Gulf Coast Adventures-“Let’s Go To The Beach”

“Let’s go to the beach”. Before six years ago, Becky and I couldn’t say those words. Or at least it had been many years since we had. Living in Mississippi we now have the occasion to visit the beach. Though at this point in our lives we find ourselves not going to the beach for the sand and surf but for the photography adventures. The Hummer has taken us on quite a few “Beach” excursions to the Gulf Coast. The devastation that hurricane Katrina caused is still very evident. The people have been resilient and so much work has gone into the restoration of those communities. It all seems to melt away as you walk along the quiet Mississippi beaches.

Everyone talks about going to the Gulf and they refer to places like Destin, Florida, Pensacola, Florida, and Orange Beach, Alabama. But not a whole lot of people talk about going to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. We have found it to be a hidden gem. The scenery is beautiful and the beaches are peaceful.

Sea Shell

One thing we love is to spend some time taking pictures of the shrimping community. There is a very large Vietnamese shrimping community in and around Biloxi, MS. The shrimp industry there brings in about 75% of the shrimp consumed in Mississippi. In the 1970‘s families would save their money up to buy their own shrimp boat. Now they run some of the largest shrimping operations in the state. You can go down to the docks and look for their shrimp flags where you can purchase all the fresh shrimp you can eat. We have watched as some of the local restaurant chefs come to the boats. They get their share of shrimp for making up that days meals for their customers.

Ship Island
There are so many things to do and see. These are not the miniature golf and amusement beaches. These are the “I just want to relax beaches”.  Beside the beaches there are water activities like deep sea fishing or jet skis. There are museums and really good restaurants. There are the quaint shopping areas. Of which we really like as well. One place we found fun and interesting was a trip out to Ship Island. You can take an excursion out to the island which takes about an hour one way. This tends to limit  the number of people that are on the island at once. If you are lucky you will spot some dauphins swimming in the wake of the boat. The day we went there were maybe a hundred people on the whole island. There is a small snack shop so you can get some water and hot dog. They will rent you a beach umbrella and a chair. We would recommend you do this as that is the only shade on the island. There is a great old fort on the island called “Fort Massachusetts”.