From New Orleans and St. Bernard State Park Campground, we made our way east towards Florida via Mississippi.
Our first stop was a two-night stay at Buccaneer State Park in Waveland, Mississippi, near Bay St. Louis.
This park is right on the waterfront, and has an attached small waterpark. Sites are decent, bathrooms are decent, and there is a large playground. You can pay a bit extra to be in the loop that has an ocean view, but the sites there aren’t as nice, I’m not sure it’s worth it.
There’s not much beach to speak of near the campground, but a short five-minute drive will take you to some gorgeous sugar sand that, apparently, folks in the area don’t visit much because it was dead on the 80-degree weekend we were there. This was the first time our boys dipped their toes in the ocean, and they had a blast. As the ocean water is mixed with the river waters in this part of the Gulf, the water is a bit darker than it is further East and less salty.
Skip I-10 and take this Gulf Coast Scenic Drive
Continuing east, we opted for the coastal Highway 90 route, a stunning scenic drive that’s much slower than taking I-10, but well worth it. We visited Gulfport, where Abby lived for a couple of years as a child, taking a nostalgic drive through her old neighborhood and past her old home.
Biloxi follows Gulfport and is a bigger town with beaches, resort casinos, and some historic sites, like the Jefferson Davis “Presidential” Home and Library.
Davis Bayou Campground
Our major Mississippi destination was the Davis Bayou portion of the Gulf Islands National Seashore in the city of Ocean Springs. The National Seashore protects underwater coastal marine life, bayous, and barrier islands along the coast. Here we saw another alligator, many turtles, and lots of pelicans dive-bombing the water for their next meal. We spent five days at the Davis Bayou campground, a nice, small facility that serves as an excellent basecamp for everything between Gulfport and Ocean Springs.
Abby was incredibly happy to learn our campground was but a short mile and a half from a Starbucks. It had been awhile since we’d been in such close proximity and she made good use of the short distance.
A Must Visit in Ocean Springs
While at Davis Bayou a friend recommended we check out The TatoNut Donut Shop, a local donut destination that did not disappoint. Get there early. When we arrived at 9 a.m. the line was already out the door. Kudos to all the donut options — you really can’t go wrong — but make sure you try “The Katrina” and definitely opt for a cup of chickory coffee.
You can take a ferry from downtown Biloxi to Ship Island, a part of the National Seashore, which is home to historic Fort Massachusettes. As the ferry would have cost us nearly $60 for the family, we waited to visit one of these 1800s forts at our next destination…Fort Pickens, just off of Pensacola Beach, Florida, coming up in part 3.
