The west Mississippi Gulf Coast makes a great day trip because there are four unique and interesting coastal towns worth exploring.

​

Long Beach, Mississippi

Going from east to west from Gulfport, the first you will come to on scenic Highway 90 is Long Beach, Mississippi.  Long Beach is home to a giant oak tree on the Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Park Campus and a beautiful harbor. It’s primarily a fishing and boating community, and its beach was named one of the top 22 beaches in the United States by CNN. The magnificent oak tree, which was a sapling in 1487, is more than 500 years old and has withstood numerous hurricanes and other storms.  The Long Beach War Memorial Park on Church Street has a display of battleship guns.

​

Pass Christian, Mississippi

Next down Highway 90 to the west is the beautiful town of Pass Christian (pronounced CHRIS-ti-an, in honor of its French name). It also is a fishing and boating community with a busy harbor. But it has more shopping and restaurants than Long Beach. Bacchus on the Beach, 111 West Scenic Drive (228-222-4852) has a great menu of Royal Red Shrimp Scampi, redfish over crab cake, Blue Crab Cakes, Seafood Bordelaise (Gulf shrimp and oysters over angel hair pasta), and an amazing French cut bone-in pork chop. Open Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday until 11 p.m., and Sunday until 9 p.m.  Brunch on the weekend. If you want to stay the night, there is the historic Hotel Pass Christian or Hotel Whiskey. I stayed at the Hotel Whiskey. It's a nicely furnished and appointed hotel. Total online check-in. The city also has a wonderful independent bookstore, Pass Christian Books.

 

Because of the many historic homes in Pass Christian, there is a self-guided walking, driving, biking tour that takes you by the Dixie White House, 767 East Scenic Drive, originally built in 1854 and host to President Ulysses S. Grant and President Woodrow Wilson. The existing home is a reconstruction of the original, which was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. At 120 West Scenic Drive is The Blue Rose, built in 1848 and is the most significant antebellum home on the Mississippi western beach front. The Randolph School, 315 Clark Avenue, was built in 1927 for African American students.

 

The Pass Christian Yacht Club at the harbor was the first yacht club in the south, established in 1849. Many wealthy New Orleans residents built summer homes in Pass Christian. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina destroyed most of them but beautiful houses have been rebuilt in their place. Historical markers tell about the original homes that stood from the late 19th century until the hurricane in 2005.

​

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

Bay St. Louis is a few miles west of Pass Christian. Bay St. Louis has a beautiful harbor and a small beach with a delightful Old Town section with restaurants and shops.

 

You’ll find in Old Town the Mockingbird Café, 110 South Second Street, (228-467-8383), which is a coffee shop that serves breakfast, lunch, brunch, and pub fare. They bake pies, cakes, and pastries, as well. It’s in a house that was built in 1868 and opened in 2006, immediately after the devastating Hurricane Katrina. Open Monday through Wednesday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, open until 9 p.m., and Sunday open until 2 p.m.

​

There resides a serious bakery in Bay St. Louis, called Seriously Bread Bakery and Cafe, 131 Main Street. All the bread is made from scratch, the ingredients fermented  for eight to 12 hours to neutralize the phytic acid, and then it is baked in small batches. I chose the garlic rosemary sourdough French loaf. They also have scones, muffins, large cookies, and cinnamon rolls. I had breakfast, though, at The Buttercup on Second Street. They showed me how high the water came in during Hurricane Katrina and served me a delightful eggs Benedict with red potatoes.

 

Along the coast, the city has several beach bars, including Bouy’s Bar and Trapani's Eatery, 115 North Beach Boulevard, which is said to be Jimmy Buffett's favorite beach bar. Their specialty drink is the fresh squeezed pineapple juice infused with vodka for up to 14 days and served as a martini. For dinner, I had a wonderful fried fresh-catch speckled trout sandwich.

 

If you like local art, check out the nicely curated Gallery 220, 220 Main Street. The city is also host to two casinos, Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast and The Silver Slipper Casino.

 

In Old Town is the historic train depot at 1928 Depot Way and there you’ll find the Alice Moseley Folk Art and Antique Museum that has the original artwork of the nationally known artist. The depot also serves as the starting point for the This Property is Condemned Walking Tour, which takes you to filming locations of the 1966 film “This Property is Condemned,” which starred Robert Redford, Natalie Wood, and Charles Bronson.

 

The city also offers the historic Kate Lobrano House, 108 Cue Street, a traditional Victorian shotgun house with turn-of-the-century furnishings and Native American artifacts from the area. It is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to noon and 1 to 3 p.m.

​

There's also an amazing mural on the side of the 100 Men D.B.A. Blues Hall, 303 Union Street, which was a hopping music venue for the likes of B.B. King, Etta James, Big Joe Turner, Guitar Slim, and Irma Thomas in its heyday as a popular stop on the famous Chitlin Circuit. It still hosts music events, so check out the schedule to see if you catch a bluesman or woman in concert.

​

​