Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi- Gulfport, Mississippi (May 2024)

RV owners know that their campers need occasional maintenance. It makes sense that when you drag a trailer down the road at highway speeds, things are going to need repairs.

For Rosie, our Airstream trailer, the main door was showing signs of a problem. The door moved up about a quarter of an inch when you closed it from the outside. You had to slam it hard to close it from inside and I am sure that our camping neighbors did not appreciate that noise. 

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi

Airstream owners know that there are some repairs that any RV service center can help with. Then there are Airstream specific repairs that you need to trust to someone who works on Airstream trailers. The door is a potential aluminum issue and that suggested that we needed to take Rosie to an Airstream dealer.

Since we purchased Rosie from Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi, we know that dealership. They have a Five-Rivet rating with Airstream, meaning their service department is top rated by the company. They also have John, the service manager.

We have developed a strong level of trust with John during our previous visits there. We are not alone because you frequently see John mentioned in a positive light in many social media posts from other Airstreamers. 

John met us as soon as we arrived at Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi. We went over the three things we had on our list. John told us that we didn't have to unhitch and he could have us on the road in 90 minutes. 

We went to the fast food restaurant next door and ordered their two for $5 special for breakfast and took our time eating. By the time we walked back to the service area, they were finishing up on our Airstream trailer. Becky looked at a few new Airstreams while I talked to the service technician. 

True to his word, John told us that our Airstream trailer was ready for the road midmorning. We settled up our account and felt good about our service visit there.

Keesler Air Force Base FamCamp (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Biloxi, Mississippi (May 2024)

This was the third time we camped in Keesler Air Force Base’s FamCamp.  As with the two previous times, Keesler was a convenient location instead of a destination type park. We needed Airstream service on several items and Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi was less than 20 minutes away from this campground. Camping here allowed us to be at Foley RV in time for an 8 a.m. appointment for Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 

We made a detour while heading to Keesler. Our route passed a few miles from our son's home. We could not be that close and not stop to say hello and to hug everyone. Rosie was blocking one lane of the road in front of his house, so we could not stay too long.

We stopped to see our son and his family while heading to Keesler

We arrived at this campground on a Sunday afternoon. The camp host, who was very helpful and friendly, quickly greeted us and gave us our assigned site. That site was full sun and the next site over had some shade. We asked the camp host if we could move over to the shaded site. He checked and said that it was open until the next day. That was perfect because we planned to leave no later than 7:30 the next morning. 

The office at Keesler AFB FamCamp

A camping neighbor from Battleship Row in Pensacola said that he was heading west and would stop for a few days at Keesler. We rode our bikes around this campground and found his RV. We enjoyed talking to him about things to do around Keesler's FamCamp.

This campground is near Keesler's on-base married housing. They must have been having an outdoor event with a live band that afternoon. Thankfully, the band stopped playing around dinner time.

Rosie at Keesler AFB FamCamp

Enjoying the limited shade at our site

We did not unhitch to speed up the exit process the next morning. All we had to do was take down the water feed and the electrical connection. While doing that the next morning, I started noticing dozens and dozens of "bugs" on Rosie's aluminum exterior skin. I had an idea as to what those bugs were, but I walked over to the camp host's trailer. He was sitting outside and he quickly confirmed what I thought. The bugs were termites and they were swarming. 

I was able to use the hose to rinse the termites off Rosie. 

Our visit to this FamCamp was again very short, but it allowed us to show up on-time for our service appointment at FoleyRV/Airstream of Mississippi in Gulfport.

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a pull-thru
• Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart. Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with concrete and was level 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Circle, Court-TV, ION, LAFF and ME-TV
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Keesler Air Force Base FamCamp (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Biloxi, Mississippi (March 2023)

This was our second time camping in Keesler Air Force Base's FamCamp. The first time we selected this campground because it was close to Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi and we had a service appointment early the next morning. 

Office at Keesler AFB FamCamp

We reserved here once again because it was convenient. Our original plan was to spend the night in Keesler then head to our destination, which was the rendezvous campground in Louisiana for the Airstream Club's Cajun Caravan. Sure, we could have pushed it and made it to Louisiana in a day, but there were advantages to stopping for a night at Keesler's FamCamp. 

When we made this reservation, the first and best reason was that stopping in Biloxi allowed us to spend a few hour in Mobile to watch our grandson play baseball. 

The second reason is well known among RV'ers. Highways I-10 and I-12 are horrible in Louisiana. Several rivets popped and the leg on our main table broke the last time we drove on those roads. We could not come up with an alternative route, so we decided to take our time and to keep our speed to no more than 55 mph. Stopping for the night in Biloxi meant we could take it easy the next day heading to join the Cajun Caravan. We didn’t need any additional reasons to stop at Keesler for the night. 

Of course, our priorities changed when we discovered we had a problem with Rosie’s hot water heater. (Rosie is what we call our Airstream trailer.) We were able to add an additional day to our Keesler reservation so that we could arrive at Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi early Monday morning. Once again, our reason for stopping at this campground was to arrive early Monday morning for a service appointment at Foley RV. 

We arrived at Keesler after the office closed for the day. That meant the camp host checked us in and guided us to our site. We appreciated his professionalism and willingness to help extend our reservation for an additional day. 

Rosie in Keesler AFB FamCamp

Our site was intimidating in that there were two trees on either side of the site’s access. To make things more difficult, the rig across the street was too big for that site and spilled over onto the road. 

After several failed attempts to back into our site, a fellow camper walked over and suggested that we go around the campground and enter the site by driving over the grass behind our site. Then he added that most people assigned our site give up trying to back in and park by driving over the grass. We did and it was easy to park Rosie. 

As we we’re setting up Rosie, we noticed an Airstream trailer parked several sites away. It appeared suspiciously as if the people in that trailer were also heading to an Airstream caravan. 

It turns out that we were correct. They were heading to a caravan in Louisiana, but not the one we were heading to. 

We noticed the sounds of several trains that passed near the campground. The train was far enough away that the soft sounds in the distance were pleasant to hear. 

It turned out that Keesler was a good choice for our stop near Foley RV. We were able to arrive at Foley RV a little after 8 a.m. on Monday and they were able to fix our problem. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with asphalt and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, CW, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Circle, Court-TV, ION, LAFF and ME-TV
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi - Gulfport, Mississippi (October 2021)

RV'ers know that some roads are simply bad for their  rigs. The bouncing on I-12 in Louisiana damaged the legs on our first Airstream trailer's table. Another road to avoid is I-59 heading north from Birmingham, Ala. Somehow the state has never been able to smooth out that road so that it doesn't toss around your camper as if it was in the epicenter of an earthquake.

We recently found ourselves pulling Rosie, our Airstream trailer, from Birmingham to Chattanooga. We tried to go slow enough to minimize any potential damage, but noticed the door didn't quite close as easily as before and the deadbolt lock was hard to engage. That meant it was time to visit Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi for some warranty service on Rosie.

We knew from purchasing our original Rosie that your RV dealer was important. We bought our first trailer from an Airstream dealer that was excellent in keeping our original Rosie in tip-top shape. That dealership was sold to a big RV chain that dropped the Airstream line.

When we started talking about getting a new Airstream trailer, we found in the Blue Beret, the Airstream Owners Association's magazine, that Foley RV was a "Five-Rivet" dealer. This is the Airstream Corporation's highest recognition for dealers, their service departments and their customer service. 

Sign at Foley RV

By the way, there is an Airstream dealer much closer to our house. We called once about a minor Airstream recall item. It appeared the service manager knew less about the recall than us. We followed by calling Foley RV and their service manager not only knew about it, he was able to tell us how to avoid problems until the recall fix packages were distributed to the dealers. That again pointed to the difference between a Five-Rivet dealer and a no-rivet Airstream dealer. 

Adjusting the hitch

There are a few "camping" sites behind the service bays and we would normally park there for the night. Rosie was ready in the morning, so we decided to get on the road early. We have a good chance of making it home tonight for a short break before we go out for more Rosie adventures.

Keesler Air Force Base FamCamp (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Biloxi, Mississippi (October 2021)

Our plans changed as they sometimes do. We were supposed to be at Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi for some warranty work on Rosie, our Airstream trailer’s name, immediately after camping at Topsail. Then we found a rare opening at Grayton Beach State Park. This was one of our favorite campgrounds and we immediately booked that site. We called Foley RV and they kindly rescheduled our service appointment the following week. 

The problem was that we had to leave a Florida State Park on Saturday morning and our service reservation at Foley RV was for the following Monday. We needed a place to camp for two days. 

Experienced RVers know that getting campground reservations along the Florida/Alabama/Mississippi Gulf Coast is never easy especially at the last minute. During our search, we noticed several U.S. Military “FamCamps” that were near Gulfport, Mississippi. It was worth calling to see if they had an opening. 

The sign, such as it was, pointing to the campground 

What is a FamCamp? These are campgrounds operated by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for people currently serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, retired from the military or were diagnosed by the Veterans Administration (VA) with a military service connected disability. In other words, you must have a U.S Military ID or a VA Health ID (VHIC) to get into a FamCamp. 

Campground office

This was our first time camping in a “FamCamp.” I hoped that we would not run into some old drill sergeants who forced everyone to fall out for PT (military slang for physical training or exercising) at 4 a.m. I remembered that PT always ended with a multi-mile run before breakfast. To calm that fear, no drill sergeants were spotted patrolling the campground and I somehow avoided being put on KP. 

Campground rules!

What we did find was an amazing mix of men and women who shared a common bond of serving in the U.S. Armed Forces. There was a different feeling I haven’t felt outside FamCamps. Everyone had a story and it was interesting to listen to the Veterans talk about their service to the nation. 

A group of the campers in the common area

Our original plan was to camp in the Navy's Shields FamCamp, but we would be arriving after the base Pass and ID office closed, so we had to come up with an alternative. Keesler Air Force Base was a few miles down the road and we were able to schedule our check in time, so we switched our reservations from Navy to Air Force. 

Several people talked about the new Keesler AFB FamCamp currently under construction. It sounded as if the new FamCamp would be larger with more than double the number of sites and the individual sites would be much larger than the current campground. That sounded very promising to us. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were two loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites in our loop could be classified as "full sun" as trees were few and far apart. The other loop had some trees
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site had a concrete pad and was level
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There were two bathhouses in the campground. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not check on their conditions
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 4G voice and data service over our campsites 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Circle, Ion, Justice and ME-TV
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

As mentioned earlier, this was our first time camping in a U.S. Military FamCamp. We enjoyed the experience and will camp in other FamCamps. 

Rosie, our Airstream's name, in the campground

Davis Bayou Campground - Ocean Springs, Mississippi (April 2021)

Our original plan was to camp on the Florida side of the Gulf Islands National Seashore at Fort Pickens. That changed when our reservation was cancelled because of flooding in the campground. After a quick search for a new park we ended up getting reservations on the Mississippi side of the same Gulf Islands National Seashore in the Davis Bayou Campground. 

Sign at entrance to park

The road to the campground

We always think of visiting Fort Pickens as a beach trip. Florida beaches are very different from the ones in Mississippi. To be fair, we could only reach the Mississippi beaches behind the barrier islands. We missed the soft white sands found on the Florida side of the Gulf Islands Seashore. Perhaps the soft white sand we are used to seeing is found on the Mississippi barrier islands, which are reachable only by boat.

We did find the beaches around the casinos in Biloxi. The imported white sand there felt nice as we took several walks on the beach. 

On the beach in Biloxi

Having “Bayou” in the campground’s name creates a different set of expectations for this park. If "bayou" paints visions in your mind of swampy wetlands with ample "critters," you are on the right track.

The ranger told us as we checked in that the alligators were awake and active. We saw our first “gator” the next morning in one of the park's ponds. 

A gator in one of the park's ponds

The ranger told us the raccoons were active. We overheard some people our first morning saying they left some food out overnight and the raccoons had a feast. 

The ranger did not tell us about the birds. We found them on our own. The ranger did not tell us about the turtles. We found them throughout the park. The ranger did not tell us about the pelicans. We found them, too, and enjoyed watching them scout for their meals. We found ospreys building their nest near the visitors center. We also enjoyed watching the lightening bugs, as they are called in the south or fireflies for those from the north. They entertained us in the evenings. Yes, the bayou critters were active. 

A pelican in the bayou

The osprey nest

Speaking of birds, they were everywhere and filled the air with happy bird sounds. This reminded us of the sounds that seemed to be everywhere during our childhoods. That was very nostalgic and fun to hear. 

Another "critter" roaming the park

There were an unusual number of bikers, hikers and bird watchers in the park. It turned out that the park was surrounded by several nice residential areas and there were special gates that gave those neighbors quick access to the park. It appeared to us that the local residents loved to bike, hike and observe birds in their backyard park. 

This is a small campground with only 51 sites and several appeared to need repairs and were unavailable. Since we made our reservations at the last minute, we had to switch campsites after a few days. As with any campground, some sites are better than others. We enjoyed our second site more than our first. 

First site in the campground

Second site in the campground

It appeared to us that the Biloxi casinos were a reason some people camped here. Others were here to spend some time in the bayou and enjoy the quiet solitude found in this park. We found the quiet intermingled with the sounds of birds and the bayou animals was a great reason to visit this park. The bike paths and the hiking were the icing on the cake. 

Biking in the park

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• This is the first park we camped in that vigorously enforced check-in time. You will not be admitted to the campground before 1pm. 
• There were two loops in the campground. 
• Most sites could be classified as "full sun." Only a few had shade.
• Most sites had ample space on both sides. Our first site must have been in the park’s buddy site since the space between our sites can only be described as “tight.” We had to change sites after a few days. Our second site was better. 
• Both of our sites were paved with asphalt and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 
• Our sites had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our sites had a water connection
• Our sites did not have a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in this park. It was easy to pull your sewage tote to it.
• The trash dumpsters were at the entrance of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse in the campground. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we did not check on its condition
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 2 bars of 4G voice and data service over our campsites 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Circle, Grit, LAFF and an overload of crime related channels
• The campground was near Ocean Springs, Mississippi. That meant there were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

Fellow campers told us about the big gator in one of the park's ponds. Having grown up in Florida, we recognized the sounds of a large gator, but didn’t see him our first week in the park. He lived up to his billing as a big gator when we finally saw him. 

The big gator in the pond

We are glad we had an opportunity to experience this campground. 

Selfie in the park

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi - Gulfport, Mississippi (March 2020)

For the second time in two weeks, we had to drag Rosie, our Airstream trailer, in for warranty service. While parking in our storage warehouse after our trip to the Airstream factory in Ohio, the power jack decided to give up. That would have been a game-stopper on our original Rosie because there wasn’t a manual override that allowed you to crank the jack up or down. If that jack broke, you were stuck.

New Rosie has a place where you can connect a crank and using what we described in my Army days as the “arm-strong” method, crank the tongue of Rosie up or down. While this is tedious, it allowed us to disconnect Rosie from our truck and head home.

Using the hand-crank to unhitch Rosie from our truck

Time was an issue because we had a beach trip scheduled to start less than a week after returning home from Ohio. A quick call to Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi successfully ended with the service manager saying they were very busy, but we should head to Gulfport and they would take care of us. That was a relief and we greatly appreciated their willingness to help us. 

We also appreciated that they would save us a spot in the camping area behind the service center. That meant we were at a great location to head to out next stop the following morning. 

We asked questions about things we didn’t understand about Rosie. For example, we were not successful in getting our two air conditioners to work at the same time. They made sure we understood how to use the thermostat. 

The Foley RV people also allowed us to use their Airstream cleaning supplies to wash Rosie. That was needed because one of us was accused of having used a dirty rag to wash Rosie the last time. 

It isn’t fair to describe this as a normal campground. It isn’t. This is a complementary parking site for Foley RV customers and we greatly appreciated it. We had 50 amp electrical service, water and sewer connections. And best of all, the service crew was able to replace our power jack, replace a missing rivet and answer our current questions.  

A

This must be classified as a successful stop and we appreciated how friendly, courteous and professional they were. 

Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi - Gulfport, Mississippi (January 2020)

Hello and Goodbye.

We scheduled a trip to Gulfport, Mississippi. It was time for some regular maintenance on Rosie, our Airstream trailer. In the past, this has meant a trip to the Airstream factory in Ohio. Instead of heading north, we decided to go to Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi. We heard from several fellow Airstreamers that this was a good dealer with a strong service department. 

While setting up our appointment, we asked a few questions about their inventory. We figured we could pass the time while they were repairing Rosie by looking at some new Airstream trailers. 

One trailer they expected to arrive from the factory in a few weeks piqued our interest. It checked most of the things we had on our “we wish Rosie had this” list. 

As we talked to a salesman over the next few weeks, we started toying with the idea of seriously looking at this new trailer before starting the planned maintenance procedures on Rosie. We realized that we could trade Rosie in instead of keeping our service appointment. 

It felt funny pulling into Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi knowing that we were really considering trading in Rosie for a new Airstream trailer. It didn't take long to make the decision. We were about to say goodbye to Rosie and say hello to a new Rosie.

I felt like we were taking a page from my brother's playbook. He had multiple dogs who were all named “Happy.” We were very comfortable with calling our trailer Rosie so the new one would also assume the name Rosie.

Our new Rosie was parked in Foley RV’s camping area behind their service building. They parked our old Rosie next to it to make it easier to transfer our things from one Rosie to the other. 

When we awoke the next morning, our original Rosie had been moved to another section of their lot. It felt funny seeing our original Rosie parked away from us. At the same time, we were busy setting up our new Rosie. 

Original Rosie after being moved away from the new Rosie

We were not alone in the camping area at Foley RV/Airstream of Mississippi. One other new Airstream owner was parked in this area at the same time. Our neighbors were planning to take their new Airstream trailer to Montana. While that sounded exciting, January’s winter weather may slow them down.

Camping at Foley RV / Airstream of Mississippi

We planned to stay another couple of days when we saw that a big storm was heading towards the east coast and we didn’t want to travel in what was being described as severe storms going home. 

We said our final goodbyes to our first Rosie as we hitched our new Rosie to our truck, then we were off.

About to hitch up the new Rosie

Pulling out from Foley RV / Airstream of Mississippi

We made it home ahead of the storm and parked Rosie in the storage warehouse we use. We plan to go on a “shakedown” camping trip in a week or two. After all, we have to figure out where things go and we need to start discovering our new Rosie’s personality. 

Goodbye old Rosie. Hello new Rosie. 

Whiten Park COE Campground- Fulton, Mississippi (May 2018)

Our GPS decided we needed to take the scenic route off I-22 to Whiten Park COE Campground. In the 12 mile process, it made sure we saw all of the sights and stop lights in downtown Fulton, Mississippi. 

Our GPS wasn’t the only one coming up with this route. A big fifth wheel caught up with us at a red light. It appeared that this rig was also following its GPS off the Interstate, through town and into the park. 

Somehow, our GPS came up with a new route back to the Interstate when we left the park the next morning that avoided the town, the traffic lights and the traffic.

Sign at entrance to park

Our first impression was that Whiten Park may be one of the older Corps of Engineers (COE) campgrounds. It had many mature trees around the campsites. Also, the utility connection points were showing a little age. The same was true of the bathhouses in the park.

View of trees from Rosie's window

We were a “walk-up” and arrived without reservations. The camp host gave us a map marked with available sites in the park's three loops and asked us to let her know which one we chose for the night. We did a fast run through the loop nearest the water and ruled those sites out because they were too short and we would have to disconnect Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer from the truck. We planned to leave early the next morning and simply wanted to stay hitched up over night. 

We saw a deep site at the end of the middle loop and quickly backed in. We knew the site we picked wasn’t one of the prime spots that people try to reserve months in advance, but it was good enough for the night.

Rosie in Whiten Park COE Campground

Later, we walked through the third loop and realized that the available sites in that area were deep and had water views. I guess we settled too fast on a site in the middle loop. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection with 38 pounds of pressure 
• The water had a high level of iron. I had to rinse out our water filter several times when I disconnected the next morning 
• Our site did not have a sewer connection 
• We saw one dump station in this park
• Our site had a concrete pad 
• We had to use leveling tools to fix a slight side-to-side lean 
• There were three loops in the campground 
• Each loop had a bathhouse 
• The bathhouses were clean and well maintained by the staff
• The park does not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided marginal 4G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch CBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. We also received digital channels ME and THiS 
• This is a pet friendly park 

We were amazed at the number of small children in this park. It appeared to us that this is a campground that young families tend to stay in. It was nice to hear the “happy” sounds of young children playing in the park.

Trees in the park

Main road to the camping loops

Buccaneer State Park - Mississippi

Visiting Buccaneer State Park in Mississippi brings your face-to-face with the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. While New Orleans grabbed the headlines, you quickly realize that you are at ground-zero when approaching this park. This is where Katrina's eye came ashore.

Only the foundation remains after Katrina struck this church.

The park's staff will tell you that this park was destroyed during Katrina and there are enough reminders scarring the community to let you know that this park is being completely rebuilt.

You have to put the emphasis on the fact that this park is being rebuilt. They were in Phase Two of their rebuilding campaign during our visit. Phase Three should start next year.

Buccaneer State Park - Mississippi

You have a couple of choices to make when you enter the park. You can either camp directly on the Gulf of Mexico or in a camping area that appears to be more in the woods.

There are a few factors that enter into this decision. The spaces directly on the Gulf are a little more expensive and only include water and electricity. Plus, there isn't a lot of shade on the beach side of this park. Sites in the more traditional campground areas are $11 less per night and feature water, electricity and sewage connections.

While it appeared that most campers in the park elected to have the sewage connection, we felt we needed to be close to the Gulf. After all, how often will you have a view similar to this.

Camping of the Gulf of Mexico at Buccaneer State Park, Miss.

What a view! We were able to sit at the table in Rosie (our Airstream's name) sipping coffee in the mornings while watching the Gulf. This is a campground that should not be skipped over because of the rebuilding process.

Camping less than 50 feet from the Gulf at Buccaneer State Park

The parts of the park rebuilt during phases one or two of the reconstruction programs are first class. The showers and restrooms are new, clean, well-maintained and built up so that you have to climb stairs to access them. (They also feature ramp access to comply with federal laws.) I guess this is an attempt to place these facilities above the floodplain, in case another devastating hurricane strikes the park. Of course, the best plan is to enjoy this park then hitch-up and move if a hurricane is in the Gulf.

We found lots of TV stations from Mississippi and New Orleans using only the small antenna on our trailer. AT&T's coverage for our iPhones was 3G and solid. I don't think the park offered WiFi access so the strong 3G coverage was welcomed.

By the way, we found a good cajun coffee shop in Waveland, Mississippi.  Da Little Cafe served good beignets and hot chocolate.

Enjoying Beignets and hot chocolate at Da Little Cafe in Waveland, Miss.