The first week of May saw the Dixie Leisure Travelers on the road again, this time to Davis Bayou, a unit of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The campground is located in Ocean Springs Mississippi, a charming town first settled by French explorers in 1699. The downtown area, with tree-lined streets, is fun to stroll wandering in and out of small, locally owned shops and art galleries.
For this adventure, from May 6-9, 2018, people started arriving on a Wednesday before, with others staying until the Saturday after. Perhaps, could the beach be a draw? One of the most exciting aspects of this gathering was all the new faces that joined us. We had 5 new couples that we enjoyed meeting, visiting with, getting to know, and sharing RV stories. In all, there were 36 participants and 19 coaches. Our fireside circle is growing and we really like that.
By Saturday before the start of the rally on Sunday, there were already 4 or 5 coaches at the campground. People had started visiting and catching up. By Sunday late afternoon the entire crew had arrived. The first order of business was meeting new people and catching up with old friends. Always enjoyable to gather in our circle and chat. Besides eating, that is what our group enjoys the most.
The Ocean Springs/Davis Bayou area offers several activities that members of our group took advantage of biking to the beach or downtown, walking/hiking in and around the park, exploring downtown, and of course, eating. For this rally, we rented a 16 passenger van to transport the group to our chosen restaurants. It took two trips to get everyone, but that was not a problem because Ocean Springs is a small community.
On Monday we had lunch at McElroy’s on the Bayou. Being on the Gulf, seafood is on most peoples’ minds. McElroy’s did not disappoint. The lunch specials seemed to appeal to a majority of the group. All were pleased with their lunches, and at the end of the meal, there were a lot of happy, full dinners.
That evening, back at the campground, we gathered in our circle and shared stories about what had occurred in our lives since our last gathering, got better acquainted with our new members, and laughed a lot. Everyone being full from lunch, snacks were pulled out and shared by all. The perfect end to a most delightful day.
On Tuesday we relaxed and visited some more, while a few rode their bikes into town or to the beach. Being by the coast, biking was easy with only minimal ups and downs. Some people hiked to visit with the resident alligator or see ruins of earlier structures that called the park home before it became a unit of the National Park Service.
On Tuesday evening, once again we hopped into the van and made our way to Aunt Jenny’s Catfish Restaurant. As their name implies, catfish is their speciality, and it did not disappoint.
Aunt Jenny’s menu features catfish, shrimp and southern fried chicken entrees. Once again everyone seemed to be pleased with their selection, and once again we had a group of happy, full dinners. From our location in the dining room, we had a beautiful view of Old Fort Bayou. There is not any scenery more pleasing and relaxing than by water’s edge.
On our way back to the campground from Aunt Jenny’s, we stopped by the Davis Bayou sign at the park entrance and took a picture. After all returned from the restaurant we gathered for our final circle. Conversation continued.
Wednesday morning saw people packing up getting ready to head home. Reluctantly good-byes were said and one by one folk started departing. All are looking forward to our fall gathering and being together again in October.
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