With 2 days left of the year 2016, we decided to drive to Mississippi, to take advantage, for one last time, of our Crescent City golf discount card, before it would expire on January 1st.

We'd played quite a few courses in Louisiana over the last year but had saved the ones in Mississippi for when we would (so we thought) move there for the winter, and when that didn't happen to visit them on our way back from Starkville, in the Fall.

But than the truck broke down, and after that James went for his hernia surgery, and after his 6 weeks of recuperating he got a nasty cold for 2 weeks, followed by me catching it from him.

So it came down to this last day (as it turned out we couldn't have played the next day, the 31st, because they would close early!).

We'd made a Tee-time at Diamondhead's Country Club (in Diamondhead, MS, about an hour's drive), to play one of their two courses, the Cardinal Course.  

                                             

The weather was windy and cool, but fairly sunny, and once at the course there was no wind at all. Perfect!

According to the website, The Cardinal 'offers up wooded, gently rolling terrain with no parallel fairways and extra long sand bunkers. The Cardinal plays to 6,730 yards and is rated 72.6.'

We thought it was a very 'fair' course, especially in the front, the back had much more water which of course caused some unfortunate splashing, and a 'not so fair' amount of lost balls ...

                                    

Halfway through James remembered that we now had the choice of several (free) range-finder Apps on his phone. 

No more need for the 'old' ones you had to buy and pay yearly fees for. Sweet!

This golf club has made an afford to 'naturalize' it's course and has re-done many areas and planted a lot of natural plant materials.

          

Some of the dead trees have been carved into fun sculptures like these very appropriate Cardinals on the right ...

          

The fairway at the 5th hole was lined with these pretty mushrooms. I found out later they are Fly Amanita and poisonous!

(Fun fact: that same evening when I was reading my book before going to sleep, in it someone mentioned this very Amanita, and it's use (and dangers) in herbal medicine! It's close cousin, the Amanita Virosa or 'Destroying Angel' is even 'deadly poisonous'!)

Talking about funny, how about this golf ball James picked up?

                                 


I also really liked this yellow sign below that I found at one of the bathrooms, and I wholeheartedly agree!

         

This funny construction above (almost looks like a robot to me) is actually a whole bunch of air-horns attached to a pole with a solar-panel to power it. It will sound 3 short blasts if there's lightening in the area and you're supposed to seek shelter immediately, until you hear one long blast that tells it's safe to proceed.

After a very enjoyable round we drove over to Bay St. Louis, which is only a short 5 miles away from Diamondhead.

Like several other upper Gulf Coast cities, Bay Saint Louis was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. 
Katrina made its final landfall near Bay St. Louis, at the mouth of the Pearl River, with a 28-foot (8.5 m) storm surge. The storm came ashore during the high tide of 9:15AM, +2.3 feet more, causing a storm tide over 30 feet (9.1 m) deep!

The Bay St. Louis Bridge on US Highway 90 was severely damaged, with many bridge sections down-dropped at the west edges. 

                           
The destroyed bridge was replaced by a new Bay St. Louis Bridge, which was awarded America's Transportation Award.

Nationally known chainsaw artist Dayle Lewis created four different Angel Trees in town from trees that didn't survive Katrina.
This is the largest one at the beach:

                                                             

The town has finally recovered some businesses and population and is slowly coming back to being the quaint Bay-side town it was before.

Old town's tree lined streets are made up of colorful houses and many have been converted in little antique shops, specialty shops, art galleries and restaurants.




After we strolled around town for a while we were lucky to find a window table at the Blind Tiger, a bay-side restaurant that overlooks the bridge and Marina.



This funky hangout boasts that the food is never frozen and the only (limited) menu is what's written down on a large chalkboard on the wall. 
It has a fun bar-atmosphere and beach decor and the windows on the beach side open like garage doors.  We treated ourselves to BBQ-ed Oysters (delicious) and 'loaded fries' and washed it all down with some Lazy Magnolia, Mississippi's oldest brewed beer.



The food was great and the view couldn't be better as we watched the lights come on around the Marina and the bridge, while the sun was slowly setting.

What a perfect end to a beautiful day!