I toured Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis’s home. A President of the Confederacy; I can’t say I had every really given that much thought. Raised a Northerner I guess. He had pretty nice digs in his later life. The locals show a lot of pride in their heritage and Confederate links. The tour guide says no Confederate Memorials get Federal money…I wonder which side’s pride causes that?
Major storms are historical bookmarks around here. There are memorials to those lost in the past storms and high water marks identified on structures that managed to survive. Katrina scars are still scattered across the landscape in abandoned buildings and remnants of stately live oak. Recovering and rebuilding seem to be full time tasks. Forever rising from the rubble. They are certainly some determined folks down here. The Biloxi lighthouse has become an icon of Gulf Coast resilience.

We checked out a couple wildlife refuges and the Gulf Coast Island National Seashore. Weather has not been the best (read: thunderstorms, tornado warnings and flash floods) and we are not quite on the schedule with prime birding. But, we have seen a couple new ones, some woodpeckers, warblers and a laughing gull. The gulls really all look very much alike but this guy earns his name by his call. We are taking a ride through the Mississippi Sandhill Crane preserve tomorrow on our way out of town to see if they will show themselves.

It seems that the smaller a person’s vocabulary the louder their voice? I noticed more than a few individuals who (at least when they are imbibing) can’t string more than two words together if one of them can’t be f***. Too bad.

Oh, those yummy beignets from Café Du Mon. Festive balconies all along Royal Street. The people watching including a strolling jazz parade that just seemed to sprout up along the street. Kent had his muffeletta. I am NOT an olive fan so I opted for a Creole plate that included crawfish ettouffie, shrimp creole, and jambalaya…all quite tasty. I can do crawfish when they don’t still look like bugs! We caught a quick high-spirited concert on the calliope on the Natchez.

They claim there are Manatees in Lake Pontchartrain? We didn’t seem them though so I am not convinced.

The long arching branches of live-oak oak trees seem to reach out to embrace all those who would walk near. Huge knarled and twisted trunks show the scars but have held their own against many a hurricane. An awe inspiring balance of strength and comfort.

Valentines dinner was at Louie and the Redhead Lady. I say a diner. It was pretty down-home and casual with great seafood. I finished off with their special red velvet cupcake (Robin’s was really better) and Kent went for the hummingbird cake. His was spice cake with nuts and other goodies with butter cream icing, definitely the better choice. All and all it was a great evening. Guy can pick them.