We have been here at Camp Shelby, MS for a little over a week and wanted to get away and see something new. Once we got approval, we decided to head on down to the coast of the Gulf of Mexico in Biloxi, MS right next to Gulf Port, MS.
A dozen of us headed out in the late afternoon in a 15-passenger van. We got out onto the highway where the winds were blowing and there was traffic a plenty. After about 10 minutes into the trip there was a guy in a small car with a couple passengers traveling in the passing lane. Well, this jack-wagon thought it would be a good idea to slam on his brakes after doing 70 mph when he was right in front of me. Keep in mind that I am in a very loaded van. Oh, did I mention that the brakes were terrible? Anyway, I threaded the needle to avoid collision with him or the car immediately adjacent to me. Eventually, we reached the coast after about an hour drive.
Once there, we noticed that we were in for an eventful trip. We were in bumper-to-bumper traffic, surrounded by cars with giant rims with LOUD sound systems. Not only that, there were people lining the streets all walking our direction. To top it off, there were police officers, many dressed in SWAT attire, all over the place. Now, when I say all over, I mean it. It would be a good estimate to say that there were a dozen police vehicles on every block. This was not the most comforting of feelings considering that we are traveling in a government van with no route of egress. We found out that there was a Tyrese concert going on. Also, it was Spring Break in the area.
Well, about an hour later we got out of the traffic mess and found our location for dining. We ate at the Blow Fly Inn.
This place was a rather small place with a decent view of a river that emptied into the Gulf. There were a couple nice houses to look at as well (I want one! haha).
After looking thoroughly through the menu I decided to get fried crab claws for an appetizer and fried flounder as the main course. Yes, pretty much every option was fried-something. The food was delicious! Not necessarily worth the money in my mind, but overall good!
After filling our bellies, we agreed to check out the Gulf again, since the concert should have been over for a while now and it was getting dark.
We figured we would be able to check things out without being surrounded by loads of people. Well, we were right. We walked on the beach and checked things out for about 10 minutes, then loaded up into the van for our journey back to Shelby. As we drove up the coast a little bit we realized that we fell into a traffic trap. Again, we fell into bumper-to-bumper traffic without any means to get off of this road, the loud cars with huge rims surrounding us again. Well, same story as before...we eventually got off of this road and headed to Wal Mart for a bathroom break.
Finally, on our way back to Shelby..."what is that up ahead?" Flashing lights everywhere! We sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic again due to what we thought must be an accident...and a bad one. We got to the front after about 45 minutes of waiting, all to find out it was a road block to check sobriety (we assume). Yes, they stopped a whole 4-lane road for this. We were waved on and were back to our cruising speed. What? Is this another one? Yes! Another substantial wait to be waved on. This happened one more time right before we got to Camp Shelby.
All in all, there was way too much time in the van, but it was worth getting off of a military base and into civilization again. More so, it was worth getting some decent food! I will call it a success!
-T
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Also newsworthy today... Michelle arrived home from Kuwait/Camp Shelby today! She's one of my very best friends and I'm so excited she got to finally hug her babies again! I know you're reading this, Michelle, and I can't wait to see you very soon!!!!
I got this "Welcome Home" car magnet on a trip to Fort Campbell, KY last summer and I've been anxiously waiting to slap it on my car. Today is the day!
-A
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