Buccaneer State Park, located in Waveland, MS, was our next destination.

We would be doing a bit of backtracking, heading west for the 45 mile drive along scenic coastal route 90. Hmmm, did I say scenic? Guess it was if you like fog! But that was okay because we would be taking the same route when we left Buccaneer so we would be able to enjoy the scenery when we departed.

With winds of over 160 mph and a 30 foot tidal surge, Hurricane Katrina destroyed this park in 2005. After eight years of reconstruction, the park reopened in 2013. Hurricane preparedness was evident in the new structures – everything including the utility boxes have been built on stilts.

Today Buccaneer State Park has 206 premium campsites with full hookups as well as an additional 70 walk up campsites with just water and electricity that are set on a grassy field overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to the campground, the park offers Buccaneer Bay, a 4.5 acre waterpark,  Pirate’s Alley Nature Trail, Playground, Jackson’s Ridge Disc Golf, Activity Building, Camp-store and Castaway Cove pool.

Here we were yet again faced with a challenging back-in site (#83)! A not ideally angled site, with a large tree, a short retaining wall, a narrow road and a truck parked across were once again going to test Rob’s maneuverability skills. Fortunately the owner of the truck on the site across from us offered to move his vehicle so that removed one of the obstacles making it a little less challenging.

We did need to also perform some branch surgery on the tree. Check out Rob’s invention of a folding pruning saw stretch wrapped to an extendable washing pole, worked great on those hard to reach high branches.

Back in 2014, while staying at the Hollywood Casino campground, we had explored the Bay St. Louis area so on this visit we didn’t feel the need to do a lot of sightseeing. Except on one bright sunny afternoon, after driving along Beach Boulevard, home to a number of restaurants, galleries, shops and a municipal pier, it seemed like the perfect place to stretch our legs and perhaps have a bite to eat.

In the midst of all the commercialism along Beach Boulevard is the Angel Tree, a memorial to Hurricane Katrina. Three people and a small dog clung to an oak tree for four hours battling the storm surge and the wind while Katrina roared ashore. Luckily the people and dog survived but the tree died from the affects of the wind and salt water. After Katrina, those three survivors commissioned Indiana chainsaw artist Dayle Lewis to come to Bay St. Louis to turn that battered tree as well as three others into angels of mercy and symbols of recovery.

When it was time for lunch, there were a lot of restaurants from which to choose. But after reading menus at several of them, we decided to eat at Trapani’s Eatery where we were seated outside. Great for people watching!

After a delicious and filling shared lunch of a half dozen charbroiled oysters ($10), an 8″ Cuban press po-boy ($12), which consisted of marinated, thin sliced oven roasted pork with sauteed ham, Swiss cheese, mustard, mayo and pickles and an order of onion rings ($7), we were ready (or should I say we needed) to do some more walking, heading down to the municipal harbor.

Upon departure form Buccaneer State Park we reversed direction again and headed back eastward. Remember me saying at the beginning of this post that the scenic coastal route on the way in was disappointing because of the fog? Guess what, it was just as foggy when we left! Darn!

No reservations for the next night. Instead we would take advantage of our Harvest Hosts membership (save 15% by using this link) and boondock for the night in the parking lot at Timbercreek Golf Club in Daphne, AL. In addition to offering overnight stays at their existing network of wineries, farms and museums, Harvest Hosts has added a network of golf courses through an affiliation with RV Golf Club to their offerings (for an additional annual fee). This would be our first stay at one of the golf courses.

The next morning, we left heading out to one of our favorite areas in Florida. Any thoughts on where that might be?