Kat and I took a ride to Biloxi today. We picked up volunteer applications for Beauvoir. In 2012 we helped with their Christmas festival. She was Santa’s assistant, and I was an antebellum lady in period costume. I hope we will find opportunities to return.
I’ve made periodic trips to Beauvoir with family since my grandparents took me on our first Mississippi Gulf Coast road trip in the late 1970’s. Four or five of us would pile into Granny’s bright green Gran Torino and head west out of Mobile to Biloxi. Those were the good ol’ days.
Granny wasn’t a fan of air conditioning, or interstates, or breaking the speed limit. We’d roll down all four windows on that big old car, head down Highway 90, and usually make it to Biloxi with plenty of time to spare before lunch. One summer we’d visit Eight Flags and Marine Life, the next Beauvoir. The first two places are long gone; the last still endures, though much changed by Hurricane Katrina. Lots of fond memories made on those trips.
I’ve about got Kat convinced to take up historical reenacting. My forte is the 1800’s. Her options are far broader than mine as she is also able to do the Early 20th Century and WWII eras very well. I have a lead on a reenactment with a new program in early October related to Alabama history. Crossing my fingers that one works out. Stay tuned. 🙂
We did not have time to tour the grounds at Beauvoir today as Kat and I had another errand to run before evening. We did briefly consider buying a bag or two of feed for the goats. But we weren’t exactly comfortable arriving at our next destination covered in goat slobber. Next time, definitely.
After leaving Beauvoir, Kat and I stopped at a costume shop we’d heard about a couple years ago. At that time, I was having trouble finding exactly what I wanted locally to complement my costume for an Old Mobile ghost/urban legend. An employee of one of the more popular franchise party supply stores quietly suggested we try a place in Biloxi called Josette’s. We should have gone over then and there. Somehow the trip got put off a couple years.
Josette’s is located in the neighborhood just north of Hwy 90 where it meets the I-110 in Biloxi. We weren’t sure what to expect. I’d looked at their website, but photographs cannot capture the scale of the place nor even begin to describe a small portion of what it holds.
By all means, check out Josette’s if you are costume shopping on the northern Gulf Coast. The staff are very nice, and the building is HUGE. I felt like we were in the Disney Haunted House or the Navidson home from House of Leaves. Every time we turned a corner the place seemed to grow. If you can dream up a costume or concept, they’ve probably got it at Josette’s.
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