A Vacation in Long Beach, Mississippi

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My family and I spent a week in Long Beach, Mississippi and the surrounding area in August. We rented a house that I found on the Internet (vacationrentals.com). We enjoyed our week on the Mississippi gulf coast - I think that’s quite an accomplishment given our three sons are 16, 18, and 20 years old.

The Mississippi gulf coast is a good place for a family vacation. It has tourist attractions like casinos, jet skis, and a water park inside a community where people live outside the rat race.

I contrast the Mississippi gulf coast with that of Alabama. We have been to Gulf Shores, Alabama several times. Gulf Shores is a fine vacation place, but I never had the impression that real people live there. It is a tourist place where the resorts bring in workers from around the U.S. and foreign countries. Real people live on the Mississippi gulf coast.

The Mississippi gulf coast has permanent fixtures. These are the fabulous and historic houses along the beach and the majestic Live Oak trees. In Pass Christian alone (just down the beach from Long Beach) there are about a dozen homes on the National Registry of Historic Places. I don’t know how many of the oak trees are several hundred years old. I don’t know if anyone knows. They seem to be everywhere. I had trouble driving around the community because I kept slowing down and twisting my neck around so I could gaze at them.

The best way to see these homes and trees is by walking. We took walks up and down the beach every morning and evening. Once we had covered the territory near the house, we would drive down the beach a view miles, park the van, and walk in those neighborhoods. We weren’t in the area long enough to take in all the homes and trees. Maybe a month would be necessary for that pleasure.

The special moments of a vacation are brought about by the people and the time you spend with them. I was able to convince my mother to come over from Louisiana for a couple of days. She is 75 this year and she doesn’t leave home often. The two days she was true re-creation for her. I knew she was vacationing when she slept until 7:30 AM her first morning. She usually has trouble sleeping - wakes up at 4 AM and cannot go back to sleep. She was relaxed enough to sleep late and take a few naps during the days. She loved the walks on the beach as much as we did. Even now several weeks removed she has to tell me how much she liked the two days away from her home and how she feels so much better because of it.

I had other special moments with each of my three sons and my wife. My youngest son was surprised at how fun it was to go to a coffee house and surf the web in a place where people were buying coffee and discussing their lives and their community. My middle son found an immediate kinship with skateboarders from Mississippi at a local skate park. My oldest son and I watched Atlanta Braves baseball games into the night - something we never do at home. My wife and I talked about things that we don’t usually discuss. That is a vacation.

I recommend the Mississippi gulf coast for family vacations. The beaches are wide, covered with white sands, and have no crowds. If a quiet beach stay in a community with real people and neighborhoods is what you desire - try Mississippi. There is much to find in the 24 miles of Biloxi, Gulfport, Long Beach, Pass Christian, Bay St Louis, and Waveland.

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Comments

[Beth Hansen]

Glad you saw it when you did
Glad to read that you enjoyed our wonderful town. Will be years before it's that beautiful again. Driving down the beach is heartbreaking now. Only those who own property south of the railroad are allowed in the area now. Nothing at all is left on the beach (Hwy 90) Very sad.

[Peggy]

Thanks for the memories.
I just found these photos and your comments. I lived a block away from the restaurants where you ate in Long Beach. My home, the restaurants, and the culture that you described is gone. I suspect it is gone forever. Thanks for the lovely photos of my favorite restaurants. They were taken just a few days before August 29. The day that changed my life forever.