I'm back!

What a freaking unbelievably awesome weekend. Oh my gosh. I will so be doing that every single year for the rest of my life.

I got to the Isle of Capri in Biloxi Friday afternoon at about 4:15. I got to my room, a 10th floor Gulf-facing balcony room on the east side of the hotel, and flung open the balcony doors to be greeted with the peaceful sound of the roaring air conditioners. Oh well. Still, the view was nice, beds and pillows were soft, and the TV worked.

After I got all situated, I went for a looong walk on the beach and took a ton of pictures. I will be posting those soon... gotta put them on Flickr first and compress. The beach was incredible, but I'm glad I didn't go swimming. It just looked dirty. After my walk, I got pretty hungry and weighed my options at the hotel. They had a deli, a Pizza Hut, a rill, and a noodle bowl stand. I chose a noodle bowl with tons of veggies and shrimp and it was YUMMY. I ate that, watched TV, and passed clean out by 10.

Saturday morning, I woke up and ate breakfast and watched a solid 3 hours of home renovation shows on A&E. I am now enamored with house flipping and would love to do it myself. At 11, I showered and took myself on down to the spa.

Now, I've never especially liked massages. For some reason I've just never gotten into them. But somehow, good ol' Brian worked me out and I felt like a bowl full o'jelly. After he elbowed and palmed and kneed his way right into my heart, I jumped in the shower to wash all the oil off and then headed off for a facial. I looooove facials, y'all. She even zapped a zit I've been arguing with for a few months. After I was all through with that, I seriously felt like I could take a nap. Then, the lady asked me if I'd like to take a rain shower before my pedicure, and I naturally accepted. I don't know if y'all have ever had a rain shower, but I'm pretty sure I'll be buying one for my house very soon. The water just kinda falls on you instead of spraying on you. Awesome sauce. Then, I got my feet all purty and left the spa. Begrudgingly.

I figured I'd take a trip to Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis' (may he rest in peace) last home. The drive down Highway 90 pretty completely harshed my post-spa buzz. It's just so sad how many years it's been since Katrina, and how few people have rebuilt. Lot after lot after lot after lot of emptiness, save a foundation, and the occasional staircase. The foundations really bummed me out because they're like skeletons of what they should be.

Finally got to Beauvoir. They had pictures of what it looked like just after Katrina, and it is absolutely amazing what kind of restoration work went into this house. Naturally, pictures are forthcoming. Flickr first. It was your standard southern plantation style home (really, been in one, been in 'em all) but the revitalization of the home is what makes it stand out.

Then I found the cemetery in the backyard... GORGEOUS. The house served as a Confederate veterans' (may they rest in peace) home in the early 1900's, and everyone that died there was buried in their cemeteries. Y'all know I kinda like the cemeteries, so I got a bunch of pictures.

After I'd completely jacked up my pedicure by walking around in dust and rocks and sand, I figured I'd just go to the beach again. While I was driving along trying to find a place to park, I saw some strange sculptures and remembered what some of y'all had told me. Some artists on the Coast have taken the dead oak trees that line Highway 90 and carved animals into them. I saw gulls, cranes, pelicans, a whale's tail, a bunch of eagles, dolphins, and a deer. Again... pictures forthcoming. I LOVED them.

Before the sun set, I was back in my room with a grilled chicken sandwich from the deli and a scoop of ice cream. I've been this good for this long, I wanted some ice cream. Fell asleep by 10:30.

This morning, I got up at 5:30 to watch the sun rise. I was staying in an east-facing room, might as well take advantage. It was pretty incredible. Haven't watched the sun rise in a very, very long time. It was like the sunset, only backwards.

I checked out of the hotel at around 7:45, and decided to take Highway 90 all the way from Biloxi to Slidell. It took me about three hours, but I stopped probably 7 times to take pictures at various locations, and definitely saved a bunch of gas. I have always wanted to do that - take a route just for the photo ops, but have never been able to. I really, really enjoyed myself.

I can't wait to show y'all the pictures I've taken. I'm pretty proud of some of them, and hope y'all like them. They're just kinda huge and taking a while to get into Flickr, so I know they'd take even longer to get on here.

Now I'm super sleepy, but I feel so recharged and excited for the next time. But next time, I'm bringing somebody. That was WAY too much alone time.