Gulfport may not be the attraction to the region like New Orleans is to the West or Biloxi is to…read morethe East, but it does have some items that gives it a reason for being! It has the local airport, a Naval Base full of Sea Bees (with a really cool museum), a port, island excursions, fishing, shrimping, casinos and a beautiful white sand beach. Sunsets and sun rises are spectacular. Lots of camera opportunities! This was my second time here and yes, the hurricanes over the last decade or so have hit it hard. Still, the people continue to live here and the community survives. There are some great restaurants with some preparing local Gulf Coast favorites!

The city of Gulfport has a great many attractions, small museums, thrift stores, all very…read moreinteresting. I am usually glad every time I come. Only one time was unpleasant and that was the Cruise-In. The Aviation Museum is a must-see as is the train museum. The historical museum in the historic district is a trove of valuable information. The Fishbone Alley is so very cute and unique. There are so many things I plan on coming back and doing in the future.

I always like to find places that are off the beaten path to visit, and this marks all of my boxes…read more Facing the Gulf, this home is delightful. The tour guide was very informative about the history and the details. The house is not open any set hours, you have to reach out to schedule a tour. Follow their social media accounts in order to find out when they have an open house event. Or to schedule a tour, email heritage@dmr.ms.gov or call 228-234-7298. I would highly recommend to anyone in the area. Admission is free.

People! Get on over to here! Great food, great entertainment, Super Sunsets and Sun Rises,…read moremagnificent dining establishments and plenty of places to get rich in casinos! While the massive devastation is still quite evident from Hurricane Katrina, it is is slowly coming back and there are lots of opportunities for a great vacation in this community! There are many things to see and do for the adventurer both inside Biloxi and in the neighboring area. Lots of small quick sites and sights! The food is good in so many locations. The Casino resorts can take care of more of your time. There are nearby excursions, museums, and let's don't forget the fishing opportunities! You can even take in a Professional Baseball game of the Biloxi Shuckers! The beach is pretty nice and don't expect a North Shore Hawaii surfing experience or snorkeling over a reef like Maui, but there is a lot of fun for the family! It is a gentle beach and makes for a very relaxing time! This is a place that you can have a very relaxing experience, fill your belly and perhaps even your pockets!

Five nights in Biloxi thanks to a Hilton Hotels deal - use points for four nights and get the fifth…read morenight free. I had no idea what I would do in Biloxi from Sunday until Friday. It's mostly a casino and beaches town. I'm not a gambler and I'm not a sun worshipper. As it happened, I found plenty! Great food, from sushi to pho to fried catfish to barbecue. A few museums including the Jefferson Davis Presidential Library, the Walter Anderson Museum of Art and the Ohr-O'keefe Museum of Art. Several local beers. Lots of shopping. Somewhere in there, I drove over to New Orleans for a day. I walked across the Biloxi Bay bridge early in the morning before it got too hot. And we toured the Biloxi Visitor's Center and Lighthouse Pier. Yes, there's plenty to do here. Friendly people and once you learn the lay of the land, it all clicks together. It helped to understand that back in 2014 or so, they numbered the traffic lights on US 90 from "one" on the Louisiana border and then increasing one by one until the Alabama border. You're at "Shrimp number 31"? That's the Edgewater Mall intersection. Easy parking during mid-October. Friendly folks. Not at all crowded. [Review 14189 overall, 1511 of 2020, number 79 in Mississippi.]

The Visitor Center is in the old railroad station and has plenty of information about the area. The…read morelady working when I visited was friendly and helpful. And a public restroom that was clean and well stocked. The Ocean Springs Fresh Market is open every Saturday, rain or shine, this market is in the parking lot of the chamber of commerce for Ocean Springs with local vendors of fruits, vegetables, plants and friendly people. All of it seemed reasonably priced.

Your first stop in your tour of Ocean Springs to help guide your time in this sleepy and upscale…read morehistoric town. This shaded building once hailed as a train station; remains in that style as a architectural gem. In fact as I was taking a photo of the welcome sign...a long train whistled and rumbled by; the porch deliciously shook in response. Detected the building serves three purposes well 1) A separate retail art boutique called Realizations 2) The Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce 3) The (public) Ocean Springs Main Street- Tourism Bureau Inside are prolific but tasteful examples of local art. (Please see my photos and tips) Enter, and stop at the video kiosk for a full color brochure. Turn left for the water fountain and a public bathroom (resplendent w art). Or, you can turn right and enter the guidance portion of the visitor center. The high counter (see picture) reminded me of where days of old a ticket master's workstation would be. This small but functional room serves you and any little ones traveling with you well. Brochures line the left side of the room and interesting local art, some tall, fill the space. Center on the floor is a kids visitors table. (How cute and thoughtful) Sign in and ask questions about this interesting Main Street town. (Always sign in, it's a nice thing to do; as it helps the town gauge the flow of traffic to plan outreach for next year) For the Record: This town is a good non beach day kinda place to visit.

The Civil Rights Wade-In historical sign is an important part of the history of Biloxi, Mississippi…read moreand honestly, was not that long ago in realistic terms. The sign also discusses the importance of the wade-ins in the birth of the Biloxi, Mississippi and the birth of the local NAACP.

Located in the parking lot for the Biloxi Lighthouse Pier, this marker recalls an important battle…read morein the fight for Civil Rights. The marker is accessible and in good condition. It reads, "Civil Rights Wade-Ins. On May 14, 1959, April 24, 1960, and June 23, 1963, the Biloxi beach front was the site of planned civil rights wade-ins demanding equal access to the public beach. On April 24, 1960, several citizens, both black and white, were injured and arrested, including the leader of the wade-ins, physician Dr. Gilbert R. Mason Sr. This series of protests gave birth to the Biloxi branch of the NAACP, major voter registration drives in 1960, and a 1968 falderal court ruling opening the beach to all citizens." Before the beaches were desegregated, adjacent homeowners claimed the beaches as private property. However, Mason and his supporters noted that the beaches had been built in a major project completed in 1953 by the Army Corps of Engineers using taxpayer funds, and so thought they should be public and available to all. The new beaches had increased tourist traffic to the Biloxi area, strengthening the local economy. The effort by local authorities to maintain segregation was supported by actions of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, a state agency founded in 1956. It used its extensive investigative powers to spy on citizens and plan economic retaliation against those who were civil rights activists or suspected of being so. On the date mentioned on the plaque, the police stood by and watched as white mobs attacked black beachgoers. It is referred to as "The Bloody Wade-In" and was described by the New York Times as "The worst racial riot in Mississippi history." The marker was placed here in April 2010, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the protests. [Review 14121 overall, 1443 of 2020, number 28 in Mississippi.]

Had been a few years since we last visited the memorial. Noticed several of the trees were gone now…read more, and the display with all the washed up items from katrina was gona as well. Seems to be more missing, but cant recall. So sad , and cant believe its been 20 years. If your traveling through biloxi , i highly recommend stopping by the monument and paying respects the souls loat and said their are still 3 ppl listed as missing even after 20 years.RIP.....

I think most people have no idea how destructive this storm really was. Causing over 1800 deaths…read moreand $125 billion in damage, it was at the time the costliest tropical cyclone on record. The storm was the twelfth tropical cyclone, the fifth hurricane, and the third major hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, as well as the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane on record to make landfall in the contiguous United States. Battered by wind, rain and storm surge, some beachfront neighborhoods were completely leveled. Preliminary estimates by Mississippi officials calculated that 90% of the structures within half a mile of the coastline were completely destroyed. The pictures of the coastal casinos - block long buildings! - were picked up and basically launched at the coastline, destroying many 18th century homes and ancient trees. The Bay St. Louis-Pass Christian and the Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge were entirely destroyed. Katrina's surge was the most extensive, as well as the highest, in the documented history of the United States. That is documented here with a post showing the maximum height of the surge. The Memorial stands 12 feet tall, about the height of the water during Hurricane Katrina's storm surge at the Town Green. It lists the names of the 170 victims that perished during the storm. [Review 14185 overall, 1507 of 2020, number 75 in Mississippi.]

The West Pearl River Bridge carries US Route 90 and across the border between Mississippi and…read moreLouisiana. It is a simple two-lane bridge with concrete barriers at each side. There is no pedestrian or bicycle lane. The bridge was build in 1933 by Wisconsin Bridge & Iron Company. It is a Swing Parker through truss bridge with a vertical clearance above the deck of 15 feet. (This is a replacement for the two bridge reviews that the Yelp hamsters merged.] [Review 14227 overall, 1550 of 2020, number 89 in Mississippi.]

This historical marker is located under a shade tree in the parking area of the westbound I-10 rest…read morearea. It is green and points out some of the earliest settlement history of the area. The marker reads, "Graveline. In 1718 this area was settled by Jean-Baptist Baudreau dit Graveline, born 1671 in Montreal. Arrived with D'Iberville at Fort Maurepas aboard the Renommée, January 8, 1700. Prominent colonist - adventurer - merchant." Online, there is more information. Gravelone was at Fort Saint Louis in Old Mobile, north of where the present city is located. He became one of the wealthiest men in the colonyby trading in furs, ships and later cattle and agricultural goods. A couple of times, he would buy a ship and load it with goods that were sent to Vera Cruz, the West Indes or even to France for trading. Graveline also traded frequently with the American Indian tribes in the area. From his children, many of the families of the Gulf Coast are descended. [Review 17349 overall - 93 in Mississippi - 867 of 2022.]