So. What do they have in common?

Typically, you would say hitting the beach at Normandy. Well, I didn’t hit that beach, but I did hit the beach in Gulfport, MS! Oh, not the same. Sorry, Normandy was necessary for the war effort.

After “hitting the beach” at Gulfport, I decided I didn’t need to see much more beach. Ok, I’ll just drive on to Biloxi, not that far. When arriving in Biloxi, I saw a sign that said “Mobile – 60 miles.” Ok, that’s not very far, so I headed that way.

About an hour later, I pulled into Mobile and then thought, Florida’s less than an hour away, so on to Pensacola! What can I see in Pensacola? Lots of things, but decided to see the Gulf Islands National Seashore, a National Park Service location.

After visiting the beach there, now I can head back to Hattiesburg for the night!

Oh, by the way. Here’s the link to the preview post about this trip.

World War II Museum in New Orleans.

This is an excellent museum. It has some interactive opportunities and includes many videos about WWII. The museum includes personal experiences of many men and women who served or held down the home front. For example, “Rosie the Riveter.”

The museum is now considered the number one tourist attraction in New Orleans and on many people's “bucket list” when visiting NOLA.

Goodbye to New Orleans

I completed my quest to run the Great River Road from Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota to the southernmost point in Louisiana at the Gulf of Mexico. That’s been a goal to complete the southern end since I did the part of the river from the source to Natchez, MS.

Gulfport MS beach

I stopped at the beach in Gulfport. It’s a beach.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

Here you’ll find the “sugar sand” the Florida Panhandle is famous for! It’s a great area for your beach time. This National Seashore abuts Pensacola Beach, so there are plenty of places to stay. Enjoy yourself!

I also found a Buc-ee’s in Mississippi! Buc-ee’s has a near “cult-like” following in Texas and is rapidly expanding into other states.

On the way back to Hattiesburg, I also found a Buc-ee's in Alabama! As I said, the following is "cult-like," so I had to stop!

More tomorrow. (Or the next day.)

Thanks for following…

The Driveby Tourist “Team”

Note: These will be quick notes at the end of the day. I’ll send them “regularly.” Please excuse grammatical errors as I’m doing these on the fly!