I planned to go to Jefferson Davis's "retirement" home this morning -- and did so. Took the CTA (Coast Transit Authority) bus to get there and back. The buses here are cute, cheap ($1.25 regular rate; 60 cents senior citizen rate), and went to the places I wanted to go. However, they tend to run late -- even when leaving from the bus station itself!
The Jefferson Davis house and grounds, named Beauvoir, were quite nice. Here's the house, me on the porch in the rockers where one waits for the tours to begin, and the view from the porch.
In the front hall the guide provided the group with basic information about the house and pointed out the picture of the house immediately following Hurricane Katrina. The house is raised 21 feet off the ground and had survived all previous storms, including Hurricane Camille, with little damage. Unfortunately, the Katrina storm surge was 22 feet high so the house had a foot of water in it for over 6 hours as well as roof damage and the loss of all the porches.
It took three years of restoration work before the house reopened to the public. Work on replacing the outbuildings, some of which disappeared years ago, some of which were lost in Katrina, continues. There is also a major building under construction -- a museum and "presidential" library.
I very much enjoy old houses and also enjoy history. However, I must admit to mixed feelings in touring the house of the man celebrated for heading the Confederacy. The house is owned and operated by the Sons of the Confederacy organization, and Confederate flags abound. Not totally comfortable for a northern liberal. . . .
Had to walk a few blocks from Beauvoir to get to the bus stop. Along the way, in front of the Coliseum building, were some topiary figures. I do like topiary. . . .
Along the beach, the government (city, county, state?) has built beach houses with restrooms that also serve as bus stops. A few people were out enjoying the beautiful white sand beaches.
Returned to the hotel in order to get my suitcase and head out to the airport to begin the trip home. The return trip went far more smoothly than the trip to Biloxi. The ground transport was by $15 van rather than $40 taxi. No planes were canceled or delayed by mechanical problems. Arrived in Minnesota on schedule and was home by 9:45 -- in plenty of time to pick up Katy who had been staying with Miggy and his moms. Jackson was glad to see me but had obviously been well taken care of by neighbor Cyndy.
So I'm home and not planning any more trips until late June when I head to Hungary and Croatia. But, if I get a good opportunity before then, we'll see. . . .
Today was a lazy day. Got up in time to have breakfast with Cheryl and Steve before they left for their 12-hour drive back home to Sarasota, Florida. I was going to 1. find a church for Palm Sunday service, 2. tour the Jefferson Davis home, or 3. take a walk. But because I was tired from insufficient sleep and wasn't sure what time Joy (Cheryl's mom who lives in Mississippi) would be calling to arrange our day, I just lay around the room, writing post cards, doing a little reading, and occasionally dozing.
Once Joy and I touched base I was able to have some lunch, sitting outside by the pool, and doing some reading -- outside as well. I intend to enjoy the sun and pleasant weather. Who knows what will await me in Minnesota on my return tomorrow night?!
Spent the afternoon with Joy and Chuck at their beautiful home in Wiggins, about 35 miles from Biloxi.
The house is beautiful and filled with interesting things, including this actual old-fashioned slot machine. The house provides the nickels -- but also keeps the pots!
Since I haven't gone to any of the many casinos in Biloxi, this is as close to gambling as I've gotten!
We went out for dinner at the Olive Garden on the way returning me to the hotel. Joy had hoped we could go to Mary Mahoney's Old French House Restaurant, a well-known local restaurant with good food, but it wasn't open today so no luck.
The evening was about as lazy as the morning. Wrote this and went to bed reasonably early.
Today dawned sunny with less humidity and wind (and no severe weather anywhere in the state). It was a lovely day. Took the bus (I'm becoming something of an expert on the Biloxi bus system) to the neighboring town of Ocean Springs which involved going over the impressive bridge crossing Biloxi Bay. Ocean Springs has lots of artists, boutiques, and stores aimed at tourists. Patricia Mack had recommended going there to visit the Walter Anderson Museum of Art, which I did.
Anderson is another eclectic artist who used many mediums, and he, too, was crazy. He actually was a diagnosed schizophrenic who survived his illness primarily by retreating to islands in the Gulf and immersing himself in nature. The art currently on exhibit was mostly watercolors.
There is also a room that he painted as a retreat on display. Interesting -- and weird.
He was well known for linoleum block prints. None of those were on display, but I saw some copies produced by converting the original blocks into a screen print process.
Wandered around town for a couple of hours including stopping for a doughnut, highly recommended by several of the natives I spoke with. Apparently they use potato, rather than wheat, flour. Wonder if they're gluten free? . . . Probably not.
Returned to Biloxi where I checked out the Katrina memorial. The height of the memorial, which lists the names of those dead and missing from the immediate Gulf area, represents the depth of the storm surge, and the glass case contains items donated by Katrina survivors.
In the same area as the Memorial is this delightful sculpture made from the trunk of a tree killed by Katrina. And there's a wonderful seating area constructed around a tree which survived.
Walked back to the hotel from the park and got ready to go to the wedding. The ceremony and reception were held at the same place, the Slavonian Lodge, a very nice facility built after Katrina since the original hall had been destroyed. Here is a picture of Kevin and Cassie with his parents, my friends Cheryl and Steve.
All three of Kevin's brothers were groomsmen so I was able to get a picture with four very handsome young men.
Everyone had a good time, especially the young folk who danced up a storm.
Back to the hotel about 9 to write this and get to bed.
The suitcase which didn't arrive on the plane with me was delivered at 12:35 a.m. this morning. Had I known it would take that long, I would have gone to bed in my underwear. Ah, well. . . .
Had the free breakfast at the hotel (courtesy of my "golf" package -- fortunately I don't have to play golf!). After briefly returning to my room I was headed downstairs in the elevator when it stopped on the 4th floor. I looked up - and saw my friend Cheryl, mother of the groom, getting on. Most surprising, that we happened to meet on the elevator. She and husband Steve were going out to eat lunch and then head to the wedding venue to help set up. They drove me to the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art where we had a light lunch together. They headed off to the lodge and left me to explore the museum.
George Ohr was a late 19th/early 20th century potter in Biloxi who produced artistic ceramic work far ahead of the norm for his time (and was also quite a strange person, even weird). In addition to his pottery the museum had exhibits of works by Andy Warhol and Jun Kaneko (huge, ceramic heads) and of Richmond Barthe, a 20th century African-American sculptor born in Mississippi. All were interesting -- and small enough to be well viewed and enjoyed in about an hour. The buildings of the museum, still under construction, were designed by architect Frank Gehry. His "shoo-fly" terraces at the top of the building offer nice views of the Gulf.
After the museum I walked along the beach, including taking the I-110 pedestrian boardwalk which, like the freeway, loops out over the Gulf. 
There were some interesting views -- and a lot of wind. Northern Mississippi had some severe weather today, including thunderstorms and tornadoes, and we were getting some leftovers from that.
I continued on down to the Biloxi lighthouse. Made of cast iron it was constructed in 1848. I assume that originally it was located right on the water. Now it is in the median between the east and westbound lanes of Biloxi Beach Boulevard.
On the way back to the hotel I walked through some residential areas and saw many vacant lots, houses for sale, and clear signs of the damage left by Hurricane Katrina.
Don't know how interesting this will be, but writing it helped pass time in a LONG day of traveling. Am here in Biloxi for a wedding but added a couple of days so that I could do a little sightseeing since I've never been here before (and probably won't be back).
The “joys” of travel. . . .
After checking in on-line Wednesday morning for the Thursday 10 a.m. flight to Memphis (changing there for Gulfport, Mississippi), I went for a 4-mile walk with a group from the YWCA along the Mississippi where we observed the flooding first-hand. Fortunately, in this area the land being flooded is parkland where the intent is to serve as floodplain so the water does less damage than when the area contained homes and businesses.
Then I went to the Univ. of Minnesota to meet with JunYoung, my partner in English. Upon returning home I received a recorded phone call from Delta telling me the flight to Memphis had been cancelled. No reason why was given. It was a full flight so a shortage of customers was not the reason. Delta had booked me onto a 10:30 a.m. flight that took me to Gulfport through Atlanta, a routing I’d been hoping to avoid.
Arrived at the airport early on Thursday morning in an attempt to score an aisle seat (which I did) and eat breakfast. Once at the gate I quickly learned that mechanical problems had delayed the flight until 11 a.m. I wasn’t too worried since I could still probably make the connecting flight. However, at 10:40 the gate staff announced that departure had been delayed until at least 1 p.m. and suggested that those with connecting flights from Atlanta check about rebooking. At this point rebooking through Atlanta would have resulted in an after-10 p.m. Gulfport arrival time. So I returned to the original Memphis routing – but, of course, with a 4-hour later arrival time.
The system did work rather well (she says with reluctant admiration). A phone call to the Delta 800 number and then putting my old boarding pass bar code into the machine at the “Help” area resulted in a printout of my new routing and a coupon good for $6.00 toward a meal. Not much one can get for that amount in the airport, but it was a nice gesture and happened automatically. Checked the departure listings and discovered a flight to Memphis leaving almost 3 hours before the one on which I was scheduled. Went to the gate and found I could get on that one. It wouldn’t get me to Gulfport any sooner but would break up the waiting time and reduce the risk that other problems might interfere with getting out of Minneapolis. Departed and arrived on schedule.
Spent almost four hours in the Memphis airport looking out on blue skies and green grass and trees (in the distance) wishing I could be enjoying the nice weather rather than sitting in the airport. But at least I got partway and was able to enjoy a pulled pork sandwich at the airport version of Corky’s, a well-known Memphis barbecue joint. Flight to Gulfport was timely and uneventful. After waiting until all the luggage had been delivered, realizing mine wasn’t there, and checking with the luggage service folk, I was told it was coming in on a flight arriving at 10:30. They promised to deliver it to my hotel this evening. One can hope.
Found that the van transport from the airport promised by the hotel didn’t run after 5 p.m. so had to take a $40 taxi. That does increase the price on the hotel “special deal.” One hopes that the rest of the trip will go well. At least the promised WiFi at the Four Points Sheraton does work so this could be posted.
It took three years of restoration work before the house reopened to the public. Work on replacing the outbuildings, some of which disappeared years ago, some of which were lost in Katrina, continues. There is also a major building under construction -- a museum and "presidential" library.
Returned to the hotel in order to get my suitcase and head out to the airport to begin the trip home. The return trip went far more smoothly than the trip to Biloxi. The ground transport was by $15 van rather than $40 taxi. No planes were canceled or delayed by mechanical problems. Arrived in Minnesota on schedule and was home by 9:45 -- in plenty of time to pick up Katy who had been staying with Miggy and his moms. Jackson was glad to see me but had obviously been well taken care of by neighbor Cyndy.
