Monthly Archives: November 2013

Oh wait.  It is!

We arrived in Houston on Friday mid afternoon to cold, windy weather but warm, loving greetings from our family.  Of course the first order of business was for my grandsons to compare their height to mine and discover they were getting closer to “seeing eye to eye” with me.

On Saturday the weather was just as bad so we opted for an indoor activity instead of the Civil War Reinactment that was originally planned.  The Space Center of Houston was our destination and for the next 5 hours they managed to keep adults and kids interested and fascinated by what this country has accomplished since we started our space adventures.

Above is the large Saturn Rocket

We walked inside a replica of the shuttle, saw the original space capsules, the huge Saturn rocket responsible for getting the Apollo capsules into space and back and three or four films and lectures telling us more than we could begin to absorb.

When you live a distance from your grandchildren, just watching them experience things is really a joy.

The day before we were scheduled to leave Waveland, Mississippi, the weather was not good and we needed to find something to do that did not involve the outdoors.  Jim is the perfect activities director and came up with the idea we would drive to Gulfport for lunch.

We drove along US 90 that runs right along the coast.  Jetting out into the water was an endless mixture of brand new, large fishing docks with multiple covered landings to accommodate lots of fishermen and abandoned pilings, remnants of hurricane washed piers, sticking out of the water serving only as landings for pelicans and seagulls.  Before we knew it, we were in Gulfport with nothing noteworthy to make us say, “Let’s stop here”, so we drove on to Biloxi.  We decided to go to the Beau Rivage and check out their buffet.

As we walked into the lobby, we were greeted by their amazing Christmas display with supersized nutcracker, numerous decorated trees and an animatronics dog sled display.  Check out these pictures.

We were not disappointed in the buffet either which included unlimited amounts of steamed shrimp, crawfish larger than I have ever seen, roast pork loin, prime rib, chicken, salad, pasta bar, Asian station, vegetables, casseroles, and desserts.  Unlike some buffets where the quantity supersedes the quality, it was all wonderful.  All that for $14.99!

We left Mississippi at 7:45 a.m. the next morning and headed west to our final destination in Spring, Texas.  Something about holidays that needs to be shared with family.

The second night was in Buccaneer State Park in Waveland Mississippi off the coast, west of Gulfport.  The entire park was demolished by Katrina 8 years ago so it is practically brand new with the rebuilding of this entire area.

What a beautiful area! There are some remnants of the destruction still visible, but most places are rebuilt or at least in the process.  Hard to believe that after 8 years, there are still some places under construction.  Just east of Waveland is Bay St. Louis with a 2 mile bridge that spans the bay.  It was around 4 pm when we drove by the bridge and the sun was in the perfect spot for this picture.

Bay St. Louis Bridge

We drove around Old Bay St. Louis ( the old new town) until it was a more reasonable time to eat supper and stopped in the Tigers Eye right on the water’s edge.  I had a 1/2 pound of steamed Royal Red shrimp that were fabulous with sausage, potatoes, and corn in the mix.  The broth had enough spice to taste without having to drink a gallon of water for relief.  Jim had a grilled mahi sandwich with fresh-cut fries that were really good as well.  He has this wimpy mouth that can’t handle spicy food.

It was in the low 40’s last night, but should get up into the high 60’s or low 70’s today.  We will probably just enjoy the scenery and sit in the sun and read today.

We are spending Thanksgiving in Texas with our youngest daughter and her family.  It’s a long drive with the RV at 60 miles per hour, so we decided to stop along the way and take our time.

Our first stop was in Defuniak Springs, Florida and we were happy we made the decision to stop.  I rained most of the day which makes for tough driving for Jim.  Luckily, just as we approached the exit on I 10, the clouds cleared up some and at least the rain stopped.  I really hate setting up in the rain!

It was a really nice park and we may return someday to spend a week or so.  For supper we went looking for a restaurant and found a place in a strip shopping center with nothing but BBQ in big red letters printed on the building.  In the parking lot was a paper sign that said 4C’s BBQ and I’m wondering what we are about to experience.

Inside the building, the place is decorated in 1940’s early junk with high ceilings, wooden tables and benches, and a stage.  There was another paper sign outside talking about their wings so we decided that’s what we would have.  There were only a handful of tables occupied, but one was filled with firemen. (Now I’m more positive because firemen know how to eat well.)  You have to remember there is an hour difference in time between Ocala and Defuniak so while our stomachs were on Ocala time, the people of Defuniak were not.

Huge wing at 4C’s BBQ

We ordered 10 wings and an order of onion straws to split.  The wings must have come from amazon chickens because I’ve never seen anything that big.  Plus, they did not cut the joint and call it two pieces; you got the ENTIRE wing!

I have to say, they were delicious as were the onion straws.  They were so big we couldn’t eat them all and wound up with a box to take home two wings.

By the way, the 4C’s stands for four Christians BBQ!