Out-of-towners- if you are going to spend a few days on the Coast before or after the wedding, here are a few ideas of things you might want to check out.

KIDS:
The Lynn Meadow Discovery Center in Gulfport has been voted among the top 50 children's museum in the country. Really fun day for kids. www.lmdc.org. Easy to find, just off the beach in Gulfport on Dolan Ave (between Courthouse and Tegarden.)

Stennis Space Center is 35-40 minutes from Gulfport. It is part of NASA and they have an interactive museum (the Stennisphere) that you can tour. All of the space shuttle astronauts also go there after every mission, so you might bump into a few of them. Fred Haise also lives in the area (Apollo 13- you will know him if you saw the movie "The Right Stuff," he was on that mission)and is very involved with the Stennis museums. Take I-10 west (almost to the Louisiana state line) and follow the signs. www.ssc.nasa.gov/public/visitors/

HISTORY:
Beauvoir, the home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Open everyday 9 am - 5 pm, small admission charge- www.Beauvoir.org It is on the beach (Hwy 90) at the corner of Beauvoir, next to the Coast Coliseum.

OUTDOORS:
Wolf River Canoe & Kayak have 2-7 hour canoe trips available for $45 with kids under 12 free, and kayak rentals - Long Beach (between Gulfport and Pass Christian) www.WolfRiverCanoes.com

SHOP/EAT/WALK AROUND:
Downtown Ocean Springs is cute, fun place to walk around, and has lots of little shops, two small museums, lots of artisans, and restaurants with live music in the evenings. O.S. is a quaint little town but actually boasts 100 restaurants, and several of them along Government St and Washington Ave are wonderful. To get there, either head east on Beach Blvd (Hwy 90) over the Biloxi/Ocean Springs bridge, go about 1 mile maybe and turn right onto Washington. Or take exit 50 from I-10 and just go south for about 5 mins until you go over the railroad tracks and you are there. The Walter Anderson Museum is open 9:30 am - 4:30 pm Mon-Sat, 12:30 - 4:30 Sunday - www.WalterAndersonMuseum.org.

Prime Outlets Mall: In Gulfport on Hwy 49 at I-10 exit 34. Good outlet mall with stores including BCBG, Polo, Ann Taylor, J Crew, Nike, Banana Republic, Coach, Bass, Sperry, Gap and Gap Kids, and fifty more.

Some favorite restaurants- Ruth's Chris and Emeril's (see accomodations page,) BR Prime at the Beau Rivage, Half Shell Oyster House in downtown Gulfport, Salute at the intersection of Hwy 90 and 15th Street near downtown Gulfport, Lookout 49 (casual) on Hwy 49 in Gulfport, Mary Mahoney's on Hwy 90 in Biloxi across from the Hard Rock, just about anything in downtown Ocean Springs.

GOLF:
We have several very nice golf courses in the area. In addition to the Beau Rivage's Fallen Oaks, the Grand Casino has the Grand Bear in Saucier. http://www.harrahs.com/golf/GrandBear/
Windance Country Club in Gulfport is another: www.WindanceCC.com.
The Bridges is an Arnold Palmer course in Bay St Louis, which is the next town past Pass Christian. I've heard good things about the course. Bay St Louis was a gorgeous little artist's community before the storm. Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Bay St Louis/Waveland town line, and the area's recovery is going more slowly than most of the Coast's, but parts have come back very nicely. http://www.hollywoodcasinobsl.com/golf/
All these courses are open to the public (except for the above mentioned Fallen Oaks- that is only open to Beau Rivage guests, I believe.)

ARTS:
The Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art - 1596 Glen Swetman Drive (1 block off the beach) Biloxi www.GeorgeOhr.org. Sometimes they have workshops for kids on the weekends. A new home for the museum is being built along the beach- designed by world-renowned architect Frank Gehry - the buildings are twisted metal "pods" that "dance" among the oaks. The design has been controversial- some people don't get it. Not open yet, but interesting anyway.

BEACHES:
Ship Island Excursions- Oct 26 is the last day of the season that the Ferry boats will be taking folks out to the beaches on Ship Island. The south side of the Island faces the open Gulf. Friday it leaves Gulfport Harbor at 9 am and returns at 2:30. Sunday it leaves at 12 and returns at 5. They leave promptly, so if you want to go, don't be late. There are some facilities out there, and you can buy snacks and rent beach chairs/umbrellas and I think, boogie boards. You can also bring things with you. Adults are $24 round trip, kids 3-12 are $14. You will often see dolphins, and you can tour Fort Massachusetts if you like that kind of thing. Bring sunscreen. www.MSshipisland.com

FISHING:
The following website has info on Deep Sea Fishing Charters. There are many 1/2 day and full day fishing charters available out of Gulfport Harbor and Biloxi. I am not a fisherperson, so I can't tell you much beyond that, but the website can: http://www.gulf-coast.com/misc/fish.html

TENNIS:
If you would like to play while here, I will be happy to look into reserving a court for you at our club, Bayou Bluff, 1 minute from my house. www.BayouBluff.com

CASINOS: If you are feeling lucky or want to catch a show, we have a dozen or more local casinos. Area favorites are the Hard Rock, the Beau Rivage, the IP (all in Biloxi) and the Island View (Gulfport.)