Mobile to Gulfport

Today I crossed the state line from Alabama into Mississippi. It is not lost on me that this is backtracking. Looking at my route in retrospect, I might have ordered a few SE states differently. Although, truth be told, it is just a matter of whether the S curve is oriented horizontally or vertically. Given the current weather conditions, it actually worked out as I have left the freeze warning zone for warmer climes. Hopefully by the time I head East again, the rest of the Gulf Coast will have warmed up.

First, an update on the car remote. I buried it in a bag of rice overnight. In the morning I was finally clear-eyed enough to see the minute screw, and fortunately I had an eyeglasses repair kit with a minute screw driver (flat head instead of Phillips, but I was not in a position to be picky). I pulled it apart and made sure it was dry, then left it open for a couple of hours. I put it back together and it appeared completely dead. However, a couple of hours of charging brought it back to life. The short must have drained the battery (built in, not replaceable). So far it seems to be working normally. Fingers crossed that any salt in the water did no permanent damage. So that is a huge relief.

Because the drive from Mobile to Gulfport was only an hour and a half, I arrived before noon, even dallying in Mobile with the remote and planning. I started off yesterday morning in Mobile in a light down given the 40 degree temperature. Today I was in shorts and barefoot, dipping my toes into the Gulf of Mexico in 70 degree weather. I very much enjoyed it after the two and a half months of pretty severe winter weather I have endured so far.

Gulfport has a very different feeling than Mobile. My parting impression of Mobile is that it is not really a cohesive city, just a place with stuff. It had no real downtown or waterfront. Really most of the interesting things were further south, Gulf Shores or Dauphin Island. Mobile Bay itself is mostly industrial - both ships and trains. Gulfport, in contrast has a vibrant, if small downtown and an actual developed water front. That is true of the whole region, from Biloxi to Long Beach. 

Before cruising the beach, I stopped in downtown Gulfport to check out Fishbone Alley . This was a post-Katrina project that re-used brick pavers that were uncovered during the infrastructure repair. They were used to pave the alley, which was transformed into a public art space and also opened to outside patios for some restaurants. I stopped by Coast Roast (a few streets away) to fortify myself before proceeding to the coast.

The thing to do is to drive along Hwy 90, which follows the coastline. You can stop pretty much anywhere to enjoy the white sand beach. It is all public access, no fees and, at least this week, remarkably not crowded. 

 Rain is predicted tomorrow, although still with warm temperatures. So I will seek some indoor activities.