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 Cute Small Cities and USA Right this moment’s 10 Greatest Coastal Small Cities the place it ranked #1. So a couple of months in the past our household determined to test it out for ourselves. It did NOT disappoint! We truly thought-about detouring via 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 properties. Each locations are tremendous walkable, have a bunch of enjoyable retailers 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 loads 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, nicely, Biloxi. It’s about 3 hours west of our dwelling 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 a brilliant walkable space! We hit up parks, retailers, eating places, toy & sweet shops, and – in fact – poked round some charming neighborhoods too. It was the right laid-back, slow-paced household getaway.

The place to Keep In Ocean Springs

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

We stayed at a dog-friendly Airbnb proper off of one of many fundamental 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 bit of loud from some adjoining eating places, however there have been some very charming areas south of Authorities Road that we’d choose to remain in subsequent time. This one known as Gaslamp Home is a bit of expensive, but it surely all the time catches my eye!

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

Barely nearer to downtown is The Springs Resort, 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 under!

I stayed exterior with the canine, however Sherry obtained to sneak some peaks of the within of the resort whereas purchasing. It was tremendous nicely designed!

I imply, simply have a look at the lavatory!

We had been undoubtedly pleasantly shocked by the extent of lodging choices in Ocean Springs.

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

Girl Might

We liked Girl Might a lot that we ate there twice – as soon as for dinner after which the following morning for brunch. They’d an incredible 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 realized, is a sister restaurant to Girl Might. It additionally had burgers, salads, and pizzas but in addition tons of gyros with totally different topping and sauce combos. It wasn’t fancy, but it surely was SO GOOD we virtually ate there the second night time (however ended up at Girl Might as an alternative).

Pop Brothers

After a protracted stroll, we handled ourselves to some connoisseur popsicles at Pop Brothers. It’s positioned in “Money Alley” which is adorned with colourful umbrellas overhead and graphic sidewalk artwork under. 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 Might. 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 loads to maintain us busy out of the water. Largely it concerned strolling round, exploring, dropping into retailers, and taking within the stunning neighborhoods.

Numerous Historic Downtown Ocean Springs appears to be like just like the streets pictured above and under. Cozy sidewalks, huge oak bushes, and enjoyable little retailers, parks, and houses alongside the best way.

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

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

I stayed exterior with Penny whereas Sherry and the children shopped. Primarily based on the period of time spent, I might inform it was considered one of their favourite stops!

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

I don’t keep in mind the identify of each little retailer we stopped into, however that was form of the enjoyable of it. There was all the time one thing fascinating 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 assume that was an in depth second!

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

Along with purchasing the downtown, we additionally loved strolling down among the neighborhood streets to admire the properties. I’ve by no means thought a lot about what a “quintessential coastal Mississippi” neighborhood would possibly appear to be, however in some way Ocean Springs is precisely that. It undoubtedly had lots of New Orleans vibes, with stunning previous properties, native retailers, and tree-lined streets.

There have been numerous sprawling porches, picket fences, and large mossy oaks.

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

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

Ocean Springs, Mississippi: A Recap

In the event you’re on the lookout 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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