2021-03-05: Touring the Mississippi Gulf Coast for History and Lighthouses

Finishing up the eastbound segment of our huge looping roadtrip around the east half of the United States, we followed the Mississippi Gulf Coast to check out some lighthouses and other historical sites. Obviously picking up some geocaches along the way too. So join us as we exit the Interstate, drop down to the backroads highway of US-90, and let's see what (and who) we found...

Our first geocaching stop was for a virtual geocache (GCED4C) at the statue of French explorer Jean Baptiste Le Moyne. Born in Montreal, New France (now Canada) in 1680, he landed and explored this area of Bay St Louis, MS in 1699. He was appointed governor of French Louisiana several times  in the early 1700's. Also known as Sieur de Bienville, he died while in Paris, France in 1767.

Moving along to Gulfport, MS, we come to our first lighthouse. Ship Island is located out in the Gulf of Mexico, about 12 miles south of Gulfport. The island got its name because it was often used by early explorers and larger ships to anchor, sending smaller boats navigating the shallower waters to the mainland. With the efforts of Congressman, and later as Senator, Jefferson Davis in the 1840's, Ship Island finally got its first lighthouse built in 1853. It was a 45-foot round tower made of brick.

In 1861, Confederate soldiers abandoned the fort and lighthouse on the island and returned to the mainland. They set the structures on fire to make it more difficult for Union troops to use the lighthouse to aid in navigating the waters. However, Union forces occupied the island before long and had the lighthouse operational once again by late 1862. In 1886, the brick lighthouse was considered unsafe and a square wooden lighthouse was constructed later that year. The lighthouse continued operating by the U.S. Coast Guard until 1957.

In 1959, a private use permit was granted to Philip Duvic who renovated the bottom floor to a kitchen and bathroom, second floor into women's quarters, third floor into a men's dorm, and the top floor a honeymoon suite. He eventually purchased the lighthouse in 1965 when the Coast Guard put lighthouses up for sale.

In 1969, Hurricane Camille severely damaged the wooden structure. And in June 1972, two campers lit a campfire too close for the windy conditions and caught the lighthouse on fire, completely destroying it. In 1999, a replica lighthouse was built on the island but destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. And finally, another replica (pictured) was built in 2011, but not on Ship Island. This time right on US-90 in Gulfport making it more accessible to tourists.

I also grabbed the geocache near the lighthouse (GC6ZKCN) before driving off to the next location.

Further east down the beach and a block off of US-90, you'll find this red-brick building and our next virtual geocache (GCD69F). The Mississippi City Courthouse building was originally constructed in 1893 as part of the Harrison County Clerks office, the "Old Courthouse." It was the last remaining structure associated with a complex of courthouse buildings in Mississippi City, which served as the county seat from 1841 until 1902. After that the county seat was moved to Gulfport. The original building was destroyed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. This replica you now see was constructed in 2009.

Moving on over to Biloxi, we come to one of the lessor known lighthouses on the Gulf Coast. Constructed in 1965 as part of the Broadwater Beach Resort, the resort was destroyed by Hurricane Camille in 1969. Rebuilt as the President Casino in 1992, it too was destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. This is all that remains. Even the geocache hidden near the base tends to disappear often and I had to DNF that one (GC6DTPB).

The Biloxi Lighthouse (GC7B8V6) was one of three Mississippi Sound lighthouses authorized in 1847 by legislation sponsored by Mississippi Representative Jefferson Davis. The Biloxi Lighthouse was erected in 1848 and was one of the first cast-iron lighthouses in the South. It has survived two of the deadliest hurricanes in Gulf Coast history, Camille in 1969 and Katrina in 2005. Katrina’s record-breaking storm surge crested at 27.8 feet above mean sea level. It destroyed nearly the entire city, but the lighthouse remained standing.

One of the features of this lighthouse is that it contains a webcam. You can login to the live feed from your smartphone to take that unique selfie as if you were both on the ground and up inside the lighthouse. Yep, that's me down in the lower left corner by the light post.

Our final stop was in Ocean Springs, MS for another virtual geocache (GCEC3D) at the Mississippi Vietnam Veteran's Memorial.

Making our way back to Interstate 10, yeah I know it sounds boring, but we have to get to Central Florida. We spent the following day with family and the next morning saying my last goodbye at my father's funeral. After the funeral we had to get back on the road up to North Carolina where we return to the Maiden Creek solar project for a couple weeks of touch up work. Then we head back to Texas for the next project. But we'll be taking the LOOOONG WAY back via the northern route! So be sure to check back in soon. Until next time...

To follow along on our travels and keep up with my latest blogs, you may do so here of course by clicking the "Follow" button to the right. But also by using one or more of your favorite of these social media platforms: Facebook, MeWe, Gab, Reddit, Parlor, Twitter, RVillage, GETTR, Instagram, and TruthSocial. These all link directly to my profiles. Again, please feel free to comment and / or share.

2015-11-16: Large Pelicans and a Drive Down to Galveston

Today we decided to drive down to Galveston Island, TX with my son to do some sightseeing. After an IHOP breakfast, we hit the road. Down in a little town called Seabrook, we pulled over for gas. I noticed across the street a couple of rather large colorful pelicans. While I was pumping the gas, I checked my phone and sure enough there was a Geocache over there also.

So we went across the street to investigate. There was a small city park called Mohrhusen Park, named after Lois Mohrhusen who served on the Seabrook City Council for a number of years. Kinda like the Frog statues we saw, this town celebrated pelicans. Here's two of our favorites.

Also across the street in a different direction was this rather small and unusual looking building. Currently housing a law practice, it was once an ice house dating back to the 1930's. I'm kinda curious about what's up on the roof.

Arriving down on Galveston Island, we went over by the beach front to check out the pier. Not much going on right now as the tourist season is over. But we parked and took a stroll. We couldn't get very far down the pier as most of it was closed in the off season except weekends and evenings.

There's my 18 year old son. An adventurer himself having just finished hiking the 2200 mile Appalachian Trail a few weeks ago.

Before leaving Galveston Island and heading back home, we could leave without a little Geocaching. So we did stop by two local cemeteries and to two caches. Then we made our way back to the hotel in Beaumont.

2015-06-23: Road Trip Day #4 Geocaching and Hiking Around Mackinaw Island

Wow, what a great day! We work up to a surprisingly cold morning. Being from Florida, we were NOT prepared for that. I mean it's June right. We didn't bring any jackets, so that was first on our agenda!

We knew a big day was ahead so it was an early start and all the stores downtown were still closed. Luckily when we arrived at ferry dock, they had a gift shop there with plenty of jackets and sweaters to choose from!

When you're used to seeing cars on the streets, Mackinaw Island was a strange place to visit. Since 1898, all motorized vehicles are prohibited except snow mobiles during winter and emergency vehicles. Walking through the downtown area kinda reminded me of walking through Main Street at Disney World.

OK, first stop was a little breakfast cafe for some food followed by a Starbucks. Then it was time for some sightseeing, hiking, and Geocaching! Our first cache was just a block off the main road on Market Street. It was an easy cache disguised as a birdhouse. I grabbed the log sheet and ... wait... DARN! I forgot our stamp in the car back on the mainland. No problem, I'll use the old fashion p... Oh wait, I forgot the pen back in the car! It's a good thing we didn't go very far! Back to the shops and I find a store to buy a pen and some extra batteries for the GPS just in case. We go back to sign the log and move on the next one.

Next was a hill climb. As you walk away from the shoreline, the elevation increases. A nice little workout for a cache and a good view of the harbor.

From there the plan was to hike the 8 mile perimeter around the island and grab as many caches as we could. I had every cache on the Island saved into my phone, but only the perimeter caches saved into my GPS. Back down the hill we went.

The next cache of interest is an earthcache for Dwightwood Springs named after Dwight Hulbert Wood, the son of Edwin O. Wood of Flint, MI. In 1909 he donated money towards the springs in memory of his son.

From the springs, you take a hike up some stairs 100 feet almost straight up to get to the Arch Rock, and another earthcache. It was an incredible view from up there.

Before heading back down the stairs to the perimeter road, we followed a hiking trail through the woods to grab another geocache up there.

Several caches later and about the same time, both of our phone batteries died. So no more photos from us. Luckily, I did program the remaining perimeter caches into the GPS.

In total we hiked about 9 miles and managed to find 52 geocaches. We didn't get to see everything we wanted to see. One day we'll be back to stay longer. Maybe if we're lucky enough we'll stay at the famous Grand Hotel.

By the end of the day, the skies had cleared and we enjoyed the relaxing view from our hotel.