Our first sightseeing excursion from our home base at Three Oaks and a Pine RV Park in New Orleans was a drive from NOLA to Biloxi.

We drove passed the Korean War Memorial on our drive from NOLA to Biloxi

Something new to explore

The first couple of stilt houses that we saw.

What do you do when you have visited New Orleans so many times as we have? For starters you visit your favorite sandwich shops like Domilise’s and Central Grocery. We took a stroll around Jackson Square, which is usually bustling every day of the week. Sadly, due to Covid-19 it was practically deserted! The French Quarter was very quiet which is a total departure from all of our past visits. We have visited the fabulous World War II Museum twice. So we were looking for something new to explore.

Drive from NOLA to Biloxi

Many of these stilt homes were brightly colored like this one.

Bill, the wonderful manager of Three Oaks and a Pine, suggested we take a drive along Route 90 all the way to Biloxi. All we had to do was exit the park and turn right on Chef Menteur Highway (90) and just stay on that all the way from NOLA to Biloxi. It was a balmy Thursday and very little traffic along our journey.

Cajun Encounters

A cluster of stilt homes often referred to as camps

Unlike the others, this stilt house was more Mediterranean in its architecture

For the first few miles there were the usual strip malls, supermarkets and residential sections. And then everything seemed to change. There was water and marsh. And fantastic houses built way up high on stilts. Each house was cooler than the last. We kept pulling off the highway to take photos. Steve and I were are pretty sure that the huge body of water was Lake Ponchartrain. We were driving east. And we knew we were not far from Slidell because we saw a sign with an arrow that was pointing to the left directing drivers to Slidell. And suddenly we were passing right in front of Cajun Encounters!

And suddenly we found ourselves right in front of Cajun Encounters

Cajun Encounters is our favorite Bayou Boat Tour company. Their tours are so much more informative than any of the airboat tours. The noise of the airboats scares the wildlife so they scatter and hide from view. The peaceful, leisurely boat tours that Cajun Encounters offers give you a chance to really experience life on the bayou.

Entering Mississippi

Very narrow bridge along Highway 90. So glad we weren’t in the RV!

Welcome to Mississippi

The Stennis Space Center Buffer Zone

But we were not stopping this time. We continued on our drive from NOLA to Biloxi. As we drove further we crossed a really cool, narrow old bridge. And suddenly we were no longer in Louisiana. We were now in Mississippi. Nearby there is a Space Center Buffer Zone which made me realize that NASA is everywhere!

Gulf of Mexico

This fire rescue truck let us know that we were in Bay St. Louis!

Lots and lots of commercial shrimpers!

A few miles later we started seeing the Gulf of Mexico with pristine white sand beaches and huge marinas with lots of commercial fishing boats. Those boats made us think of Forest Gump and shrimping. Hmmm. I wonder if were near Bayou La Batre. And suddenly we were craving shrimp for dinner.

24th Annual Cruising’ the Coast Event

Our first clue that it was Cruiser Weekend

Some cool old cars on display with a few RV parked behind them

More cars. Loved the ’56 and ’57 Chevys!

Even more cars on display outside of Slap Yo Mommas BBQ

A gorgeous old Corvette convertible just our cruisin’

Cruising’ the Coast 24th Annual Event

Shortly after that we started noticing all of these really awesome old cars driving by us in both directions. We had no idea that there was a major annual event going on. And suddenly it all made sense. It was Cruising’ The Coast Weekend. In fact it was the 24th Annual Cruising’ The Coast Weekend. And serendipity brought us to the Mississippi Gulf Coast to witness it. Everywhere that there was an empty lot there were old cars on display. Plus there were more RVs boon docking everywhere. You can’t even imagine just how many RVs were just parked along Highway 90. People set up pop up tents and chairs and just sat watching the cars go by. It was awesome.

Gulf Coast mansions

Loved this really cool lighthouse on Ship Island park.

A bit of history about Ship Island

This was at Ship Island in Gulfport Mississippi

On Ship Island a marker explaining the East Pascagoula Raid

An enormous anchor sculpture that we saw as we were leaving Ship Island park

Hard Rock Hotel Biloxi

The historic White House Hotel

The White House Hotel and pool area

The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library

The very beautiful home and Presidential Library of Jefferson Davis

A wonderful portrait of President Jefferson Davis on display outside his home and Presidential Library.

The area was beautiful with gorgeous mansions lining the road facing the Gulf. We even got to see a really cool lighthouse in a waterside park. And we just kept driving until the sun was low in the sky. We knew it was time to turn back. But there were still sights to enjoy on our way home. The White House Hotel and Jefferson Davis’ home and Presidential Library were gorgeous sites that we just had to document with photos.

Shrimp for dinner

We did take I10 back to the RV park because there was nothing to really see in the dark. But we really loved our drive from NOLA to Biloxi! We came home and I made a lemony, garlicky shrimp and mushroom pasta dish for dinner. It was the perfect ending for an amazing day.