Coming to Bay St Louis is a home-coming for Jon. He spent his childhood here before coming to Canada when he was 13. He was back in the South for a couple of weeks when he was 15 but other than a one day stop a couple of years ago, he hasn’t been back. So this is a special visit.
We were fortunate to have a gorgeous day lined up for us, with clear sunny skies and temps around 24 degrees. We woke up at 6am to catch the sunrise and was it ever stunning.
It was amazing how fast it rose up out of the horizon once it started.
Our RV pad is right behind this little beach area. The sand is white; the water is warm and it’s SO shallow. It’s a small piece of heaven.
After the sunrise, Jon and Jude walked out a little further on the beachfront; and Siah and I headed back to the trailer.
As the sun and the temperatures continued to climb, we made coffee and had some breakfast. Jon connected with a family friend who had some fishing gear so He and the boys popped over to grab them and I had some quiet time to set the trailer straight and enjoy my coffee.
Isn’t this a gorgeous place to base ourselves from for the next few days? Look at that sunshine. Look at that view.
The boys came back with the fishing gear, donuts and a pound of shrimp as bait; and Jon took them down to the water.
They tried a few different spots with no luck. Oh actually, Jude caught a 2 in wide crab!
I went down and joined them as they came closer back to our RV pad and found a whole bunch of blackberries already ripe and ready to eat.
We relaxed in the sun for a bit. FYI – When you wake up at 6am there is a whole lot more day to fill up.
And then we headed to Long Beach to have lunch at Steve’s Marina with Ron and Phyllis. Sadly we got NO photos of our time with them because we were too busy being loved on and talking. Jon was able to get some Gumbo and Blackened Red Fish. I had a Fried Shrimp Po Boy, Siah had a Cheese burger and Jude had Chicken Strips and fries. It was delicious and the time spent together was SO incredible. The boys started to get antsy to leave and so we reluctantly said good bye.
We drove back to Bay St. Louis and through some of Jon’s old neighborhood. His childhood home is still there and is so cute.
The boys headed back down to the beach. Jude to try fishing again and Siah to swim.
When did my baby grow up? He was such a tiny little button and now he’s morphing into a man.
At dinner time, we headed over to Word of Faith Christian Fellowship to see the church that Jon’s dad started 44 years ago. It was fun to see some more of Jon’s history and where he grew up. The current pastors were long time family friends and we went out for a good Southern meal with them. Again, we got almost no pictures except I did grab a photo of Jon’s HUGE shrimp Po Boy.
It was so lovely to connect with Tyrone and Carol and have dinner and hear from their hearts. I can see why Jon loves these people so dearly. They are amazing, amazing people with incredible hearts. After dinner, we stopped by their house to get some crawfish to take with us. Jon was so excited about that and I was so surprised that both boys tried one. Siah said it was okay and I managed to get Jude’s reaction on video.
They gave us a dozen eggs straight out of the coop, showed us their property; and the best part of the night was that they had 3 big dogs who the boys loved on for about half an hour. Big highlight for them.
We headed back to the trailer exhausted but happy. It was a huge day that filled our hearts and our tummies. Jude had been awake since 2am and we barely got his bed made before he fell asleep still in his clothes.
Tomorrow we head into New Orleans and to Cafe Du Monde. It’s SO exciting!