For all of us non-Southerners...that's New Orleans.
Since Biloxi is only about an hours drive from the "Big Easy", we decided to take a day trip to see some of the sights. Admittedly, we had no idea where we were going, or what there really was to see. We wanted to go to the French Quarters, see the famous above ground cemeteries, and maybe do a plantation tour...but didn't really have an itinerary for the day.
I will tell you this, if you ever visit the French Quarters...NEVER, and I mean NEVER go anywhere near Mardi Gras. You will regret it. We went at the end of March...which was about 20 days after Fat Tuesday (aka Mardi Gras)...and it was still packed (at least around the main square).
Not only that, but it smelled (Hence Casey's stinky-face picture...not really he was just being a goof!). I'm serious though, it reeked of vomit, pee, booze, and Lord only knows what else. The sidewalks were all slippery from constantly being hosed down, and it gave the whole place a feel of uncleanliness.
That being said, I cringe whenever I'm in a dirty place...so the whole experience was not so bueno. I felt like if I sat in the wrong place I'd catch an STD...ewwww. And I wore flip flops...out of all the icky, rotten luck. So I can't really say I enjoyed the whole trip.
But, before you discredit this post all together, I will tell you it wasn't all that bad. We found the most amazing candy shop. Which boasted the best pralines in town, but I was more interested in their homemade peanut butter cups...YUM!!
... and a really yummy open air restaurant. Here's Casey eating his Muffelata...and a picture of my AMAZING red beans and rice!
...We also visited the local Cathedral with it's nice garden square, surrounded by local artists showing off their wares.
So we strolled around town, saw some interesting sights, and some not-so-nice sights (Bourbon Street boasts plenty of nude-y club pictures...'nough said).
And after a few hours of wondering, we decided we'd seen enough.
Some beads left over from Mardi Gras:
Any other day, and I might have been up for more, but Saturday was my last full day with Casey...and I wasn't really interested in spending that time with him as tourists. So we headed back to base, and made the most of our time together.
It was still a good day trip...just not the best timing.
After spending a few days with Casey, enjoying the beach, and sight-seeing; my parents headed off. I had a few days alone with Casey, before his parents joined up with us. And so, while Casey was in school, the parents and I headed out to do more sight-seeing.
One of the first places we hit up was the Beaurivage Gardens in Alabama. 60+ acres of beautiful lush landscaping. The gardens used to be a private residence, and there was a house tour, as well as garden strolls and ferry rides. We decided to forgo the ferry ride, but definitely wanted to see the house.
It was AWESOME, but a bit pricey ($20 for garden access and house tour...per person). And they didn't have a military discount...which generally annoys me. But, I can't deny, I was seriously impressed with the magnitude of it all.
Here are a few pictures of the house. It was HUGE!!
We weren't allowed to take pictures of the inside, so this courtyard was the closest we could get.
And here are pics from all the gardens:
The English garden:
And the Oriental garden:
And ALL the AZALEAS!!! They were everywhere!!!
As promised (a long long time ago), I'm finally posting pictures of my Biloxi Trip. The funny thing is, Casey isn't in most of them. Before you all get angry and resentful of me, let me explain. Although I was able to spend a whole 8 days with Case, the majority of the time he was in school. Which left me and the parents to sight see on our own.
And honestly, when I WAS with Case, I wasn't thinking about taking pictures. He does make an appearance later on in the trip, and I'll be sure to post as many of those pictures as I can.
Also, I don't have all the pictures my Mom took, so I'm skipping over a few of the attractions we went to (like the light house, pier, and Beauvoir).
Hopefully I'll be able to add those pictures later. For now, here are pictures from our (me and the parents) trip to Fort Gaines:
The Fort was located on Dauphin Island (Dad kept calling it Dolphin Island) of the coast of Alabama. It's also where the phrase: "Damn the torpedoes...full speed ahead" came from.
Here are Mom and Dad at the entrance to the Fort:
And inside:
And me on one of the look out points:
The Fort had tunnels and bunkers carved out below each of the look out points for easy access under fire, and to also hold extra ammunition:
Me looking SUPER pasty, thanks to the camera flash:
Here's Mom on top of one of the VERY slippery sets of spiral stairs going into the underground bunker. Let me just say, this wouldn't exactly be the safest place to bring a child.
Some views of the ocean:
Some Indoor shots:
And last, but not least, my absolute favorite part of the Fort...HA:
Mom was too chicken to get in the picture with us, but I did get this one silly shot with her on the way home:
So that's it for today. I'll try to hunt down all of my Mom's pictures this weekend, and maybe fill in some of the gaps.
