Realizations

Travel Post #8: Realizations-The Walter Anderson Shop

Realizations is a small shop located in the heart of downtown Ocean Springs, Mississippi. This shop houses wall-to-wall Walter Anderson pieces. The artwork is stripped of color allowing the purchaser to paint using watercolors of their own choice. I personally have quite a few pieces of artwork that have been painted to match the décor of my home. Not far down the road you can find the Walter Anderson Museum that contains his family’s artwork and a biographical video.

Brief history: Walter Inglis Anderson was born in the early 1900s in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a painter, writer, and naturalist. Anderson lived most of his life rather reclusive on Horn Island in Mississippi. He painted the primitive conditions that he experienced such as the landscapes, animals, sea creatures, and foliage. He then passed away in 1965.

Check Out Their Websites: http://www.walteringlisanderson.com/

http://www.walterandersonmuseum.org/

The Shed: BBQ & Blues Joint

Travel Post #7: The Shed BBQ

I travel to Ocean Springs, Mississippi a few times a year and there is one stop that I make regardless of our predetermined plans… The Shed! Visiting this BBQ joint is certainly an experience, yes experience! Upon arrival on the property you immediately become a ShedHed. The décor includes license plates hanging from the ceiling, classroom chairs as seats, horse statues, old car parts, and anything else you could imagine being found in a junk yard. The backdrop is, of course, a clear shot of the bayou. To give you the full picture I found this paragraph on their website: "Once there was a guy that spent most of his out-of-class time at Ole Miss scouting out, jumping in, and rummaging through dumpsters and street side garbage piles. The highlight of his week was the "night before trash day." After graduation, he wanted to move back to the Coast. One sobering morning he surveyed all he had collected over the years. It was Everywhere, it was Insane: warped used two by fours, old tin roofing, bent nails, ugly windows, mountains of pure, unadulterated junk! Not knowing what to do with it and not willing to part with a single plastic bucket or warped record, he built a trailer out of the larger parts and loaded the rest on top of this homemade junk hauler (picture here the Beverly Hillbillies on steroids) and moved back to Ocean Springs."

Now that you know what to expect aesthetically, the food is superb. I recommend the pulled pork sandwich with a side of potato or pasta salad. A majority of others select the ribs. You really can’t go wrong when selecting items off of their menu.

Check Out Their Website: http://theshedbbq.com/

Nags Head

Travel Post #6: Nags Head, North Carolina

Nags Head is a bustling beach town nestled in the heart of the Outer Banks. The best way to fully experience Nags Head is to rent a cottage on the beach and fill it with beach chairs, coolers, and company. Our annual trips to North Carolina are for the 4th of July and typically include: horseshoe tournaments, an occasional Alabama Slamma, copious amounts of beach chairs and beer (It can be purchased at the Brew Thru), nightly home cooked meals, body surfing and the newly added cornhole competitions. If you do not bring amazing chefs along with you, here are a few places I suggest: Dirty Dicks Crabs and Awful Arthur’s Seafood. For those that aren’t interested in soaking up the rays, Corolla Island is located near the Currituck Beach Lighthouse and while there you can witness the wild horses running along the sand dunes. Speaking of sand dunes, check out Jockey’s Ridge Stage Park while you are in town. Don’t forget your kite!

Check Out Their Websites: http://www.townofnagshead.net/

http://www.dirtydickscrabs.com/ordereze/intro1.html

http://awfularthurs.com/