Our second week in Gulfport started by getting some groceries on Sunday morning. After shopping, we went to El Salito the Mexican restaurant next door. I ordered a Burrito Bandera and had a Dos Equis. The burrito was gigantic and really good with an excellent salsa verde. I could only eat half of it and took the rest to go.
On Monday we went back to Chandeleur Brewing for trivia. Once again, we did pretty good but missed the last question. If we would have gotten the last question right we would have won a prize.
Tuesday we went to Coastal Daiquiri for trivia. It was the same trivia host but there were different questions. Including a section on Long Beach, MS. We only got one question right in that section. But we did good on everything else. But, we missed the last question again. I think if we would have gotten it correct, we would have won it all.
Thursday after work we drove to Lazy Magnolia Brewing in Kiln. We were there once before in 2012. Back then it was just a warehouse. Now the warehouse is bigger and they have another side with a taproom and pizza. When we walked in, the trivia guy, Tony, came over and said he had the same questions from Tuesday. I guess he couldn’t tell us we couldn’t play, but we knew it wouldn’t be fair. So we got some beers and listened to the first half. There was one section that was different because of the Tuesday section on Long Beach. We got everything right that we had heard before and did better one the new section than we did on Long Beach. During the break between round, we turned in our clipboard and told Tony we were leaving before the second half. We would see him again on Monday. I got a tin tacker and some beer to go and we headed out before trivia was over.
Friday I had a half day for work so in the afternoon we went to Shaggy’s in Pass Christian. Sean had texted us earlier and said he was going to Shaggy’s. But he was going to the one in Biloxi. It was busy when we got there and we put our name on the list. They said it would be 45 minutes so we went for a walk by the water and went out on the pier. It was less than 15 minutes and I got a text that there were some bar seat available. We took those. It took a few minutes to get any service. There was one bartender making drinks for the whole place. Karla got a good beach drink and I got a beer. Karla got a southwest bowl and I got mahi tacos. Karla bowl was a little dry and my mahi was a little overcooked. It was good, but not great. We left and headed to Bay St. Louis. We first went to the Bay St. Louis Historic L & N Train Depot. On the first floor was some blues history and Mardi Gras stuff. Upstairs was the Alice Mosley Folk Art Museum. Really interesting folk art. Karla bought a print. From there we headed to Main Street Bay St. Louis. I knew it would be busy so I turned onto a side street and found a place to park. We started walking toward Main Street and we saw The Shops of Century Hall. It was a place I had read about and I thought Karla would like it. We looked around for a while. I thought about buying a couple thing but didn’t get anything. Karla got a magnet for my mom. We continued walking and got to Main Street. Karla looked in a couple shops but didn’t find anything. We walked towards the water and went to the Blind Tiger. We got a couple spots at the bar and got some beers. We also got some shrimp queso that was tasty. We talked with the people next to us. They have a boat and came by boat from New Orleans. After the Blind Tiger we walked around main street some more. All the shops were starting to close for the day.
A place that Sean had suggested for good beer was the Ugly Pirate. It was towards where we had parked the truck so we went there.
Just a small bar inside. But there were a couple spots so we sat at the bar. Got some drinks. They also had TouchTunes. So we played a bunch of music. That’s fun and makes the time go by. We got more drinks and ordered a pizza. Just average pizza. The bartender told us there were turtle races at 8. We didn’t know if we would be there that late. But we were.
It was starting to cool off so I told Karla I would get her jacket. I closed our tab and the bartender thanked us for playing TouchTunes. The truck wasn’t far but it took longer than I thought to get there. I drove the truck back so it would be close the to Ugly Pirate. By the time I got back, the turtle races were over. After the race, there was something about getting a key and trying to open the treasure chest. I got there and Karla said just get a key. Everyone tried and no one opened the chest. I guess the prize gets bigger every week until someone opens the chest. We headed out and I drove back to Gulfport.
Saturday morning Karla made a fantastic ham and cheese frittata. After our brunch, we drove to Ocean Springs.
Our first stop was Hops and Growlers. From the outside it didn’t look like a brewery but it was. Only a few other people inside. No bar. But we got a couple beers and sat at a table by the window. They had a social media person there taking picture of beer. When the picture was done they gave the beer to one of the customers. We got a double blood orange IPA and a blueberry beer for free. I don’t think we finished everything. Good beer and a nice brewery/owner.
From there we drove a mile down government street to a municipal parking. It was almost full and we found a spot sorta on the side. We parked and walked to the Mary C O’Keefe Cultural Arts Center. There was a nice theater with some great murals. Also a gallery with some cool photos. On our drive in, we had passed a thrift store, so after the cultural center we walked back that way but it was closed. So we walked back to the main park of town. We stopped at the Government St. Grocery to see what the setup was for the night. No cover, just first come first served. Also in Ocean Springs is Lost Spring Brewing so we headed that way. We went by Taro-nut Donut Shop so we stopped in and got some donuts. We brought them to the brewery. We had to ask a couple to shift over so we could sit at the bar. We got some beers. Nothing too interesting. We talked with the couple next to us but never got a chance get another beer. Karla was hungry so we went next door to Mosaic. There was a musician with a keyboard in the courtyard doing covers songs. He was really loud. Too loud for a courtyard in the afternoon. So we asked for a spot inside. Sure. Not too busy inside. We took a table by the window. Karla ordered Brussels sprouts and I got a pork quesadilla that was pretty good. They had a decent beer list, but nothing I hadn’t seen elsewhere so I got a Sprite. There was another museum nearby, The Walter Anderson Museum of Art, that I wanted to check out. It looked like there was only one artist so I wasn’t sure about it. But it was awesome. It was the same guy who did the murals at the theater we were at earlier. And it was really interesting and he was really creative. There was a full, four sided community center he had painted murals in all walls. There were examples of his painting, drawings, ceramics, and sculpture. We stayed until they just about closed. Karla bought a puzzle and I bought a sticker.
We headed back to Government Street. Karla was hoping for some shopping but most of the shops were closed. We went to Roof Top Taco & Tequila Bar. There was a duo doing some covers but not great. We got some drinks and southwest eggrolls. Not bad. Not great. Rather than getting a second beer, I got a Sprite. We walked around a little more and went back to the parking lot. It was not as full so I moved the truck to a proper parking lot. Not much else to do, we went to the Government Street Grocery. We were really early and there were not many people there. We took a booth near the stage and got some drinks. We took our time ordering and got some burgers. Good burgers. After we were done eating I went for a walk around the block. We waited some more and got another round. Cary Hudson started and he sounded good. A few more people came in and it was good to have a booth. Occasionally someone would stand in front of us and block our view but usually only lasted a moment. There was a fiddler player but we couldn’t really see her because of a speaker. But she sounded good. Cary’s daughter came up and sang some songs with them. She must be in her early 20’s and was wearing a tight white tank top and short jean shorts. She was cute and precocious. A little too much and it distracted a little from the music. I recognized some songs from Cary’s new album and I recorded a little of Blue Canoe and sent it to Ben. They had cheap PBR so I got a couple of those and Karla got some wine. After an hour or so, they took a break. They were going to come back, but it had been a long day and we decided to call it a night. I closed our tab and we walked back to the truck. I drove back to our rental in Gulfport.
We have one more full day in Gulfport tomorrow. I have to do some work and then pack for the return trip. I am only half way through our time in Gulfport. Hopefully, I will get through it all before we leave.
Rob & Karla 