Have you ever asked or heard someone else ask "Why would anyone really want to live on the MS Gulf Coast?" I have heard some ask this question and it got me thinking of all the reasons why; but the answer became very clear after staying home (or close to home) on the MS Gulf Coast, during my kids' spring break! Let me tell you all the great things we did to fill our spring break, and the best part... all of them were either on the MS Gulf Coast or less than 2 hours away from it; and this is just a small portion of what the MS Gulf Coast has to offer.

1. WE STAYED HOME: We started out our spring break right here at home, in Gulfport, with lunch at Captain Al's Steak and Shrimp. We were able to fish in the lake right in our own backyard. We had crawfish and fellowship on our neighbors back porch, overlooking the lake. We swam in the neighborhood pool, played on the playground and walked on some nature trails. My boys got a hair cut, @ Southern Gents for Easter and even got Snow Boogers (If you haven't had Snow Boogers yet, you must put it on your to do list!) since they were set up for Southern Gents grand opening. This was all on Friday and Saturday before Easter!
2. CHURCH AND OAK CREST MANSION : For Easter we celebrated the resurrection of Christ at Campground Baptist Church, one of the many wonderful churches all along our coast. After enjoying the morning, we changed our traditional Easter family lunch gathering at home and decided to go enjoy the delicious and beautiful brunch offered by Oak Crest Mansion. It was amazing and the grounds are beautiful. This is operated as a bed and breakfast as well, and they often hosts other events such as weddings, murder mystery dinners, tea parties and more.
3. GULF SHORES, AL: Our home is just under 2 hours to our destination in Gulf Shores, AL. (Side note: we are also only approx. an hour away from New Orleans and Hattiesburg, and about 45 minutes from Mobile and Slidell). It was a fun 3 day get away, without a long drive. We were able to hang out on the beach, and spend hours at Lulu's on the same day that we drove back home. We enjoyed paddle boarding, fishing, splashing in the waves and great food at places like The Hangout.
4. EXPLORE THE MS GULF COAST: We were exhausted when we got home, but we still had a couple days left of spring break! We slept late the next day and then went fishing, swimming and playing right here in our neighborhood... again! The next day was Saturday, so one of the boys had a basketball game. They play sports in the awesome Upward Sports League. The basketball game was great, and when we left, we headed to the always fabulous Pass Christian Art Festival! We have done this for, I believe, the last 4 or 5 years now. I would go into detail, but that deserves a blog post all of its own! It's great. The event hosts so many local artists and some that travel from other states. Saturday, you have access to Celebrate the Gulf Marine Educational Festival, that is held concurrently with the art festival. It offers so many displays, activities and demonstrations where the kids learn and explore all kinds of great things about our Gulf, rivers and more! After leaving the festival, we went to check out this cool little hiking trail. A friendly woman that was working the Department of Marine Resources booth at the Marine Educational Festival told us about it. It's part of the Coastal Preserves program. As soon as she mentioned that we could make it to the Wolf River, so my son had to do it!                                                                                                                    And of course.... no spring break (or weekend, party) is complete without a visit from the  nostalgic Little Blue Truck and Mrs. Charlie! The Little Blue Truck does appearances for parties, click the picture for more info!

It was a fun-filled and busy week and this was just a VERY small sampling of what the MS Gulf Coast has to offer if you decide to call it home! We're proud to raise our kids here and would love to help you find a place to raise yours; or just enjoy retirement. We got to do so many things and didn't have to be stuck in the car for a long drive. I've lived here 34+ years, been a Realtor here for almost 10, but still discover new things all the time. That's what is so great about the MS Gulf Coast. There is always something to do or something to discover! You are a short drive to so many places: New Orleans, Slidell, Mobile, Gulf Shores, Pensacola and so many more. Couple that with the low prices on homes in MS, and my question is why not consider the MS Gulf Coast for your NextHome!

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