Saturday, 20 April (Part I)
Shields RV Park — NCBC Gulfport, Mississippi
Temps: Lo 42F / Hi 71F (5.5C / 22C)
After a soggy Friday, having the forecast hold true for sunshine and comfy temperatures on the first day of the weekend was a boon.
We initially considered taking the once-daily (this time of year) boat trip out to Ship Island, which is part of Gulf Islands 
Crooked Feather is a 30-foot (9m) sculpture depicting Ocean Springs’ origins as a colony of the American Indian. carved by Thomas King in 1999, the sculpture replaces the original one created in the 1940's by Peter Toth; it survived Hurricane Katrina.
Coming in from I-10, however, worked to our advantage as a minor mis-direction led us to the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which is off the beaten path of the walking tour we had planned for ourselves.
Also on the grounds of the Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial (on the right) is
a UH-1H "HUEY” Helicopter, the base for which was constructed by the Navy SeaBees.
Sharing space here is also the mast from the USS Mississippi CGN-40 (on the left).
The Mississippi Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built in 1996 as a tribute to the men and women who served in that long and horrific war. Two black granite walls face each other. Engraved on the walls are the names of the 668 Mississippians killed in the war. The photographic images of many of the GI’s listed are laser-etched into the granite as well. Limestone and concrete walls surround the memorial.
The flags of the allied nations (Australia, South Korea, New Zealand, Thailand, and South Vietnam)
who fought in the Vietnam War alongside American troops are flown at the memorial.
While all 50 states have memorials to the Vietnam War, the one in Mississippi is
unique in that engraved photographs from those memorialized are also displayed.
As we strolled around the grounds, we came upon the Tullibee Memorial, installed in recognition of the sacrifices of the nation’s submarine veterans. The Tullibee was lost after leaving Midway on 26 March 1944. The sole survivor and witness reported that the boat sank as a result of “a circular run by one of Tullibee’s torpedoes.” (If you’d like to read the story of the Tullibee, click here for the words etched in the center panel of the memorial.)
79 submariners lost their lives when the USS Tullibee went down in 1944.
Detail from elements of the Tullibee Memorial.
Left: The main mast from the retired Nuclear Cruiser USS Mississippi (CGN-40) honors Navy veterans.
Right: Memorial dedicated to the submariner’s wife. On the back are etched the words:
”This Memorial is dedicated to our wives and the hardships they went through
as they served with us.”
Our next stop took us to the L&N Depot. Formerly a passenger train station built in 1907, the building now houses the Chamber of Commerce. Our stop here was two-fold: to browse the weekly “Fresh Market” and also get tips on not-to-miss places on the walking tour. Turns out the market didn’t hold much of interest for us, but we did get to park at the Depot for free while we went on our self-guided walk around town.
“rusty art” is always good for a shutter click!
The handy-dandy walking tour map of Ocean Springs focuses on the many shops and restaurants that line the streets. There’s something to cater to every taste. But we weren’t there to eat … or to shop. We were there so Mui could get his “people-fix” and I was there to search out and photograph murals.
We must be “dope’s” since we didn’t buy any of the soaps sold at Queen’s Bath!
This post will go on forever if I don’t split it into two segments, so I am going to skip the murals — at least most of them — and the cultural center where we ended up spending far more time than we thought we would, and continue on with our post-lunch touring.
A quiet spot on the grounds of the Mary C. O'Keefe Cultural Center makes a
great spot to rest and enjoy our packed-from-home lunch.
In researching things to see in Ocean Springs, I had come across mention of the not-to-be-missed murals at the Community Center. These are no ordinary murals, mind you. Painted by Walter Anderson, they cover an entire room. The one-page brochure describes them as “…completed in 1951 and valued at more than $30 million, cover nearly 3000 square feet [278 m2]. The images depict the discovery of Ocean Springs and the beauty of the coast’s flora and fauna.” These I had to see!
Turns out that we almost didn’t get to see them. The Community Center, and the adjacent Walter Anderson Art Museum, were being set up for a fundraiser and no visitors were being allowed in. Luckily, we were given a chance to take a peek and a couple of quick snapshots. All I can say is WOW! What a place!
Sorry about the bar running through the bottom half of the photos. There was a protective barrier in front of the murals. Bad for photography, but I can understand why it’s there.
Too bad the restroom door wasn’t incorporated into the mural.
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After leaving these priceless murals behind, we returned to the L&N Depot, picked up the car, and drove over to the Biloxi Bay Bridge. But before we crossed over the bay, we detoured to Front Beach Road for a look see. The locals had come out to enjoy the sunshine and warm afternoon on the beach. Deciding to take a page out of their book, we parked the car near Fort Maurepaus Park and strolled towards the pier at the far end of the road. A wide pedestrian/bike path made for a leisurely 30-minute walk. Our reward — a couple of fearless great blue herons that were perched on the railings hoping one of the fishermen would drop them a little snack!
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Of course, I could have stayed on the pier for the rest of the afternoon, never tiring of the photographer-friendly GBH. But Mui convinced me that I had enough photos already. When we drove away this time, we did go over the bridge and across the bay to Biloxi.
The plan was to drive straight home … but that was before I spied a tree sculpture on the Biloxi Town Green. Of course I had to stop and photograph it. We’ve seen quite a few tree sculptures on the US-90 median between Gulfport and Biloxi, but I have to say that these varnished/painted sculptures carved from trees destroyed by Hurricane Katrina did not have the same impact on me as the Katrina Angels did (post here).
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Tree sculpture carved in July by Marlin Miller; painted by his wife.
The turtle's shell carving utilizes concrete that was poured into the
trunk years ago to minimize water damage to the tree.
As I wandered around, looking for the best angle to photograph the tree sculpture, my eye was caught by a mosaic mural and a black granite wall. Curious, I walked over to check it out and scored another bonus for the day by stumbling on the Biloxi Katrina Memorial. It was built in partnership with Roy Anderson Corp and the ABC reality TV show, “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.”
The Katrina Memorial consists of a mosaic wave, a granite wall, and a sculpture
encased in glass. The granite wall is 12 feet (3.5 m) high, about the height of
the water during Hurricane Katrina's storm surge at the Town Green.
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The names of the Katrina victims are etched on the wall.
The glass-encased sculpture consists of personal keepsakes donated by Katrina Victims.
When we got in the car this time, we really did head home ... arriving just in time to gobble down a sandwich and head to a free screening of Zero Dark Thirty in the temporary theater set up in the SeaBees Museum. The movie is the story of events leading to the capture of Osama Bin Laden. Probably not everyone's cup of tea — and I could have done without the four letter words bandied about — but we found the movie interesting. And to boot, we finally got to see the one-room museum that we'd tried to visit earlier during our stay!
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