We always stayed in the same beautiful house on East Scenic in the Pass. Our friend Wendy’s grandparents, who were affectionately known as Dear and Papa, owned the house, and we would camp out there whenever we could. In high school and college and long after that we would make the drive from New Orleans to see concerts at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. Springsteen, the Police, all the greats played the Coliseum. Wendy’s grandparents were aging, and while we eventually stopped staying at their house, we never stopped travelling to Mississippi.
Another friend’s parents, the Jacobs, built a house in the Bay, and we would drive in from New Orleans on Fridays, eat at Annie’s, and stay up all night gossiping. On Saturdays we would go to Hudson’s or shop Old Town and eat at Trapani’s. Like Trapani’s, the Jacobs house was destroyed in Katrina, and it was a very long time before I could even think about visiting the Mississippi Gulf Coast without becoming teary.
Finally, thankfully, things began to change. I started coming back to the Coast for work, and I realized how much I’d missed Mississippi. Trust me; I’m doing my best to make up for lost time! The Mississippi Gulf Coast has so much to offer – festivals, concerts, restaurants and museums. In the past two years alone, I’ve been to Ocean Springs for the Peter Anderson Festival (and the amazing donuts at Tato-Nut); to Biloxi to play blackjack and see a concert at the casino (with those same school friends); to Diamondhead and Gulfport for business; to Pass Christian for Art in the Pass; and to Bay St. Louis for a long, lazy weekend.
I can’t wait for Chefs of the Coast in September, but I promise I’ll be back long, long, long before then.
– Marcy Nathan, New Orleans
