A Weekend Getaway To Ocean Springs

By no means heard of Ocean Springs, Mississippi? Neither had we! Nevertheless it caught our eye on round-ups like Southern Dwelling’s 15 Most Lovable Small Cities and USA Right this moment’s 10 Finest Coastal Small Cities the place it ranked #1. So just a few months in the past our household determined to test it out for ourselves. It did NOT disappoint! We truly thought of detouring by way of Ocean Springs on our weekend journey to New Orleans two years in the past. However now we’re glad we didn’t shortchange it with a fast pitstop and gave it a full journey of its personal.

Ocean Springs lived as much as the hype of being an lovely, small, historic city with heaps to discover. In reality it reminded us A LOT of Cape Charles, the little Virginia seaside city the place we renovated two houses. Each locations are tremendous walkable, have a bunch of enjoyable outlets and eating places, and sit on a quiet bay with shallow water for youths to play in.

We visited Ocean Springs in late November throughout our children’ Thanksgiving break, so we didn’t spend time on the seaside (though it did get into the low 70s every day). However even with out having fun with the water, we discovered lots to do in Ocean Springs.

The place is Ocean Springs, Mississippi?

Ocean Springs is positioned on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi, proper throughout the Biloxi Bay from, effectively, Biloxi. It’s about 3 hours west of our residence in Northwest Florida and nearly 90 minutes east of New Orleans.

We spent most of our Ocean Springs go to strolling round and exploring the historic downtown and beachfront. We actually didn’t get in our automobile as soon as due to renting an Airbnb in an excellent walkable space! We hit up parks, outlets, eating places, toy & sweet shops, and – after all – poked round some charming neighborhoods too. It was the proper laid-back, slow-paced household getaway.

The place to Keep In Ocean Springs

Ocean Springs has a lot of short-term leases in addition to boutique inns and B&Bs, so there are lots of lodging choices – together with fashionable ones like the trendy cabins on the Beatnik Motel.

We stayed at a dog-friendly Airbnb proper off of one of many important downtown streets, which was clear and well-stocked, however after strolling round many areas there, we wouldn’t suggest that particular spot, so I’m not going to hyperlink it right here. It was a little bit loud from some adjoining eating places, however there have been some very charming areas south of Authorities Road that we might choose to remain in subsequent time. This one known as Gaslamp Home is a little bit expensive, however it all the time catches my eye!

However once more, there’s additionally no scarcity of cool inns. We walked by The Roost Boutique Lodge, which appeared like an up to date previous farmhouse. The pool space appears superior on the web site too!

Barely nearer to downtown is The Springs Lodge, which additionally homes a cool floral and reward store known as Palmette (extra on that later). That’s why Sherry is marching so determinedly into the resort beneath!

I stayed outdoors with the canine, however Sherry obtained to sneak some peaks of the within of the resort whereas procuring. It was tremendous effectively designed!

I imply, simply have a look at the lavatory!

We have been positively pleasantly shocked by the extent of lodging choices in Ocean Springs.

We additionally ate an excellent brunch on the Fats Spoon Cafe, however didn’t take any images!

Girl Could

We beloved Girl Could a lot that we ate there twice – as soon as for dinner after which the following morning for brunch. That they had an excellent patio and the menu had crowdpleasers from flatbread pizzas and burgers to omelets and waffles.

Glory Sure Gyro Co

Our first dinner was at Glory Sure Gryo Co which, we later discovered, is a sister restaurant to Girl Could. It additionally had burgers, salads, and pizzas but in addition tons of gyros with completely different topping and sauce mixtures. It wasn’t fancy, however it was SO GOOD we nearly ate there the second evening (however ended up at Girl Could as a substitute).

Pop Brothers

After a protracted stroll, we handled ourselves to some gourmand popsicles at Pop Brothers. It’s positioned in “Money Alley” which is adorned with colourful umbrellas overhead and graphic sidewalk artwork beneath. There are dozens of artisan popsicle flavors to select from (I did Vietnamese Espresso and Sherry did chocolate peanut butter). We extremely suggest paying the additional greenback to have it dipped in chocolate!

Sadly we missed getting a New Orleans-style snow cone at close by Caboose Cones, which had closed for the winter season. However I think about it’s an iconic place to chill off in the summertime.

We additionally loved some novelty sweet on the Sweet Cottage, which is true subsequent door to Girl Could. It had TONS of customized chocolate creations, plus the same old favs.

What To Do in Oceans Springs

The seaside is definitely a giant draw for Ocean Springs, however even in November we discovered lots to maintain us busy out of the water. Principally it concerned strolling round, exploring, dropping into outlets, and taking within the stunning neighborhoods.

Lots of Historic Downtown Ocean Springs appears just like the streets pictured above and beneath. Cozy sidewalks, large oak timber, and enjoyable little outlets, parks, and houses alongside the way in which.

Ocean Springs appears to have a vibrant artwork scene too, with one in style cease downtown being the Walter Anderson Museum of Artwork. Lots of people additionally speak about Shearwater Pottery, however we sadly didn’t make it there throughout open hours.

The following block down is the aforementioned Springs Lodge, which can also be residence to a floral and artwork store known as Palmette.

I stayed outdoors with Penny whereas Sherry and the youngsters shopped. Primarily based on the period of time spent, I may inform it was one among their favourite stops!

Sherry purchased this brass tiger pendant there and loves it endlessly.

I don’t bear in mind the identify of each little retailer we stopped into, however that was type of the enjoyable of it. There was all the time one thing attention-grabbing to see.

My solely want is that Ocean Springs had a neighborhood bookshop (we love testing impartial bookstores on trip). We did come throughout a number of Little Free Libraries, so I suppose that was a detailed second!

It was additionally enjoyable being downtown as issues have been beginning to get decked out for the vacations. We even obtained to see the toy retailer actively hanging theirs!

Along with procuring the downtown, we additionally loved strolling down a number of the neighborhood streets to admire the houses. I’ve by no means thought a lot about what a “quintessential coastal Mississippi” neighborhood may seem like, however one way or the other Ocean Springs is strictly that. It positively had lots of New Orleans vibes, with stunning previous houses, native outlets, and tree-lined streets.

There have been a lot of sprawling porches, picket fences, and big mossy oaks.

Presumably the most effective half about our go to to Ocean Springs is that we left wanting to come back again. Whereas I believe we hit lots of highlights in our quick go to, it appears like we may use extra time to soak it in, totally chill out into its laid-back vibe, and perhaps bike round city or hang around on the seaside on a summer season day.

Oh, and I really need a type of snow cones from the practice caboose.

Ocean Springs, Mississippi: A Recap

When you’re searching for all of the issues we talked about in a single spot, right here ya go!

The place to Keep:

The place to Eat

The place to Store & Browse

Extra Household Journeys We’ve Taken

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