Author: Chris

The drive from New Orleans to Biloxi, MS is pretty quick, just 1.5 hours.  Neither of us have ever been there so we figured it was worth a visit.  I’ve gotta say we were both surprised with how much we like this place!  First off, the people are SUPER friendly!!  I mean out of your way “how ya doing” friendly!  Almost seemed like we were being punked they were so nice!  After checking in we took a walk along the gorgeous beach, and ventured out on this small wavy pier.  No idea why it was built like this, but it’s pretty!

Walking along the beach we reached a parking lot with this statue in the middle.  This is Biloxi’s own Astronaut Fred Haise, who was on the ill-fated Apollo 13 of movie fame.  Interestingly we just watched this movie maybe a month ago since Fletcher hadn’t seen it.  Fred is played by the late great Bill Paxton in the movie.

Biloxi Beach is also known for particular civil rights incidents in 1959, 1960 and 1963, known as the “wade-ins”, where black (as well as white) protesters waded out into the water in violation of the “white’s only” beach rules.  It wasn’t until 1968 when the beach was opened to all citizens.  Hard to imagine!

Looking east back down the beach towards the pier we were on previously, and the casino in the background (which we avoided completely).  The sand here is so beautiful!

We were lucky enough to be in Biloxi on the weekend when the locals perform a Civil War Reenactment at Beauvoir, the last home of the President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis.  Before we went to the show we stopped for lunch at Shaggy’s, right on the beach.  Great food and great views from our table.

We arrived at Beauvoir and parked in front of the visitor center and Presidential Library.  It was a little surprising that they had a biker gang in charge of security and parking control, but they were friendly enough.

This is the entrance to Jefferson Davis’ Presidential Library.

Just across from the entrance is this historical marker.  Jefferson Davis’ home was used as a Veteran’s home for former Confederate soldiers after Jefferson passed, from 1903 until 1957, with more than 2,000 veterans, wives and widows living out their final days here.

There is a good but very dated 27 minute documentary playing in the library that gives the history of Beauvoir.  Just outside the theater is this statue of Jefferson Davis’ horse Tartar.  Hurricane Kristina ripped Tartar from the library and dropped it out in the Gulf of America.  Whenever the tide went out, Tartar, resting on all fours, would rise from the Gulf.  When the tide came back in he would disappear.  After a few weeks he was retrieved and brought back to the library.

This is the sign for Beauvoir’s “Fall Muster”.

The attendees go to great pains to come up with the most authentic uniforms possible.

They had about 10 big-ass cannons, 5 on each side of the conflict, that were freaking loud as hell!  I mean make you jump out of your seat loud!  The black powder rifles were like cap guns by comparison.

Here are the Yankee’s trying to outflank the Confederates.

The Confederates are reloading as fast as they can here.

Videos are really the only way to really describe the reenactment.

After the reenactment they had a final salute to all military, police, fire fighters and medical personnel.  It’s obvious these guys are extremely patriotic!

The commitment to the uniforms is excellent.  Nicely done guys!

We then walked over to the graveyard, which has it’s own Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

As well as the graves of the Confederate veterans who spent their last years here at Beauvoir when it was a rest home.

The last part of our visit was the actual home of Jefferson Davis, where the name Beauvoir came from.  Beautiful place!

The interior is set up exactly as it would have been when Jefferson wrote his memoir, “The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government”.

The porch looks out onto the Gulf of America.  Life is rough!  Just a quick note, what is known as a Rebel Flag was simply a battle flag during the Civil War that made it easier to tell who was a Confederate and who wasn’t.  Before this flag came into being there were numerous friendly fire incidents, since the original Confederate Flag looked too much like the American Flag when it wasn’t windy.  They like the battle flag in Mississippi!

A view of the ocean from the porch of Beauvoir.

We stopped at a brewery afterwards, Fly Llama Brewing, since they have a lovely Amber Ale I had tried the evening prior.  I loved their depiction of “The Scream” by Edvard Munch.

Excellent beers with great atmosphere.  I wish we had a place like this in Livermore!  Look at all of those taps….32 different beers and seltzers!

Right across the street from our hotel is a Hurricane Katrina Memorial, listing all of the locals lost during the storm.

This pole depicts where the water level was during Katrina (red marker), when the storm waves reached 34.1 feet above average sea level.

The old-school city sign next to the memorial is pretty cool.

As is the sign as you enter/leave the city.

Coming up next, we visit Mobile, Alabama, and my former boss from the Port of Oakland.

The next morning the ladies were prepping matching shirts for Myra’s birthday.  Here is Myra doing some custom tailoring!  Note the “50” on her tiara.

John decided to play a little dress up as well.  Looking good buddy!

Here are the outfits.  Looking good ladies!

We all got on a very crowded street car and headed to the Garden District for a walking tour.  We all met at Lafayette Cemetery #1, the most famous cemetery in New Orleans.

The cemetery, founded in 1833, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Unfortunately it’s currently closed for repairs, and has apparently been for quite awhile, so the only views are from the gates.

If the various families don’t take care of the tombs there is a local volunteer group that will jump in and ensure they don’t fall into total disrepair, which was not clearly evident from some of these tombs appearances.

After leaving the cemetery our guide led us down the street to the “Benjamin Button” house.  Built in 1832, this house was used as the main house in the Brad Pitt movie of the same name.  Many scenes from the film take place on the porch and steps in front of the home.  We’ve seen it once, so we’ll have to watch it again at some point.  I remember it being quite strange.

The next house was the Walter Robinson House, built by a wealthy banker from Virginia.  This building was the first in New Orleans to have indoor plumbing, thanks to a roof design that collected rain water.  It’s hard to imagine living without indoor plumbing.

The mansion has been featured in several movies, including Jason Statham’s “The Mechanic” in 2011.  I saw the original from 1972 with Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent.  I had no idea they remade it.  Why?  The original was perfect…Charles at his finest!

Up next was the beautifully intricate cast iron work of the Carroll-Crawford house.  Joseph Carroll built this house in 1869, and was known for throwing extravagant and often raunchy parties with important guests, such as Mark Twain.

The cast iron was imported from Italy, and was considered the most expensive in the Garden District…until a neighbor bought the same cast iron work, but added features not found here.  Love the details!

The next house is the Pritchard house, built in 1858.  With it’s four columns it is one of the few great examples of Greek revival in the Garden District.  Our guide said that Walt Disney toured the area before he built Disneyland, and it is said he copied the design of this house for The Haunted Mansion.  Disney sure seems to have gotten around!

Here is another shot from the direct front of the house.  Note the color of the ceilings on both the lower and upper porches, which is known as “haint blue”.  This color is said to ward off evil spirits, a tradition brought to the south by the Gullah people , descendants of enslaved people from west and central Africa.  Nearly every home on the Garden District has this haint blue paint on the porch ceilings.

The last notable house is called the “Cornstalk Fence” house, also know as Colonel Short’s Villa.  Built in 1859, merchant Robert Short built this house and included a decorative wrought iron cornstalk fence that encircles the property.  It is said he ordered the lavish custom fence for his wife, who was missing the cornfields of her native Iowa.  This is before people bought yachts and RV’s to impress the neighbors.

Here is a close up of the cornstalk fence.  Pretty cool artwork!

On our last night we had dinner at Arnaud’s Jazz Bistro, where a jazz band plays throughout dinner, going from table to table.  While the service and atmosphere was great, the food was unfortunately mediocre at best.  I can’t recommend this place, despite it’s historic nature.  Sad.

We then walked down Bourbon Street toward Frenchman Street, where we planned to hit another jazz bar.  Here are the ladies with their birthday boas all lit up.

The birthday girl with her birthday boy (William’s birthday is two days before Myra’s).  Note the money pinned to her top…this is a New Orleans tradition for your birthday.

As we were approaching our intended jazz bar we ran across an impromptu street performance.  It was wild!  This is one of those things that makes New Orleans so special.

We finally made into “Blue Nile”, and the music wasn’t quite what I had hoped for.  Cool bar though, and they had Abita Amber, my favorite local beer, so I survived.

We of course left earlier than everybody else, and took a streetcar back.  One last bit of New Orleans before we departed the next day.  Here is the younger ones still hanging at Blue Nile, with William once again showing off his selfie skills.

The next morning we picked up our rental car, said our goodbyes, and headed off to Biloxi, Mississippi.  Great time with the group in New Orleans, and outside of Arnaud’s the restaurants were excellent!  I’m looking forward to planning William’s 55th….just let me know where you want to go buddy!