"You're in the Gulf of Mexico"

Last weekend was one for the books. It wasn't the first fourth of July weekend that I hadn't shot off fireworks, but it was the first one that I didn't spend in at "home". You see, I went to visit my oldest and one of my dearest friends down in Biloxi, MS. The drive to get there was long and I swear everyone and their dog were making their way to the gulf coast with me, it was one of the most stressful drives I have ever made. On top of that I had just left my dog Maple to board at the Vet for the first time in her young puppy life, and I was anxious.

While driving I typically like to listen to audio books or podcasts for long trips as it helps the hours pass seemingly faster. And helps me with my yearly resolution. On this particular trip I was able to start and finish "Queen's Shadow" and "Queens Peril" by E.K. Johnston. Which had been recommended to me earlier in the week by my friend Harlie.

I made it to Biloxi late Friday night, and after getting a tour of my friend Jordan's home, we made our way to a local joint for burgers and fries before promptly going home and going to bed; we had a big weekend ahead of us.

The next morning I slept in but when I did get up, Jordan was already showered, dressed, and ready for the day, so we made a game plan and I went and got ready too. And then the adventure began!

We started the morning by going to a pier point where you can see Naval Ships being built by Ingalls Shipyard. It's really interesting to me how large ships are and that they still float. I know it all has to do with density and water displacement, plus in grand scheme of things, the Ocean is way way larger than a ship.. but it still baffles me to see just how large these ships are!

After we left the pier we made our way to Downtown Ocean Springs and Jordan took me to a cute little pizza place where the entire pizza menu is a map of the United States. All of the pizzas are based off of different places, states and regions in the US; how cool is that?! It took me forever to decide what I wanted to get because they all looked so good. Eventually I decided on the Daytona, which was a steak and shrimp pizza with Caesar salad dressing instead of the traditional marinara sauce. I loved every single bite! Jordan got the DC Meatball which also looked and smelled really good!

Jordan and I like spending time learning new things together, so following our fantastic lunch we went to the Walter Anderson Museum of Art. We spent a good amount of time reading about his life through the front foyer and learning about the techniques he followed to create some of his most famous pieces. We walked through exhibits that were filled with pieces that his brothers created and got to see how his art evolved over time. The most astounding thing was that he wanted to give back to his community so for a dollar he painted the entire inside of a community building that is now attached to the museum. The walls are covered floor to ceiling in Walter's creations. The entire building was beautiful. I highly recommend a stop at this museum if you ever find yourself in the gulf coast of Mississippi. At the end of our trip through the museum I picked out a magnet for myself and a card that I could send to my grandparents, before Jordan and I made our way to our next stop, the Jefferson Davis Museum and Presidential Library at the Beauvoir House.

The Beauvoir House is a beautiful home that Jefferson Davis bought from a friend who had gone to school with his wife. It sits right on the Mississippi sound overlooking i10 and the Biloxi beach. The beach is man made, so back in the day the house basically overlooked a swamp of sorts. The estate grounds are also home to the tomb of the unknown confederate soldiers, as well as an orange grove and rose garden. The name Beauvoir is French meaning "Beautiful View" and if I am being quite honest I would say that the name is fitting of the ocean view off the large wrap around porch on the front of the house.

After learning all that we could about art and the civil war, Jordan and I decided to go back to her house and take her two pups for a walk. Then we tried to decide what we were going to do on Sunday. We mulled over museums and tours of New Orleans and we hummed and haaa'd over the weather and whether or not we should go see the USS Alabama in Mobile... but nothing was really clicking for either of us. So I asked if she would be willing to drive to Florida for a beach day, and she agreed. So I called my husband and asked him to meet us at Pensacola Beach for a day of fun in the sun. It was a two hour drive for both parties but it was also a new adventure, and with that decision made, Jordan and I decided to do the only other thing that we always have to do when we're together; we went to Sonic.

Sunday morning came quickly and we awoke to one of the most humid days I have ever had the joy of experiencing. We got ready quickly and I packed my bags to load up my car to be ready to follow Stephen back to Alabama for the evening. We walked the dogs again before grabbing snacks and water and then heading out to the beach. I followed Jordan as she drove us down the coast, through an underwater tunnel and all the way to Pensacola beach. When we got there we waited for Stephen. I lathered on sunscreen so I wouldn't burn and made sure that we had plenty of water. Once Stephen got there we found a good spot on the sand to lay out our towels. We put on more sunscreen, before practically running into the water. I was so excited! "I'm in the ocean!" I said. Jordan and Stephen exchanged glances and immediately I knew what they were both thinking.. "You're in the Gulf of Mexico". We all laughed and headed back to the beach to lay out and tan for a while.

Around lunch time we left the beach to find something to eat. Parking in Pensacola even on a cloudy day is wild! we ended up at an Oyster bar called Felix's and ate a light lunch. When we got back to the beach quite a few people had cleared out so we laid out our towels again soaking in the sun until our time ran out on our parking spaces.

Back in the parking lot we all hugged good-bye, Jordan heading back the way we came; me following Stephen up to Alabama for the night to make my drive home to Tennessee shorter the following day.