Riding with butterflies

I left Grand Rapids on Monday, October 17. The van was thoroughly loaded with my possessions, but I'd carefully left room on top of the piles to be able to see out adequately. I was really quite proud of the packing job. It was a very windy trip through looonnnggg Illinois, mostly; and I decided to, rather than sleep in the car in a rest area, stay in a hotel and really get a decent night's sleep, so Remy and I stopped off at Hernando, Mississippi. In other words, in one day we had traveled through Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri (a tiny little piece), Arkansas (an almost as tiny piece), Tennessee, and Mississippi. Remarkable!

After all that driving and all those states, it was hard to imagine that I still had about 5 1/2 hours to go to reach Bay St Louis, but it was true, in part because it wasn't all Interstate as I got closer to my destination. 

When we arrived, the air was hot and muggy. Moving things into the house was a sweaty proposition. Rick had saved me the back, large bedroom. And I do mean large. I could live in this bedroom, as long as I had a little bathroom and kitchen area. The house looks pretty small from the front, but it extends back a long way. Lots in this area are large. Some houses sit on a double lot, but most of the homes are close to the road which is a narrow and moderately well-traveled two-lane with no sidewalk for at least the 4 or 5 blocks in each direction from us. This makes dog-walking a bit of a challenge, but we're managing. Apparently, most people solve this problem by not walking their dogs. Most dogs are chained up or fenced in and don't go anywhere.

That first evening, Rick and Remy and I biked to the ocean access at the end of our street. If you stand in the middle of Washington St in front of our house, you can see the Gulf. I haven't taken a picture of it because it's really hard to tell what you're seeing in a photo. In real life, you can see the sparkle and know that it's the ocean right there!

The boardwalk at the beach at the end of Washington St.

A view from the southwest of the bay bridge that crosses the neck between the Gulf and Bay St Louis. This bridge was washed out by Katrina and rebuilt, as was the railroad bridge that runs next to it. There is a designated and guarded bike lane across this bridge!

Rick and I spent the first few days shopping for things we needed, but trying to be very frugal and circumspect about what we might or might not be able to take with us. For instance, I found a decent couch for $40, and when we go I'll try to sell it for $20. I got a microwave, which is missing it's turntable plate, for $20; but guess what! A normal plate or mug turns just fine without the manufacturer's plate. I'd still really like to find a dining table and a couple of chairs, but I'm not willing to pay more than about $50 or $60 for it, and so far nothing has turned up under $100. For now, we'll sit in camp chairs and eat at TV trays (Walmart - there's no Target or Meijer or any other substitute for Walmart around here - about $6 each). 

I have ordered an innerspring futon mattress from Amazon, and it should be here Wednesday. I've been sleeping on my camping air mattress, which must have a small leak because I air it up every night, and each morning it has gone down at least a little. I've also ordered some healthy dog food, because there are few pet supply places in Bay St Louis or nearby communities. In fact, I've been accessing the Internet at the library, but it's not open today, so I'm in Slidell, LA, at the closest Starbucks. Okay, Gulfport Starbucks might be just as close, but I've already been to Gulfport twice, so I thought I'd venture out to Slidell.

A couple of days ago, Rick and I decided to go to the Hancock County Farmers Market, for which there are many signs along highway 90 with arrows pointing off to the north. We turned. We looked. We found nothing. Our next stop was the Bay St Louis Visitors Bureau. We asked about the Farmers Market. The assistant knew nothing about that one. She told us about a couple of others. I am still stymied by multiple, official-looking signs directing people to something that doesn't exist.

At the Visitors Bureau, I got a quick look at the history and present of the Bay St Louis area. It was almost closing time, so I didn't spend a lot of time reading the placards. Below are several items from the displays there. 

Born there? Somehow associated with the area.

A tribute to design in the area.

Mardi Gras costumes. Apparently, Bay St. Louis has major parades and floats, just like New Orleans. 

As we were watching TV one night, I saw a piece about Coastal Clean-Up with instructions about how to sign up on line. Like Jim Carrey in "Yes Man", I said "yes!" to this opportunity, and the next day signed up on line at the library. After I'd submitted my form, though, I wasn't sure where to meet. I emailed, and got a response that said, "Meet at Washington St and South Beach Road at 8:00 a.m." Excellent! Right at the end of my street.

It wasn't true. At that location was a Halloween-inspired running race, which I was unprepared to participate in. I saw a Hancock County truck pull in and asked the men in it where I needed to be. They sent me a mile or so down the beach road to Nicholson. By the time I had ridden (my bike) there, most of the rest of the volunteers were already out picking up trash. I started out alone, carrying my trash bag, rubber gloves, little flags (to mark places where there might be medical waste or floundering half-alive wildlife, which I was not to deal with in any way), and form on which to write down what I found.

Volunteers scouring the beach between Nicholson and Coleman.

The most unusual thing I found was a hen's egg -- could have belonged to a sea bird, I suppose, but the size and shape were perfect for a hen's egg, and it wasn't in a nest. Some of the other volunteers saw it, too. We left it because it was biodegradable. 

A pretty normal view of the Gulf from anywhere along the beach road.

A typical dead tree. There are many, of many sizes and shapes, probably killed by Katrina. Some of them have been carved into interesting shapes. There's a photo of one a little later on.

On a drive yesterday, I took some photos of different dwellings in the area. There is a real difference in height. 

This one is right on the beach, and the living space is situated well above where the storm surge is likely to reach.

Here's another, a good way off the ground. This one is several blocks from the beach. Most of the houses near it are high -- maybe 10 feet or so -- off the ground.

This is fairly typical, maybe 24 inches up. Beneath this is a concrete slab. No basements. Our house has this kind of lift, but according to Rick our area suffered very little during Katrina. I guess the neighborhood is already fairly elevated from sea level.

And some houses rest right on the concrete slab without any elevation, at least that's how it looks from the outside. The stoop might be 6 inches high, and then one walks in on that level./ Perhaps some rooms are elevated inside. Hard to tell.

Yesterday was my birthday. I know some of my friends and family were concerned that I wouldn't be able to celebrate properly, being in a new place. So a few days ago, I shared the information with Rick. He immediately proposed that he take me out for dinner. So, after beach clean-up and various household tasks, we got dressed up and went to The Sycamore House for dinner last night. It's a classy venue in a large, old house, as the name implies. I guess they take reservations, but fortunately we didn't need one. We had a corner table where we could observe the people, see all the art on the walls, and enjoy the jazz standards being played as background music. 

I was particularly taken with wreaths made of cotton bolls, alternating with wreaths made of apples.

Cheers!

Until Friday evening, the weather was a bit on the too-hot side for me. This was, in part, because of the lack of screens in the house, and our unwillingness to run the AC all the time because of the cost. We did put it on, at a reasonable level, at night. Then, a cold front went through, and since then it's been divine. 

This morning's reading. The cool, overnight temperatures indicate a cooler, dryer period. I don't think it will get really heavy and humid again till spring. We'll see.

A view of the bay bridge from the southwest as Remy and I rode toward it this morning.

Looking back from the top of the bridge toward Bay St Louis.

A lone sunbather on the sand on the east side of the bay.

Remy and I mounted up in the late morning and rode 7 miles to Pass Christian, on the other side of the bay. The ride was beautiful, not too windy, not too hilly (although the bridge is a bit of a challenge), and not too long. This was the perfect challenge for me, since I've not been riding a lot lately.

The view from the deck of Shaggy's, where I had lunch in Pass Christian.

My meal: 6 oysters in the half shell, seafood salad (with Wasabi dressing), and a BIG glass of water.

One of those carved trees I was telling you about. Why leave ugly, dead trees standing around when you can make art out of them?!

As of today, I had way too much time on my hands. I suppose I could spend all day walking on the beach, biking around town, etc., but I get bored after a while. I did practice my guitar this morning and started Duolingo Spanish again, but I still had time on my hands -- enough time to drive to Slidell to write this blog post! Tomorrow, I'm going to visit a nearby florist and see if they'd like some help. If they don't have a paid position open, I'd at least like to volunteer to help out, and if they need me in a pinch, then they can pay me. I'm also going to check out the library and local schools to see about helping kids with reading. And I'm handing out business cards to people showing that I do ceremonies, and I'm writing on the back about my music experience. I should have some stuff to do before long.

Oh! Alice sent me the coolest wall appliques. I couldn't believe the package arrived today. I guess even in a small town, UPS delivers on Sunday now. Anyway, I'll have poppies to brighten my room. I'm letting the kinks settle out, and then I'll create a flower arrangement on my wall!

I had some adventures with the Michigan Secretary of State, and let me say right off the bat that I really appreciate those people. I had left Michigan without renewing my license plate tabs and license because I thought I'd do that in Mississippi. Once I got here, though, and thought about having to change things up again in 6 months, I decided to leave it as it is. Suddenly, it was the day before my birthday, and nothing had been done. Two wonderful people at the SOS helped me out. The tabs are on their way, and I have a 180-day extension on my license, BUT there are no further extensions available, to I have to be back in Michigan by or before April 20 to renew my license. 

So, I guess you Michiganders can plan on seeing me then, unless you want to visit. We have an extra bedroom. After I get my futon, my air mattress will be available for guests. It won't be Mexico, but it will be nice here, and we're only an hour from New Orleans. I'll tell you more about that when we have a chance to get over there for a look-see.