This vacation was originally known as our Gulf Coast birding trip,
but through circumstances beyond our control (few birds), it ended up
to be our Biloxi gambling escapade. It also served as an opportunity
for me to burn off some USAirways frequent flyer milese before this
sorry excuse for an airline bellies-up. Fortunately the attitude
displayed by the airline's stationed in Hartford was not
representative of their workforce. I can understand some employees
being bitter about having to give back so much of their
salaries/benefits to keep this company afloat, but why take it out on
the passengers? Their actions will only hasten the inevitable demise
of the airline talk about shooting oneself in the foot!
Tuesday - April 12: Our connection with a 2-hour layover was in
Charlotte where we munched at Chili's Express on chicken enchilada
soup surprisingly tasty. On arriving in New Orleans, we took a
shuttle to the Alamo lot where I reserved a midsize car. A few quick
turns out of the parking lot and Bam! right in the middle of the New
Orleans commuter traffic. Needless to say our drive to Biloxi via I-
10 took longer than Mapquest estimated. We spent the next 3 nights,
booked via Travelocity, at the beautiful Imperial Palace. The hotel
was a good value for the money, $39 per night, but a bit frumpy like
its Las Vegas counterpart.
Dinner this evening was at Cucos Mexican restaurant where we used an
Entertainment 2/1 coupon. This restaurant runs an all night happy
hour so we started off with margaritas at the bar. After we ordered
our 2nd drink, we retired to the dining room and ordered the
excellent spinach enchiladas Ole! Both of us were too tired to
gamble so we returned to our luxurious room and read.
Wednesday - April 13: I was up before the roosters, so I made the
short drive to the Palace Casino to play some quarter 9/6 JOB. The
VPFree data base show 9/6 JOB machines scattered throughout the
casino floor, but I only found a total of 19, (6) each 25 cent and
$1, (7) 50 cent, all located near the slot booth. I managed to lose
a Benjamin before you could spell Franklin, however, I did earn
a "free" buffet for each of us. This ongoing promotion runs Sunday-
Thursday and requires only 30 points ($450) to be earned, 90 points
on triple point days. The buffet comp is valid for 72 hours.
Breakfast this morning was at the Casino Magic's 2 for 1 breakfast
buffet for seniors. The buffet was acceptable, but not of the
quality as the Orleans or Gold Coast in Las Vegas. After birding the
Gulf Shores National Seashore and Sandhill Crane National Wildlife
Refuge, we stopped at the Schooner Restaurant located across the
street from Famous Joe's Oyster Bar. The gumbo and ambiance were
less than memorable.
Dinner this evening was at McElroy's Harbor House Seafood Restaurant
using a Restaurant.com gift certificate. Ann's broiled red snapper
was pretty good, but my flounder with crab stuffing suffered due to
overcooking a common problem encountered on this trip.
Ann hadn't made a tribute to the VP gods so we drove over to Casino
Magic. While she played on a 9/6 JOB progressive machine, I
adjourned to the Pinnacle Club and enjoyed two sets by Marcel Evans.
His press release bills him as the lead singer of the "Original
Drifters", which is not the same group as the Clyde McPhatter or Ben
E. King "Drifters". He is a bit long in the tooth, but his voice was
exceptional, as was his play list. The Pinnacle Club is a luxurious
lounge with rich wood paneling and overstuffed leather
furniture.
Thursday - April 14: I again kissed a Benjamin goodbye at the Palace
Casino before the sun rose over Biloxi. Breakfast this morning was
the seniors $1.99 buffet at the Imperial Palace. In retrospect, the
Casino Magic's buffet now seemed pretty damn good. We enjoyed a
drive along the coastal road, Route 90, to Bay St. Louis and
returned. Enroute we saw a large colony of black skimmers and an
area fenced off as a nesting area for little terns.
We received one free drink coupon at check-in so I ordered a
Chardonnay and a beer at one of the bars. The bartender accepted the
coupon, but refused to accept money for my drink. He just asked if I
gambled and my drink was comped without me putting any money into the
VP machine hail to the IP! Dinner tonight was our comped buffets
at the Palace Casino. Hot Dungeness crab, 3 types of peel and eat
shrimp, ribs, salmon, baked beans, cooked to order pasta etc. etc.
Last, but certainly not least was my first ever, but not last ever,
slice of chocolate chip peanut butter pie. WOW!
Again, Ann played VP at Casino Magic while I returned to "my" table
in the Pinnacle Lounge. After an hour or so, Ann joined me and we
caught Marcel Evans' last set of the evening.
Friday April 15: The worm turned this morning as I hit several
quads and cashed out with "only" a $50 loss for the trip less $26 in
accumulated cashback. It was the IP breakfast buffet round 2
courtesy of a 2/1 coupon from the Casino Player funbook. No
improvement in the quality of the buffet over the intervening 48
hours, but the price was right. We checked out and drove to Daughin
Island arriving mid-day. We birded with little success at the shell
mounds. Lodging this evening was at the Comfort Inn at Tillmans
Corners outside Mobile.
Dinner at the Bangkok Thai included shared orders of pad Thai with
jumbo (medium?) shrimp and panang curry with chicken. The restaurant
was packed and the kitchen backed up, so we received a complimentary
appetizer. Each dish was excellent.
Saturday April 16: Our breakfast buffet was comped, actually it was
included in our room rate. It was pretty grim as these affairs tend
to be, but we brought our own banana (smuggled from the IP buffet)
for the cereal. Later that morning we made the short drive to
Bellingrath Gardens, where we toured until early afternoon. Lunch
was BBQ sandwiches at a Dick Russel's. Ann's cubed pork sandwich was
pretty good, but my cubed chicken was dry as a bone. Later that
afternoon, after a short nap, we returned to Daughin Island with
similar results as the previous day (i.e. more birders than birds).
Birding tends to make one thirsty (or so I am told) so we stopped in
a local "hot" spot called the Pelican Pub & Raw Bar for a cool
brewski.
Dinner tonight was the Delhi Palace outside Mobile. Saturday night
and there was only 6 other patrons, but we are nothing if not
fearless when it comes to our dining choices. The chicken tika
marsala was unlike any we have ever experienced and I would not order
it again, but the lamb korma was excellent as was the garlic naan and
basmati rice.
Sunday April 17: 2nd morning at the Comfort Inn, 2nd continental
breakfast and a 2nd IP banana. Time to relocate to Gulf Shores after
a quick trip back to the shell mounds. En route we happened upon
Cazadores Restaurant on our way to Ocean Beach. We each ordered an
enchilada very good when coupled with salsa and chips. After
driving along the coast and viewing the hurricane damage between
Orange Beach and the tip of Gulf Shores, we checked into another
Comfort Inn for 4 nights. This motel had suffered moderate damage
and was in the process of being restored to all of its former glory
(wink wink). I decided immediately we would be checking out sooner
rather than later.
Early evening and it was time to find LuLu's, owned by Jimmy Buffet's
sister, restaurant/bar. It turned out to be just on the other side
of the overpass from our motel. Two beers, a sip of a mojito and one
T-shirt later and we were on our way to Lesters. Oops, closed on
Sundays. Our second choice, the Bayside Grill in the Sportsman's
Marina, was thankfully open. Ann chose the Caribbean Tropical Mahi
with sweet potatoes and fruit salsa. I had my first, but not last,
encounter with crawfish in a tasso cream sauce over fettuccine. Her
Mahi was overdone (surprise) while my dish was excellent.
Monday April 18: Another morning in a Comfort Inn, another
continental breakfast and another IP banana. We drove out to Fort
Morgan, but the birding made Daughin Island's look exciting. We
toured the fort and met a very pleasant English lady (who says the
Irish have the gift of gab?), walking 2 dogs. She said after losing
her rental in the hurricane, she and her husband were in process of
building a home on a lot purchased the year prior for $120,000 and
now valued at over $600,000. There go any plans I might have of
moving to the shore.
Time for lunch at Calvadores - $1 tacos special almost as authentic
and tasty as your local Taco Bell's.
Our last night in Gulf Shores, last chance to visit LuLu's. This
time we chose the $5 pitcher of domestic draft beer. Dinner tonight
was at the Original Oyster House. We each chose the 2-item
combination: soft-shell crab and a grouper filet. Excellent crab
coupled with a regrettably forgettable overdone grouper. I feel
terrible for the grouper who sacrificed its life for this dish. We
each added the salad bar (undistinguished) and I chose turnip greens
(excellent) while Ann embraced a pruned up baker.
Tuesday April 19: We drove back to Biloxi and I spoke to a host,
Gene, at the Palace Casino about staying 2 nights. I was offered and
accepted the casino rate of $49. No rooms were available until later
in the afternoon so we drove along the beach road again looking a
Gumbo R' Us restaurant. We happened on the Gumbo Shop, but there was
no separate luncheon menu so we decided to temporarily take a pass.
I hate to confess to it, but we lunched at the nearby MickeyD's on
double cheeseburgers - hold dem fries. There I said it and my
conscience is (amost) clear if not my arteries.
Next stop was the Copa Casino in Gulfport where we took advantage of
the buy $10 get $10 new member bonus. We played the antiquated 9/6
JOB progressive machines at the little upstairs VP bar. I broke even
and Ann won $40. We drove back to the Palace Casino where we were
greeted at check-in by a cute little munchkin bearing glasses of
champagne - all right! We were assigned to what I would describe as
a junior suite overlooking the bay. This hotel ranks (almost) right
up there with Borgata in Atlantic City, but the casino itself is more
like those found in downtown Las Vegas.
We returned to the Gumbo Shop, located in the Edgewater Village
Shopping Center, later that evening for dinner. This is an offshoot
of the original in New Orleans. We each decided on the Complete
Creole Dinner. Ann had the seafood gumbo, crawfish etouffee, creamed
spinach and hot bread pudding with whiskey sauce. I decided on
chicken andouille gumbo, crawfish etouffee, smothered turnip greens
and chocolate brownie pie with ice cream. Everything was delicious
although the bread pudding was heavier than one of Rosie
O'Donnell's ......(fill in the blank).
Wednesday April 20: The early morning VP session @ the Palace
Casino was a little better as I netted a whopping $15 profit, 2
buffets, $15 in cashback and a partridge in a pear tree. We again
joined the silver set at Casino Magic's ½ priced breakfast buffet.
The line was long, but moved quickly once you negotiated past all
those walkers and canes. I must be getting used to Biloxi buffets
because it seemed pretty good this morning. The remainder of the day
was spent at the jacuzzi, dozing or reading.
Dinner was at the Palace Casino's buffet. In addition to the hot
crab legs, we split a cooked-to-order pasta dish made with tomatoes,
garlic, red pepper, crawfish, basil, white wine, butter, and cajun
spice excellent. I confirmed my suspicion that the chocolate chip
peanut butter pie was as good as that served the week prior. Hail to
Skippy!
Thursday April 21: A great VP session this morning, including a
dealt straight flush, resulted in a gain of almost $200. We
returned to the Imperial Palace for the $1.99 seniors buffet. I
talked to Gene, a Palace Casino host, and extended our stay for an
additional night. We drove to Ocean Springs and toured the
historical area including the chamber of commerce, Reflections
(Walter Anderson art), Mississippi Mud potters and a health food
store. Lunch was a cup of crab and corn bisque at the Washington
Avenue Market excellent. The soup is purchased from the Chef John
Folse & Company. We spent the remainder of the day poolside.
After 2 more comped dinner buffets including a slice of chocolate
chip peanut butter pie, we decided to tour Beau Rivage. A short VP
session upon our return to the Palace netted me $60 after a quick
pair of quads.
Friday April 22: My early morning VP session ended up short and
bitter the prior evening's $60 was now just a memory, but I did
walk out the door with $65 in accumulated cashback. I subsequently
learned, after talking to Jo, a casino host, that comps are also
earned, but must be claimed each day and used within the following 72
hours. Live and learn.
I ended up spending most of the remaining predawn hours catching up
on email in the business center. We then drove over to the Imperial
Palace for our last senior's $1.99 breakfast buffet. With a tear in
my eye I bade farewell to both Biloxi and the $200 Ann lost at the
Casino Magic. It was time to relocate to Daughin Island where we had
reservations for 2 nights at the lovely Gulf Breeze Motel this
island's best and only motel.
We took the scenic Route 98A out of Mobile making short stops at the
Tangier Factory Outlets (Foley) as well as the Weeks Bay National
Estuarine Reserve. For lunch we split a turkey pastrami hoagie at
the Lighthouse Bakery on Daughin Island. We then birded the shell
mounds before checking-in.
Prior to dinner we enjoyed a brew at the Pelican Raw Bar before
driving off the island to the very popular Baudens Restaurant for
dinner. I enjoyed my shrimp Creole over flounder, but a side order
of broccoli was tougher than nails. Ann's flounder florentine was
one of the nastiest dishes ever encountered a floating mass of
hollandaise sauce and spinach over small pieces of flounder. She is
still experincing nightmares involving the Hulk drowning in a sea of
cheese.
Saturday April 23: I got up early and purchased a sweet roll for
Ann and raisin bran muffin for myself at the Lighthouse Bakery. We
birded the shell mounds, but it was too windy for decent birding. We
also visited the Audubon preserve and walked the various trails
including one to the beach where we saw bottled nose dolphins playing
in the wake of a pair of fishing boats.
We returned to the Lighthouse Bakery for lunch, splitting a seafood
salad sandwich.
Dinner was again at Bauden's after we rejected Daughin Island's
highly acclaimed restaurant, the Sea Galley, and another one located
in a marina off the road as Bauden's. We split orders of fried
oysters (good) and soft shelled crabs (gooder).
Sunday April 24: Breakfast was at the lovely Sea Galley. They
offer a highly regarded, at least by Daughin Island standards,
breakfast buffet which took the term grim to new heights. We settled
on pancakes - thank you, (2) each, which were pretty good. We then
headed to NOLA after making a final effort to bird the shell mounds.
Overall our visit to Daughin Island was disappointing and I doubt we
will be returning in this or even the next lifetime. We stopped on
the outskirts of NOLA for lunch at the Sassafras Creole & Seafood
Restaurant. Most of the patrons, including the waitstaff, were
dressed in their Sunday finest. Our cups of file gumbo were very
good.
We checked-in at the La Quinta Airport motel situated at what I
believe is the space between two runways. It is a large hotel that
must have been a Holiday Inn in a prior lifetime. Dinner was at
Tecoro's Seafood & Italian Restaurant using an Entertainment coupon.
My eggplant Parmesan dish was satisfactory, but Ann's chicken piccata
entree was awash in a very heavy cream sauce. Take my word for it
folks, the recipe for chicken piccata does not include heavy cream.
Also, Ann must now write on the blackboard 50 times "I will not order
any dish in a cream sauce".
Monday April 25: I spent the early morning hours checking email and
various (Las Vegas) websites in the Business Center. The La Quinta's
continental breakfast included an excellent fresh fruit medley and
cooked-to-order (your the chef) waffles. We headed into NOLA on
Canal Road with a stop at Cemetery #1 to view the grave of Marie
Laveau, known as the Vodoo Queen. A teacher herding a large group of
students directed us to the grave. She told the children of Marie's
background and asked if anyone had a chicken bone sure enough one
chubby kid pulled a chicken wing from his pocket and proceeded to eat
the meat before laying it at the foot of the grave. Lacking a
chicken bone, we used our fingers to draw 3 X's on the grave and
knocked three times, but dummey me forgot to make a wish. We then
parked on Canal Road and took a trolley to the French Quarter. We
primarily concentrated on visiting the art galleries on Royal Street,
but also took time out to visit St. Louis Cathedral and walk around
Jackson Square.
Our shared turkey po-boy @ Felix's was not particularly good. We
were both too pooped to pop and Ann was starting to come down with a
cold so we returned to the room at around 2PM. Dinner was at
Phoenicia, a Lebanese restaurant in Metarie. Although we have never
had Lebanese food before, the menu was pretty much the same as that
found in any Greek restaurant. Ann had lamb kebobs with a small
salad and rice. I ordered the combination kebab plate that included
lamb, kafta and chicken kabobs plus the same salad and rice. The
lamb was way overdone and the kafta was too mild to suit my taste
buds.
Tuesday April 26: Our last breakfast buffet courtesy of La Quinta
and it was off to Alamo and the airport. Our return flights were
uneventful, but we arrived early enough to pick-up Max, our
Schipperke, at the kennel. Max earned a total of 15 frequent stay
credits for this trip.
My wish list for our next visit to Biloxi includes:
Walter Anderson MOMA
Beauvoir
Ohr-O'Keefe Museum
Dinner at the Gumbo Shop
Royal flush