(Don't miss the "towing tips" in the POSTSCRIPT at the bottom of the page)
Awhile back, I recall seeing something on the internet about a big classic car event on the Mississippi coast. The first week in October, 2002, we decided that Hurricane (or was she a Tropical Storm only?) Lily had fizzled out, so we'd like to go down to Biloxi, MS and lose some of our hard-earned coins in the casinos there. We got there Sunday, October 6th, only to find that we were in day 1 of an 8-day event known as "Cruisin' the Coast" -- held annually along U. S. Highway 90 from Ocean Springs to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. During this week, over 4000 classic cars and 25,000 visitors converge on the area, spreading themselves over the 50 or so miles along the coast. There are a number of scheduled events, shows, and parades, but the biggest activity is sitting by the highway watching the cars cruise by. To view the Cruisin' website, click here or on their logo below. I took a bunch of pictures, but have included 5 of the best below. Hmmm ... couldn't limit myself to 5, so there are actually 9. I also added a duck picture to my 'cool and unusual' chapter (unusual pet) and a Ron-Jon picture to my unusual billboards page. Check'm out if you like!
Just a few words about each of the nine: 1) a fellow camper had a very nice '57 Chevy -- about 1 out of 4 campers had some kind of nice classic sitting outside their RV, 2) a '49 (or '50?) Cadillac -- unusual car to see in a classic line-up, 3) my favorite car ever - a '49 Merc - with one of my favorite people ever, 4) & 5) a couple of well-to-do campers arrive at the campground, 6) another very nice '49 Merc, 7) ever seen 9 Prowlers in one place? They were in the parade held Tuesday night, 8) same as #3, but on the road this time, and 9) a really pretty '56 Ford -- another of my favorites. I had a '56 convertible, like this one only white and I had a '56 two-door coupe. Both really great cars! Would you believe my brother got caught with radar one night in the convertible doing 134 miles per hour? It wasn't quite stock. But I guess that's another story ...
A couple of notes about campgrounds for those who care. If you're ever travelling from Huntsville, Alabama (or thereabouts) and going towards Biloxi, Mississippi (or thereabouts), there's a very nice little Passport America campground halfway between Montgomery and Mobile on Interstate 65 called the Country Sunshine RV Park in Castleberry, Alabama. It's only a couple of miles off the interstate and the owners are always really happy to have visitors. We paid the Passport rate of $7.50 to stay there one night. If you go there, don't miss the restaurant just off the interstate when you turn off toward the campground -- great country cooking! Another nice Passport park is the Leisure Lake RV Resort just North of I-10 in Biloxi ($10 a night). We usually stay there, but this time decided to stay right on the beach, so went to the Southern Comfort RV Park on U. S. 90. It cost a little more, but put us right in the middle of all the events.
Bottom line - we had a great time, played alot of casino games, ate alot of free buffets (get a player's card at Boomtown Casino and you'll eat free during your whole Biloxi stay -- great buffet with shrimp, crabclaws, crablegs, etc., etc.), left winning $500 (you must learn that Pai-Gow Poker game -- a "sure" winner), saw a bunch of really neat cars, and only got rained on once or twice. I recommend a trip to Biloxi for anyone who likes gambling in nice weather. And they even have some decent shows at the Beau Rivage or Grand there now and then.
Not enough classic cars here? Check out my Season Finale travellog chapter, a page of photos at AmericaViews/ClassicCars, or go to HappyTravels.net and click on Slide Shows.
46. Cruisin' the Coast
My Travel Log
Nothing in this site is copyrighted -- I'd be honored if you'd reuse anything you find here for your website
Click any photo for a larger view
POSTSCRIPT - Lessons Learned about towing: Just wanted to mention these things and don't know of a more appropriate place to put them. I've always used a tow dolly, so my current rig with a towbar is somewhat of a new experience. To set things up, I read my Suzuki owner's manual! Impressive, eh? It told me to shift the 4-wheel drive into neutral, put the gearshift in 2nd, and leave the key turned on to accessories. I did all that, but when I got to Biloxi, it wasn't shifting very well. I reread the manual and noticed that (-LESSON 1-) I was also supposed to stop every 200 miles, leave it in gear, start it with the clutch in, and rev the engine for a minute or so! This circulates the fluid in the transmission .. hmm .. I thought I had disengaged the transmission .. oh, well. I took it to an oil quick-change place and got the transmission fluid changed. Turns out I also needed a clutch (no fault of mine -- just natural wear) -- did you know a clutch costs over $800 these days? Wow!
(-LESSON 2-) Not a real biggie, but somewhat of a surprise. I learned that with my transmission "disengaged" as noted above, the odometer still records the mileage. Guess that means I'm not really getting 150 miles per gallon on my Suzuki?
