February 20

The South

17  comments

The South

By Jason Moffatt

February 20, 2010

alabama, biloxi, biloxi blues, jason moffatt, jasonmoffatt, louisiana, miramar beach, mississippi, waffle house

We had a blast in New Orleans. But we decided to move on to Florida to try and get some heat and sunshine.

The clouds have been feverishly stalking me since I began this voyage and I’ve been longing for some yellow beaming rays of warmth ever since. So, Florida here we come.

Before bailing The Big Easy I wanted to stop by my buddy Chad Mac’s house to say hello. Sadly, with a 38 foot coach, traffic snarls and construction it made it a nightmare. So, I opted to just get on I-10 and head east.

While departing New Orleans I witnessed a ton of destruction from Hurricane Katrina. Abandoned houses were scattered everywhere. I get the feeling we didn’t even come close to seeing the worst of it either. It was pretty depressing to think what the locals must of went through. The recent super bowl victory was much needed in this city.

Before completely leaving Louisiana, I needed to fuel up Mary J. While at the Flying J truck stop I had an interesting encounter from a southern truck driver. He was bitching about gas prices. I told him… “this is nothing, you should see what it’s like in California”.

He replied… “California if full of Fucking Communists”.

I laughed, paid my bill and looked for a pink commie hat in the store to antagonize him. They didn’t have any.

Within minutes of leaving the fuel station I was quickly in Mississippi. Instead of traveling along I-10 I decided to hit up highway 90 (the scenic route). I’m sure glad we took this detour. Within minutes I saw a sign that read “Beaches”. I almost got a hardon.

The beaches in Mississippi aren’t much to brag about. The water was brown but the sand was nice. Webber enjoyed pissing on bushes though. It was interesting to roll through small towns like Biloxi. I’ve always wanted to see that place since I saw Biloxi Blues with Matthew Broderick as a kid.

After a few hours through the scenic route we headed back for I-10 East and made much better time on our travel towards The Sunshine State. Next up was Alabama. We didn’t stop here. I saw a lot of Confederate flags and to be honest, it sort of freaked me out. I seemed to miss Sweet Home Alabama playing on the radio too.

Before I knew it, the welcoming sign for Florida was in my view. We’d made it. Almost. Dying to see the beach and bright blue water I pushed down on the gas pedal. Unfortunately the sun was setting fast. We’d had to wait until the morning to see the water.

A quick bite at the Waffle House and some internet browsing told me that we should hop over the bridge and drive along the Gulf Islands highway 399. After passing the toll booth and the bridge we were finally at the water. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find parking anywhere. It was tough. The one spot I tried to park at resulted in a lady coming out of her house to give us the boot.

Luckily we found a parking lot right on the beach that had no visible signs prohibiting us from parking. Since it was 10 pm already, we thought we may have a good chance to avoid the 5-O’s for the evening and we could depart at sun-up. We made it through the night unscathed.

The sunrise in the morning was beautiful. I mean beautiful. It’s been a while since I’ve been up that early. (Note to self: get up early more often. It’s worth it)

Next, I read the surf report for the gulf area. It appears that waves are in the forecast for Sunday. Waist high waves. Hell yes!

Being super pumped on the idea of catching a few waves I decided to book a RV spot for a few days and wait out the swell. We ended up in Miramar Beach about 2 blocks from the beach. Not a bad spot at all. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring a few ridable waves.

The water here is stunning too. A bit cold, but stunning in it’s appearance. I think the temperature is about 56 or 57 degrees. I went knee deep in the water and it didn’t feel that cold. Thankfully, I have my wet suit with me.

Can’t wait, can’t wait, can’t wait for tomorrow. Cmon wave gods!

About the author

Jason Moffatt

Jason Moffatt is a former private detective turned internet marketer who uses his skills of keen observation and deductive reasoning to pinpoint the easiest paths to success online. He’s passionate about helping entrepreneurs in the health & wellness field along with those in the personal development space. Jason believes we’re all a work in progress and that each day presents an opportunity to be a little be better than the last.

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  1. Sounds like a blast dude. I can still remember making that same journey to and from San Diego and the fun we had just isn’t describable. If someone reading this hasn’t driven across the country yet, I highly suggest you do and it will help you see the great beauties that this great country has to offer.

  2. Maybe the wave gods are waiting for some type of sacrifice. Go buy a salt water fish and set it free. Might work. Isn’t it amazing how many people are caught in a funk, miserable with their lives? Thankfully there are also people like you (and me) who actually take time to look outside our personal lives and appreciate things and experiences for what they are. Just things and experiences – it’s up to us to make them enjoyable. Keep the posts coming, let us know how those waves rolled out for you. (not sure of the proper terminollagy there:)

  3. Awesome Journal bro, I can only live vicariously through your ventures online hehe.

    Keep up the posts it kind of reminds me of the movie “The Endless Summer” except you are hitting all the cold water. Anything South FLA and water should get warmer.

    Melbourne FLA is a nice surf area.

    You have to grow some major ball hair to hit south 95 to Miami in a RV though!

    East Coast water you pretty much will be full winter suit up til about April then you can go to a Spring suit.

    Water temps are colder in Carolinas but Waves in Cape Hatteras are worth it.

    Carolina Beach NC is my home which is Wilmington NC aka “Cape Fear” what the weather channel likes to call it when Hurricane season comes.

    If you get in Wilmington I-40 which is deemed Michael Jordan highway leaving NC has a cool sign which is a cool picture taker.

    Pictures Of cool signs
    http://www.unc.edu/~sdilts/pictures/wilmington40.jpg Barstow Cali

    http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/2935760293_d3a9c9bd2b.jpg Wilmington NC

    Cape Hatteras used to be Epic for “getting barreled”. Lot’s of secluded camp grounds and places to camp and chill. Not sure how well wifi access is now out there. (Probably better than 10 years ago) lol

    Wilmington NC is like the Hollywood east with shows like Dawson Creek and Movies like “The Crow” it is a cool place to hang downtown.

    Bars that rock Red’s and Barbary Coast. Barbary is rough around the edges too rough for some. (Was my Favorite bar) Anyway, this is my short journal post bro haha Have fun if you have any question on east coast let me know I know a lot of cool surf spots.

    Surfline.com rocks
    http://www.surfline.com/surf-report/carolina-beach-southeast_5247/travel/

    hehe Don’t let the college kid review fool ya just look at the waves

    PS Take more video!! and Pics!!

    Thanks for sharing your experience with us bro!
    Shane

      1. I hate the Drive very hectic and fast pace. I drove a Escalade down there and was nervous lol cars merging all over the place.

        Maybe it was all the people telling me “Watch out for Miami” Some of the exits were spray painted over and I had to piss really bad and was not sure where the hell to get off.

        I heard some areas are sketchy like Lil Havana and some areas you could get jacked. I am a laid back country boy at heart, maybe the fast pace of Miami was too much haha. Don’t let me scare you off just becareful where ever you go bro.

        1. I hear ya man. I’m not much into the fast pace myself, but sometimes you just gotta deal with it. Traveling in the middle of the night is usually the best for big city driving. I’ve had some pretty hairy sessions driving through LA, so I can’t imagine it could get much worse. And yeah, there’s ghetto’s all over the country. I’m street smart about that kind of stuff but thanks for the concern.

  4. That’s too bad you didn’t stop in Alabama. The whole state has a real BAD rap from all of the movies out there. “My cousin Vinney” comes to mind (awesome movie!) Not to mention the morons in the tall white pointy hats.
    Mobile, AL. is like mini-mardi gras though. I never lived in L.A.(Lower Alabama) but keep mobile in mind next time.

    PS: head to Atlanta next , then come up I-75 to Chattanooga and Nashville. Cash rules in that thar’ city.

    1. Yeah, I can’t wait to go to Nashville. I think I’ll skip Atlanta though. I was going to take the scenic route through Mobile but was trying to get to the beach in Florida before it got dark. I failed that one though.

  5. Hi Jason,

    Sounds like you’re havin a ball mate.

    In answer to your question re Marketing stuff or Daily Shenanigans, for me and probably for the vast majority of your mates we want to have both.

    In the words of Tony Robbins “If life’s worth living it’s worth recording” and I believe he’s absolutly right so I’d love to see more pics and shenanigans.

    It’s funny mate, when I think of you travelling around the country, the song that plays in my mind is the Little Feat song sung by the late great Lowell George namely “Willin”.

    Take care mate and … if you can’t have a good time ……….. don’t have a bad time.

    Gary
    Manchester UK

  6. Running into some Bama boys might have done your commi ass some good. ha ha

    Keep sharing your experience man. The free tips are helpful and the stories are entertaining.

    1. I’m actually all for a communal lifestyle myself, but that’s with 30 or 40 people. Not 275 million.

      I have to say, many people here in the south have been exceptionally pleasant. They weren’t joking about that “Southern Hospitality” thing. Being from Oregon, it feels kinda nice when people are sincere and pleasant for no apparent reason.

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