MEETING UP WITH FRIENDS IN BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI

I haven't blogged in some time now. When I returned from Jamaica it was just a few days and we picked up my sister Geri, at the Brownsville Airport, and took off for Biloxi, Mississippi. Going on a trip to Biloxi has been in our plans since last winter.  We went to meet up with friends, Bill and Andrea. We met them last winter in Florida.  (The restaurant lights were a little on the yellow side.)  We had a great time with them!  Watching the Saints/Vikings game turned out to be a highlight. Strange to be in "Who Dat" land cheering for the Vikings!  After the Saints won we were hugged, kissed, shook and high-fived by Saints fans. Going along with the hoopla seemed like the thing to do--we like our lives and those Saints fans are serious people!

Visiting the Biloxi National Cemetary was solemn and informative. The cemetary is well-kept and sacred. We met a lady that takes pictures of markers, to post or email to family members. She does this for an internet site/for people looking for their family soldiers. http://www.findagrave.com/
If you are searching for a family service member and don't know where he/she is buried, going to the above site might be the lead you need to find the person you are looking for.
Sunset in Biloxi was beautiful, as it is most everywhere, but I can't resist taking those sunset pictures!
Only sad note: too cold to walk on the 26 mile beach!

BUC-EE LAND - - WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

Not often would someone blog about a stop for gas. We continually saw signs on the highway for Buc-ees. About this time Joe, Geri and I were a little tired of driving and the Buc-ee signs were quite entertaining. When you are entertained by signs on the highway it must be time to stop and re-group!  So, we stopped at Buc-ees!

If you get the chance--stop at Buc-ees!  This place is something else.  The little beaver, above, is Buc-ee. The quick stop turned into about an hour! Browsing through this place takes time! The bathroom alone was facinating. The Jailbird, above, greets you --really--he talks to you as you enter!

The wooden Indian is inside the Cowgirls Place. There were 24, yes, I counted 24 stalls in the bathroom! This place must've been designed by a woman! Each full door had a decoration above it and inside it was immaculat!

There was a deli, a coffee spot, a bakery (they bake their own breads), a meat market for every flavor of beef jerkey one could imagine, a store with tons of "this and that", a snack area, a place for salsas, etc. you could order yourself a meal from the deli-via the computers/in the computer center above.

There also is store next door for the outdoor part of your house! Yes, this place is huge.

If you find yourself driving through Wharton, TX ~ stop at Buc-ees ~ you won't be disappointed!    http://www.bucees.com/locations.htm

A FINAL PEEK AT SOME BEAUTIFUL JAMAICAN SIGHTS

A smattering of sights I thought worthy of a photo. The beautiful hotel pictures are of Moon Dance, where we enjoyed the pool, hot tub, and gorgeous grounds. There were fishermen on the cliffs by this resort. Even though we didn't stay there the staff was very welcoming.

One day we walked for miles - Jamaican "miles"!  We kept asking how far the Westender Hotel was, continually getting the answer that it was just a ways down the road. After miles of walking, in the hot sun, we were running out of steam. It's a sign of respect for people passing to ask if you were alright. As one young man was passing, on a motorscooter, asking if we were alright-I yelled, "NO." He turned around to see what was wrong. We told him we just couldn't walk anymore. Now, his motorscooter was quite small---but he fit us

on, by moving WAY to the front of it and off we went another mile down the road! It was a little scary with MaryLynne's legs sticking out, holes in the road, and me yelling, "Go slow please!"  We made it to the Westender and found out, Ryan, our kind motorscooter driver, was Head of Security at the hotel. We did not get a picture of the three of us on the scooter--probably not a pretty picture!

Below: signs that tell it like it is
          Rasta dreads
          Acai on the tree
          Pictures within the lion painting (double click to enlarge)
          Ojah's hat collection
          The "castle" next to Sis and Lars
          Colin-our pattie baker, in his bakery
          A very old canon, at the lighthouse
          Tiny house built by the Rasta next to it

               A very large hermit crab
                                A mechanic's shop ?

                     A FANTASTIC TRIP --- CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK!

MEETING A JAMAICAN ARTIST

               OJAH
Lars told us to walk down the road and see the garden art at one of the houses. Since I like garden art and most others kinds of art, I was anxious to take the walk.
Walking up to the impressive gate of this home made us itching to see more. As a man was passing, on his bike, I asked if he knew who lived there. He said a friend of his and he is just down the road, he will go and get him. We waited, peeking through the gate, snapping pictures, admiring the beautiful flowers that were gracing the inside and outside of the stone wall that was standing guard over this complex.
Soon coming down the road was the man on the bike with his friend.

The owner of the house was OJAH, also known as BUNNY. I preceded to tell him how beautiful his gate was and how much we were enjoying all the flowers in his yard. He was very quiet and gentle. Ojah then invited us into his yard. As we followed him through the gate, through his gardens, passed the four cottages he is in the process of building, back to the home he built for himself five years ago, you could hear the passion in his voice.
He loves to create, make something out of nothing, scrounge for stones, wood, old signs, doors, things people throw away and turn them into art. Turning everything he touches into a piece that catches the eye and is different from anything you've ever seen.
Ojah has made almost everything in his home and is now building four cottages to rent. Most of the furniture was made by him, from found wood.
All pictures I'm posting are works by Ojah.

I took dozens of pictures. I'm posting some of them so you can get a feeling of what we saw. Although the pictures do not do justice to what Ojah has created! It truly was a garden/complex that was tranquil and majestic. ENJOY

Each gate and door in Ojah's complex was unique and designed by him. Each one was a different color which added interest to finding out what was on the other side of it. Most pulls were made from pieces of driftwood or ropes.
Stone was everywhere. He is now starting a stone rail for the porch of one of the cottages. Each stone is flat and he will drill through each attaching one to another with wire. Unique.

The dining room above was entiely made by Ojah, walls with shutters, stone walls, dining set and cieling lamp.  The red porch is on one of the cottages. The sticks coming out of the left wall are really the porch light. Sticks and driftwood are used throughout the complex, readily available on an island.
Most lamps and floorlamps are made from sticks. An exception was the kitchen chandelier~~made with a wooden base and bottles. I love it!

Ojah's front porch was full of art and pieces that he is working on. Every gate on his complex was a different color and style, each unique with details. The art work above the doors in his home caught my eye, something you ordinarily don't see.

The large leaves in the picture below are hiding an outdoor shower! So clever and so refreshing on a warm island!

 Enlarged is the roof to the left trying to show the detail. The palm fronds used for thatching the roofs at Ojah's have all been braided. A lot of work that Ojah had a local braider do.

Ojah's hidden paradise is called DE ZEN~~zen is a way of being. This is a place of tranquility, comfort, seeing things without distortion and peace.

Thank you Ojah for the tour, the insight of making something from nothing, and your company.