Happy Birthday, Mom!

Squeezing in a few more things

I chose the title of this post very carefully, as shall be made evident later.

Before heading back home today, we decided to check out the new Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. After all, it was literally next door to where we stayed the night.

The thing yours truly has always appreciated about any of the Hard Rocks visited to date is the memorabilia.

C'mon, sometimes even folks from Orlando like to play tourist, and it's fun to walk around staring at cases of guitars, drumsticks, and various articles of (questionable) clothing that once belonged to famous people.

Today's meandering thru the Biloxi location featured some pretty cool items, sprinkled as they were between a bunch of national chain franchises like Ben and Jerry's, Starbuck's, and Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.

The most jaw dropping item was a pair of jeans that Elton John *supposedly* wore back in the 70's. But, looking at them, I doubt even Twiggy in her prime could have managed to get them past her kneecaps . . . much less a grown man!

Oh, well.

Time to get back on the road to the land of the fun and sun.

Biloxi - Day 2

Yes, ye socks, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Mini-Vacation continues.

Day 2 began with leaving the casino culture behind in favor of some real culture on the grounds of Beauvoir, the magnificent old home of Jefferson Davis.

Yours truly had visited the site many times before, so kinda knew what to expect. I was glad to see the home had been restored following Katrina. The former presidential library and museum, however, was completely obliterated and ground will not be broken for its replacement for another coupla weeks.

The grounds were markedly different, many fewer trees. And, the graceful marble arch that once greeted visitors was still laying in pieces near the veterans cemetery like a big jigsaw puzzle.

In strolling thru the rubble, we encountered a former groundskeeper (Gary) who knew everything about the history of Beauvoir and gave us a unique guided tour.

While this historic site still hasn't recovered 100% in the 4+ years since Hurricane Katrina, it was nice to see how much time and effort was being poured into Beauvoir. It is very evident how much the place means to the community, which makes it all the important that any of ye socks planning to visit this little corner of heaven add a stop here to your itinerary.

That being said, it is now time to head back to casino-land. There's the much-heralded strawberry shortcake to be sampled at Boomtown before checking in at the Beau Rivage.

More later.

Biloxi is noticeably different

Even 4+ years after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, abundant evidence of her fury may be found across the region.

Today marked the first time yours truly had returned to this little corner of heaven since the storm.

Frankly, it was shocking.

On the drive down US90, where so many beautiful old homes once stood sentinel over Biloxi Beach, only a few new facsimiles and far too many ghostly foundations remained.

I was told that all the casinos had pretty much been rebuilt. But, I can tell you that Treasure Bay (where yours truly will be spending the night) is nothing like it was before.

They used to have this really cool pirate ship permanently moored in the gulf waters. Of course, that's gone. In the mean time, they've moved all their gaming into the first two floors of their old hotel on the other side of 90. And, they've pretty much ditched the whole pirate theme, which begs the question why they even bother still calling themselves Treasure Bay. Replacing the former kitsch is a bunch of colorful art glass, like the chandelier pictured here. (Apologies for the image quality in advance, took 4 shots and believe it or not this was the best one!)

One of the first things I noticed in walking through the casino is that they have covered up all the slots where passive wagerers like myself used to drop quarters on their way to and fro. Kinda funny when you think about it, slot machines with no slots. But, I guess they are now catering to the more active gamblers who will perch themselves in front of the machines for hours on end. They don't want to be bothered with feeding coins into slots or collecting them as occasional winnings. Instead, they simply feed greenbacks and bar-coded vouchers into the one-armed bandits.

Oh, wait, you probably shouldn't call them "one-armed bandits" anymore. While most of the machines do have a little lever on the side that you would expect on a slot machine, everyone I observed was simply mashing the plastic buttons on the front. The traditional method requires too much effort and, I suppose, will eventually go the way of the coins.

I will say this about Treasure Bay: they have a great buffet. Tonight it featured Dungeness crab. And, we were lucky to have a wonderful waitress named Ok Sun who not only taught us her shell-cracking techniques but also filled our plates in the process.

Beyond recommending the buffet, I would caution any of ye socks planning to stay at the Treasure Bay hotel on two points. First, request a room above the 4th floor, or your only view will be of the maintenance decks. Second, bring your own blanket, as the comforters weigh approximately fifty pounds and the unwitting slumberer could potentially break an arm just rolling-over.

More tomorrow on the changes in Biloxi as this mini-vacation continues.

On the road again . . .

Today's journey carried me to the crapitol of our fair state, perhaps more aptly described as "the belly of the beast" since it has for too long played host to that unmentionable institution of lower learning.

Fortunately, I have found a little corner of heaven even in these parts.

Chez Joanna is a quaint little B&B that offers a private room with full bath en suite.

There was also a crackling fire in the hearth, sweet brownies, even sweeter wine, and good conversation to be had before retiring for the evening.

Vacations never seem to come as frequently as they ought . . .

Ingrafted branches

Yours truly was a little disappointed this morning, as our regular Thursday meeting was derailed.

We are still in the middle of studying the letters of St. Paul, more particularly Romans 11:11-24.

You know those verses, the ones about ingrafted branches.

Anyway, in light of what's going on between the Anglican/Episcopal and Catholic churches this week, I thought they would be particularly topical.

But, that's not where the conversation led us.

Oh, well. Maybe, we can re-group after Thanksgiving!

A break in the case of the missing Macys

Thanks go out today to Sharon Wilson for forwarding this old deed record, dated 1906.

It reserved a half-acre piece of land in the Pine Castle area for my great great grandfather Paul Macy, part of a larger tract that Deacon J.W. Matchett (his brother-in-law) had acquired for the local Baptist church.

So, why is this so interesting?

Well, for many years, yours truly has been trying to figure out where the patriarch and matriarch of the extended Macy clan are buried.

William H. Macy purchased 8 spaces at Greenwood Cemetery in downtown Orlando in the late 1800s. But, the sexton records clearly show that neither he nor his wife were buried there.

On the other hand, I have the original receipt from undertaker E.A. Richards for the funeral of Mrs. Martha Dean Macy that proves at least she died locally and should have been buried near the funeral home in Orlando.

Said receipt was dated 1906, just like the deed.

I'm beginning to think that Mrs. Macy was buried on the land detailed in this 1/2 acre deed. Maybe, her husband was, too . . . .

Any thoughts or suggestions are, as always, appreciated.