  It was good to be back!

There’s something about being familiar with a place.  We knew exactly where we needed to go to park, and we knew where the elevators were.  Nice and easy…

Check in was a breeze as the front desk staff accommodated our early arrival by giving us a nice bay view king room.  It indeed was nice to be able to check in early so we can rest our tired souls.  We had been on the road the past 3+ weeks by then, and to be able to rest up at a beautiful 4 Diamond rated hotel is always a great thing…







The hotel was still beautiful and we got to spend 3 nights inside the confines of our comfortable king room.  We really rested well, and didn’t venture out too far from the hotel.  We ate the hotel’s buffet which was good, much better than we anticipated.  I guess having them comped certainly helped.  Who can refuse a free meal, especially when it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet???

As far as gaming goes, we didn’t do so well, as the slots were stingy, not like our first visit to the hotel.  Oh, well.  You win some, you lose some…

Out of the 3 nights we stayed at the Beau Rivage, we ventured out only once for some lunch.  The hotel room was so comfortable and the resort had everything we needed including tasty foods, gaming, and the room’s nice bay views.

The one day we went outside, we checked out a local favorite Italian restaurant, Salute Italian Restaurant, located in Gulfport.  At a distance of about 12 miles along the scenic Route 90/Beach Boulevard, we arrived before noon and found the parking lot mostly filled.  

It’s a good sign when a restaurant, on a weekday afternoon, is packed with customers.  After just barely getting a parking spot, we walked inside to a busy restaurant.  We didn’t wait long, luckily, and we were seated at a booth.




We enjoyed our lunch, and at that price point (around $10 for most lunch special entrees), the taste was really good!  After our meal, we decided to walk around the beach area on our way back to the hotel.  

Even though it was in the middle of January, the temperatures were still very comfortable mid-60 degrees.  We didn’t need heavy coats at all.  We walked off our lunch at Courthouse Road Pier below, enjoying the views and some sunshine.


Broken boardwalk thanks to frequent hurricanes…





Upon our arrival back at our comfortable Beau Rivage hotel room, we did our usual for the afternoon, that is, enjoy some down time while listening to music and/or browse the internet, then take an afternoon nap!  The enjoyment we get from doing absolutely nothing at all is one of the best things about early retirement.  We simply can’t get enough of it!

And with that, we wrapped up our 3 nights/4 days trip back to Biloxi.  The following day, we headed out to our next destination, the state of Georgia!

In conclusion:

Unlike our first visit to Biloxi, when we weren’t sure how welcoming the city would be or how safe it would be, we knew exactly what we could expect on our second visit.  Biloxi was just as we remember it: a charming city by the Gulf of Mexico, with delicious foods and friendly people.  

We had a short but nice memorable trip, and on top of that we were able to rest our tired bodies/souls after close to a month of traveling the great American South/Central South.  We’re not sure when we’ll return to Biloxi area, but we know we will eventually.  Until then, au revoir.  

Thank you for reading and keep up with us on our continuing adventures through the American South.  Happy trails!


Jake

Wandering Money Pig 


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