Walking on the Bay Bridge : Biloxi and Ocean Springs

I don't know how to start really. When we sold the house in the Space Coast area in Florida, we were too busy packing, moving, follow up with the papers, moving to another state, looking for a house, buying a house, moving our things from one storage to another storage, moving to our new house, unpacking, arranging, selling one of our condo property, fly back to Florida, back to Mississippi, party for my birthday, surprise visit from Spain and now ... here I am, ready to get back on track. Wheww! It was a whirlwind huh? I took a lot of pictures since May and I will be sharing them in this blog.

The first time we drove on the Bay Bridge heading to Palace Casino Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi, I said to my husband, "I didn't know how I missed the gulf coast". How pretty this place is. That's the resort and we stayed there for a week since we were still waiting for the closing of the house we bought.

The photo above was taken at the Front Beach in Ocean Springs Mississippi. The building at the far end is the Golden Nugget Casino formerly, the Isle Casino. Since we were back here in May, I walked on the bridge and rode a bicycle on that long bay bridge. Oh my goodness, I did it! I was so happy and felt accomplished! Now, who wouldn't fell in love on this view everyday of their lives? I would!

One evening right before sunset, a cousin and I went to walk by the beach and on the bridge from Ocean Springs to Biloxi (one city to the other city). We started at 6PM and hubby picked us up at 8PM in Golden Nugget at the end of the bridge. I thought I couldn't do it you know. It was a long ways. The view from the bay bridge was fantastic and breathtaking so; it has kept me going to the end. There were sailboats and shrimp boats as well as occasional display of dolphins swimming visibly by the bay. It was a glorious evening and I will be walking/running on the bridge again sometime.

While walking on the beach, cousin and I played on the sand. We put a mark on the sand with our foot. My footprint is smaller than her even though I am so much older than her. We spent probably almost an hour by the beach before we decided to walk on the bridge.

While on the Front Beach, I snap a lot of pictures.

Pictures of the sky, sailboats, people, dogs, shrimp boats, and anything interesting on the sand.

Here she is making a heart shape figure.

As the sun sets on the horizon, we were halfway walking on the bridge. It was breezy and a nice evening. I had fun taking pictures and enjoying the glorious display of nature.

Thanks for reading my post. See you next time.

Bundle Up, Stay Safe and Warm

The thought of having below 28 degrees of temperature while living here in Florida is exciting. Today, we get to experience that and most of my friends are wishing of rain so that; we will get to experience snow but, that's not happening though. As I went outside, the sun is shining so bright, the wind is chilling to the bones and yap, we need to bundle up since we are not used to this temperature.

It was 17 degrees below freezing so; here is the frozen bayou but, it's thin ice though.

There was two gators down the water but, it's not visible on the picture.
They're not moving and they hate cold. The bird is teasing them lol.

Here is the close caption on the water. It's fascinating to see ice.

These are snowflakes on the top of the car.

I braved myself to have this photo taken without my coat and mittens on.
 It lasted few seconds and I was freezing.
My hands were numb , silly me.

The bayou and it was frozen with thin ice.

The sun is shining but, it was still very cold.

It was 7AM , cold and breezy.

I went closer and took a photo of the frozen fountain.
I took few shots and ran inside the car to keep me warm.
Wooo! It was freezing cold!

I live in Mississippi and Florida so; having a below freezing temperature is quiet an exciting experience. Other than that, I am happy that our temperature is not brutally cold. Though we have a scorching summer, I am totally happy for that. Less hassle and most of all, we get to enjoy the beach most of the time. Buddle up you guys and stay safe and warm!

Flashback Wednesday: The Gulf Coast

Happy Hump Day everyone! Too many work to get done but, too little time. Have you got the same dilemma as I have? If you are a full time mom and dad, I bet you can relate. As much as possible, I am trying to get my blog running good and updated. For Flashback Wednesday, let's visit the Gulf Coast.

I took this photo on the 24th floor of the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino where hubby and I were staying.  This is the city of Biloxi, Mississippi. This is one of the hard hit areas during Hurricane Camille and Katrina but despite of that, they bounced back to normality. Gaming Business is doing great and more or less this place has 8 casinos. If Las Vegas is too far for you, you can check out this place. The food here is great and if you are looking for seafood, this is the right place to explore.

Aside from Beau Rivage Resort, we also stay in the Isle of Capri (see the photo above.). Isle of Capri is now named as Golden Nugget in Biloxi. Under the new management, I still have to check it out. Maybe this Christmas as we spend our Christmas Holiday with family and friends in Ocean Springs. If you happen to visit the Gulf Coast and looking for a place to stay with amazing view by the gulf, you should check out these two: Beau Rivage and Golden Nugget. I totally recommend these two because I stayed there. I love their buffet too. Oh, I can't wait!

Now, this was taken at the balcony of our room in Golden Nugget (Isle). The room we booked was overlooking the bay of Biloxi. It was a pleasant stay. The land mass of the opposite side of the bay is the Ocean Springs, Mississippi.

The picture above is the Bay Bridge on I-90. It connects Biloxi and Ocean Springs. One day, I will be jogging in this place and have breakfast in Golden Nugget, sounds great huh? Well, we actually live in Ocean Springs before and I worked in one of the casinos in the area of Biloxi. Golden Nugget is one of the places that hubby and I eat for breakfast because it's just nearby our place.

The photo above is the boat dock at the back of Golden Nugget. There are shrimp boats in the area too but, mostly they dock at the back of Hard Rock Hotel and casino.

Here we are at the Front Beach in Ocean Springs, taking our lazy time. The Golden Nugget is the building across. Oh by the way next year, we will be moving back to Mississippi to be with our family and relatives. We are in the process of looking at houses. I can't believe that I am actually excited.

An Awesome View of the Gulf

My husband won't stay at home when I was sleeping. I work at night and sleep most of the time on day time. My father-in-law and him would go out buying stuffs at Wal-Mart, drive down the Front and East Beach, and if there were garden and boat shows, they would go. One time, I woke up for lunch and they were gone somewhere. When they arrived few minutes later, they were excited telling me that they bought a pontoon boat, LOL. Anyway, the photo below was taken at the end part of Front Beach in Ocean Springs Mississippi. I was at the top floor (restaurant) taking this picture. What an awesome view huh?

Cocoa Beach on Stormy Days

My husband and I are so envious (in a good way) of the people living on the front beach. I bet that they enjoyed watching the sunshine or sunset everyday. The lovely breeze from the sea is always nice so; they have plenty of that too. Waking up every morning with the sound of sea waves splashing is a good music to enjoy as well. Few days of these lovely moments are stormy days. Hurricane Season is not a welcome event of the year so; having to live away from water front is a good thing for me.

I took these photos on a stormy day during Hurricane Season. It is not a good sight.

This is Cocoa Beach on a Sunday. A handful of people were here just to watch the big waves.

Though the water is rough and dangerous, surfers love this moment so; we saw few surfers trying to have the ride of their lives.

The condos on the front beach are ready for the storm so; I saw their windows already covered with hurricane shutters.

When storm passes, the activities are back to normal here. I was browsing about storms that hit Cocoa Beach and it shows the years: 1871, 1880 and 1885. There were major hurricanes slammed into Brevard County and hit Cocoa Beach. The 1885 hurricane’s storm surge supposedly pushed the ocean over Cocoa Beach and into the Banana River. That's few miles away and that was a scary flooding. The report said that the beach near the Canaveral Light House was so severely eroded.The thought just scared me. That is why; I still prefer the place where I live than live at the front beach.

On Miami Beach

This is Miami Beach and I would say, the water is really beautiful. I like it when the crowd is not overwhelming. This beach is one of the most crowded beaches in the States. Tourists flocked Miami Beach because of the clear blue water and the white sandy beaches. This is a typical Friday afternoon. There are people but, not crowded which is really nice to hang out. The weather is tolerable since it was almost sundown.

Spend a Vacation at the Isle Hotel in Biloxi

After spending so many days working on the "TLC" for the new property we bought, I think we need a good vacation right now. I am imagining myself in the Isle Hotel in Biloxi, sitting at the balcony in the room facing the Bay Bridge. What a wonderful scenery ... especially in the morning.Are you planning to get away from the hassle of city life? Go to Biloxi Mississippi and spend a good and relaxing vacation at the Isle Hotel. Remember, this is not only a hotel but, a casino as well. Their slot machines love their guests and you can win good here. My father-in-law won $600 before he spent $20, that's lady luck on his side huh?Biloxi offers beautiful white sand beaches, amazing scenery and many casinos. And wait, here's my favorite...GOOD SEAFOOD. If you go to a boat dock where shrimp boats are, you can buy a $2.50/lb large shrimps (seasonal). Where else can you buy shrimps for that price? Anyway, if you stay in the Isle, take advantage of their buffet. It's really good.Here is the view of the balcony we stayed in. It might be gloomy but hey, look at that view. Sunrise is on that direction. You will surely love it on a clear and sunny day.

The Isle Hotel in Biloxi Mississippi

I took most of these pictures from the Front Beach of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. When we lived there for 18 months, the Front Beach is our hang-out place. We love driving down here and have a picnic at Fort Maurepas Park. When I was working, my husband and his cousin would go fishing in this area. The land across Front Beach area is the city of Biloxi and the huge building that you see here is the ISLE hotel and casino.The Isle hotel and casino is one of our favorites mainly for the ambiance and food trip. Not only that, this is the favorite casino of my father-in-law where his luck in this casino is unbelievable! Last September, we stayed in one of the rooms on this side facing the bridge that connects Ocean Springs and Biloxi! It was an awesome view!The picture below was taken while we were having a picnic at Fort Maurepas. The arrow shows the Isle Hotel and Casino across the waters. It's huge with 710 hotel rooms that includes 200 suite rooms.The Front Beach is beautiful. If you are planning to visit for the Mardi Gras parade, check out the Isle Hotel and Casino. You will have a good day ahead once you see the beautiful sight of the Gulf view. The sunrise and the sunsets in this place is truly spectacular and enchanting.From the Isle Hotel and Casino, you should check out the Front Beach in Ocean Springs. You will appreciate your awesome stay in the hotel if you visit this place and look at the hotel from this location.You should book early especially when you are visiting for Mardi Gras Season, Christmas Holidays, New Year, Valentines Day, Halloween, Saint Patricks Day, and 4th July. It will be sold out before you knew it! Speaking of Mardi Gras, we will be going there and we will be staying at the ISLE HOTEL AND CASINO. I will see you there, right? Thanks for reading.

Mardi Gras in Ocean Springs is Always Fun

I was checking on some pictures in the folder of my working pc and saw these Mardi Gras photos. I took these photos during a Mardi Gras parade in Ocean Springs, Mississippi in the Government Street. This was a chilly and cold season and though everyone was bundling up, the wind will really get into your bones.
There are so many beads they gave with awesome designs in fact, some of us got collectible beads. One of my cousins told me that when she comes back from her travels, she will provide floats and all of us will participate in giving out beads, sort of thanksgiving for the family. I am looking forward for that event. I remember the first time I went to a Mardi Gras parade. I was hesitant to bring a bag but, when I was there, everyone brought more than one bag for the beads.It feels funny that I was just standing there watching the fun atmosphere but, hesitant to raise my arms asking for beads. When I looked around, everyone was cheering and giving signals to throw 'em some beads. The more you cheered at them, the more they love to give nicer beads.There were two Mardi Gras parade in Ocean Springs that time, one in the morning and the other parade took place in the evening. The evening parade was fun but, the chilly atmosphere was even more brutal but, we enjoyed it. Most of us brought our snuggie even if we already bundled up. This year we will be heading to Mississippi and we will be witnessing the Mardi Gras parade in Biloxi, Ocean Springs and D'Iberville.

The Sunrise by the Gulf

This picture was taken from the balcony of our hotel room at the ISLE. The land mass is the beach line of Ocean Springs Mississippi.The sunrise is always beautiful here in Misissippi and I witness it everyday when I come home from work. I was working on a graveyard shift so, when I passed by the bridge heading to Ocean Springs, this sight is what I always love to see.

The Beautiful Sunset

The Gulf Coast is one of the best places to watch the sunset. I took this picture a week ago while we had our vacation in Mississippi. Oh! Cover your eyes because this sunset is still shining so brightly! We were checking in the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino when I saw this beautiful sunset at the garage of the hotel. Of course, I had to asked my husband to stop so I can take a snap of this view. Beautiful, isn't it?Hoping you like it. I am using my Kodak Digital Camera.

The Beach Area

This is Fort Maurepass Park in Ocean Springs, Mississippi and it is located at the Front Beach facing the Bay and the Gulf of Mexic0. My husband and I drive down this area last Wednesday just to hang out and have a picnic. The right side of the picture is the children's playground. The park has Picnic Tables which the public can use. There are Park Benches around the area in fact; we occupied the bench which was located at the front of the park. The park has the playground equipment too such as seesaw and slides which are made of eco-friendly materials.My husband and I love this park because the view of the Gulf is spectacular. There are children playing inside the playground and it accommodates a crowd of five dozen kids. This park is surrounded by a residential area and the houses nearby are huge. Almost all the houses have the Adirondack chairs on the front porch and we can see it as we drive down the Beach area. The houses are located in the best areas along the beach. The Adirondack chair is the most comfortable thing to sit and relax while drinking coffee, and watching the sunset every day.

On A Clear Sky

On a clear sky, the beach is calm and inviting. I can't blame people loves to purchase a house in the coastal area. When we live in Mississippi in the city of Ocean Springs, there was a big house which was currently renovated and most of the materials they used were from huge boulders and granite with thick steels. It suffered bigtime damage during Hurricane Katrina.It would be nice to wake up in the morning with the view of the beach. Then, watch the sunset in the evening, that would be nice huh?The only disadvantage about living near the beach is the hurricanes. It can really wipe out huge building and when nature roars, everything on it's way will be gone!

It is still good to live far from the beach. We can always go for swimming anytime we wanted to.