A Windy Adventure

We left Miramar Beach, Florida, and made our way toward Silver Slipper Casino in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, which is about halfway to our next major destination of Tim’s hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana.  On the evening before we left, there was a major storm front that swept across the United States and left some tornado and other major wind damage in Texas and Louisiana.  Although we did not encounter the rain and tornado damage that occurred in Texas and Louisiana, the storm presented some very windy conditions across the Florida panhandle and into Alabama and Mississippi.  As we drove, winds were sustained at about 25 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph.  This made driving the RV difficult, particularly on Interstate 10 (our friend Marvin later told us that he saw an overturned 18-wheeler on the interstate as he drove the same path as we did).  Tim got his bicep muscle workout as he clenched the steering wheel to keep it steady in the wind gusts.  The wind also caused the rubber seal around the windshield to start coming loose on the passenger side of the RV; the noise was so loud that we thought maybe the awning had become unfurled and was slamming against the side of the RV.  We had to make a stop at a gas station to push it back into place and tape it onto both the window and RV to hopefully keep it from coming loose again until we could get it repaired.  Luckily, this repair job worked for us temporarily, but we would need to have it fixed by professionals in Lafayette.  

We got some reprieve from the wind when we stopped in Mobile, Alabama, to have lunch with our good friends Denny and Ron.  After a short tour of the RV (without the slide out), Denny and Ron took us to one of their favorite lunch spots called Judy’s Place, which specializes in home cooking.  Tim had fried chicken, a cucumber salad, and mac and cheese; while Pat had chicken-fried steak, field peas, and mashed potatoes.  After lunch, Denny and Ron took us to the business they own, Caroline’s Treasures, to show us the very impressive operation.  We were so overwhelmed by the tour (or maybe it was the residual anxiety from the windy trip) that we forgot to take a photo with Denny and Ron for the blog.  Not to worry, we plan to see Denny and Ron many more times during the year.

After the tour, Denny and Ron drove us back to the RV and we were off to complete the rest of our journey to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to stay in the Silver Slipper Casino Beachfront RV Park.  The campground and casino are located on the Gulf of Mexico, so our theme of camping on the gulf continued for a third campground in a row!  Our friend, Marvin (who had been staying in a cabin at Sawmill Camping Resort after we left) was driving back to his home in Dallas, Texas, but made a stop to stay with us in Bay St. Louis for the night.  When we arrived at our campsite, we were inundated with biting gnats while we set up.  We later were told that the gnats come out at dusk for a short time, which just happened to coincide with our arrival.

After setting up, Marvin drove us (avoiding a walk through the gnats) to the casino/hotel, where we won and lost at slots, but we each earned a free voucher for the $50 buffet that we planned to use the next evening.  On this evening, we ate sandwiches at the little café located in the casino, while Marvin ate fried fish.  The casino is small and doesn’t have a separate non-smoking area, but they offered us free drinks while we gambled, so we had a good time.  After a little casino play and dinner, we headed back to the RV because Marvin needed to wake up early the next morning to continue his trip to Dallas.

The next day, our only full day at the Silver Slipper's RV parking, we spent the morning catching up on making appointments and reservations and responding to email messages.  In the afternoon, we walked to the casino/hotel and used our vouchers for the buffet.  Since it was a Saturday, the buffet touted a champagne brunch with boiled shrimp and crab, along with various other foods.  We loved the champagne "pours" which were in water glasses with an even larger champagne filled water glass to refill our glasses after we finished. 

We got our $50 worth of food (& drink) and then got in several more hours of slots.  We left with a little less money than we started with, but not much less, and we had a great time.

Returning to the RV, we spent the rest of the night writing and posting blog entries for all of you!  We had a great two months in Florida but tomorrow we will see Tim’s Mom in Lafayette!

Review of Silver Slipper Casino Beachfront RV Park

The Silver Slipper Casino is one of only a few casinos that we are aware of that offer RV parking sites with full hook-ups.  Silver Slipper Casino Beachfront RV Park has 37 RV parking sites and is about a half mile from the casino/hotel.  Each parking site includes a concrete parking area and barbeque grill.  

There are no amenities associated with the RV Park like laundry or showers/restroom; however, the beach is located across the street from the RV Park and there is a sidewalk that runs along the beach to the casino/hotel, which is about a half mile walk from the parking area.  The casino has a few restaurants and a shop where you can buy a few food items.  

We enjoyed going to the casino and the fact that there was RV parking with hookups within walking distance.  We did not take advantage of the beach while we were there.  We appreciated “most” of our time there, but sadly, we probably wouldn’t return to the RV Park because of the biting gnats.