Jill and Neil’s Adventures

10/27/2026

Bay St Louis, MS ☀️🥂🎼🦀

This is our second time staying in Downtown Bay St Louis . We enjoy it because you can stay right there in the heart of downtown and just walk to everything all weekend. It is a quaint little area located on the Mississippi coast . It has a strip of restaurants, bars, boutiques and hotels on Beach Boulevard overlooking the Gulf .
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🏩🏘️ Places to Stay:

We recommend the Pearl Hotel and Baytown Inn.

- The Pearl is a beautiful, upscale hotel located in the heart of downtown . It has 53 rooms and 6 suites. Definitely get the Gulf view room. It has a fancy restaurant called the Thorny Oyster and the cutest cocktail lounge called the Hinge .

-Baytown Inn is also located downtown but a little cozier place to stay . It has 11 rooms overlooking their pool area. The front has a beautiful lush landscape with a 190 year old oak tree .
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🍽️🥩🍛 Places to Eat:

-Dinner at 200 Northbeach Food and Spirits.
They specialize in seafood and steaks. Nice indoor dining and also offer a few outdoor tables. For appetizer we had the crawfish cornbread and our main course was Shrimp cakes with fried green tomatoes and the Grilled Mahi and shrimp . Excellent food !
After dinner walk upstairs to the lounge . We enjoyed after dinner drinks and live piano music 🎶

-Lunch at Cuz’s
They offer indoor and outdoor dining . Very casual , laid back atmosphere . We had the Seafood Augratin (crabmeat, shrimp and lobster). This was sooo good . After meal drink try their Pineapple upside down cake daiquiri !

-Dinner at Trapani’s
They have indoor and outdoor seating . We sat outside to enjoy the distant views of the Gulf . We had the Gumbo and the Eggplant Delacroix . Great dinner and service .

-Sunday Brunch at Boonies on the Bayou
This is out of the downtown area. Only about a ten minute drive . Well worth it because the food was outstanding. We had the smoked wings which were the biggest wings we ever had and the brisket tacos ! They were busy so we sat at the bar . The outside seating area looked fun as they had live music overlooking the small bayou.

***Next trip I wanna try Anthony’s Italian as it caught my eye !
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🍻🎼🏉 Fun places downtown to hang out for drinks , live music , football , or just enjoying views of the Gulf and marina as the trains pass by . We had a drink at each place so we could check out the vibes.

-The Blind Tiger
-Lemoine’s Landing
-Dan B’s
-The Hinge cocktail Bar
-Buoy’s Bar
-Rag’s to Riches
-Daquiri Shack
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Nearby things to do :
- Silver Slipper Casino 💵💰🎰
- Local Museums 🏤

10/17/2026

Perfect date night in Ocean Springs, MS ! 🍷🍾🥂
Dinner at Cheryl’s Steakhouse and after dinner drinks at Oak and Vine. It was our first time going to these places and we enjoyed them both.

Cheryl’s Steakhouse - No frills to this place but that’s when you know the food is gonna be great. They do not take reservations and are quite busy so we did wait about 45 minutes. The menus are written on brown paper bags. They only serve b**r but they do allow you to bring in your own w**e, so that is what I did. You can watch your steaks being cooked to perfection over the open flame . We both had the New York strip . They don’t offer steak sauce but this steak was flavored and tender enough you did not need any. For dessert we tried the homemade oatmeal crème pie and it was sooooo good !
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Oak and Vine- This is the most adorable bar in a little cottage in downtown Ocean Springs. It has the coziest seating areas inside , also has a small bar you can sit at or out on the front porch . We chose to sit out on the front porch where they had live music. We met the owners and they were so friendly and welcome you right in. The whole vibe of this place is so cozy and welcoming as you do feel right at home ! We will certainly visit this place more often !!!!

10/01/2026

Our latest adventure was on a 7 night Carnival Cruise out of New Orleans on the Liberty to Roatan-Belize-Cozumel 🌴☀️🥂🛳️
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***Roatan ***
This was our first visit here to Honduras. Our day was spent at Isla Tropicale (formerly known as Mahogany Bay ) which is Carnival’s private cruise port . We did not book an excursion as there is so much to do right at the port . You first walk through the duty free shops into an area filled with souvenir shops , Craft market , place to get your passport stamped and a Fat Tuesday’s.
Then it’s just a short walk down a scenic paved pathway to the pool/beach area . If you don’t feel like walking , they also offer the chairlift ride for $18 per person to take you to the pool/beach. The chairlift gives you great aerial views.
Once there it is a mesmerizing 10 acre beach area with plenty of lounge chairs, and private cabanas overlooking beautiful , clear water. If you prefer you can grab a lounge chair and hang out poolside at the 48,000 square foot pool that includes a pool bar and splash pad.
There is also a second Fat Tuesdays to grab those frozen drinks . Overall there are 3 restaurants, 4 bars and 52 shops . So plenty to keep you entertained .
They also offer massage areas and even fish massages that nibble at your feet .
Next time we may venture out for an excursion !
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***Belize****
We did the Kayab Caye secluded Island day trip . A ferry boat picked us up directly off the ship and took us about 30 minutes away to the private island Kayab Caye off the coast of Belize. We spent about 3 hours on the island . It offers beach chairs, picnic tables, hammocks, beach volleyball court , and clean bathroom facilities. It is not all inclusive but they have a restaraunt/ bar on site with great Belizean style food, b**r and frozen drinks . Waitresses that will come to you if you just wanna stay in your lounge chair. They have a DJ playing tunes while you relax . You can get your hair braided for $5 a braid . The swimming is top notch in that clear water. We saw so many fish , star fish , sea urchin and a puffer fish . On our way back to the ship we saw manatee and dolphins who decided to put on a show for us . This was a great excursion because it was relaxing and not overly crowded .

We had enough time once we got back to the ship to take the ferry ride to the port and check out all the souvenir shops . Since our last visit they have added a pool and had a lot of construction going on , so eager to see what all they are adding .

The last time we were in Belize we did the excursion where we snorkled , swam with sharks and sting rays and then lunch at Caye Caulker . Highly recommend this one as well.
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***Cozumel***
Of all the times we have been to Cozumel this was our first time visiting Mr Sanchos … and holy moly it was a good time !!! Taxi ride there took 15 minutes (with their driving 🤪) and $5 per person . We arrived early so able to secure a table right near the water and a couple lounge chairs on the water . We did the All inclusive , $79.00 per person , which included ALL the food you could eat and ALL the alcoholic drinks you could drink !!! Got our moneys worth for sure. We had friendly, prompt table side service all day . Besides ordering all you want off the food menu they had a buffet with great Mexican style food (chicken fajitas, pork fajitas, pico ). The food was great , the frozen drinks were even better. Recommend the Green monster !!!
This is a huge place so they have several pools with pool bars , souvenir shops , massage areas, fish massage area, kids splash pad and very nice bathroom facilities .
Would definitely go to Mr Sanchos again and again!
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09/20/2026

Destin , Florida 🌴☀️🚤
It is one of the most beautiful beaches ! Crystal clear water and sugar sand . A must do is to take a boat ride out to Crab Island !!

09/05/2026

50 States Challenge 🚂✈️🚘🛳️

We have set ourselves a bucket list of visiting All 50 states “Together” ! We have both been to multiple states but we are only claiming the ones we have visited together. We Ordered this 50 states map to help us keep track. 7 out of 50 so far . Let us know of any must see places that you have enjoyed !!??

08/26/2026

Sunday Brunch at Bacchus on the Bluff in Gulfport, MS. We had the Beef Debris Poboy and the Chicken Alfredo and of course the bottomless mimosas !!!!
Also be sure to check out their other locations …Bacchus on the Bayou in Ocean Springs and Bacchus on the Beach in Pass Christian . We have visited each and they all offer great water views and yummy food!

08/10/2026

Dinner at the new Bienville Bar and Grill on Dauphin Island . We had the crab, sausage and spinach dip for appetizer , the fried grouper and surf and turf burger for entrees. Food was great and those Gulf views can’t be beat !

08/05/2026

One of my favorite weekend getaways was to Bolt Farm in Whitwell, Tennessee! This place was so relaxing and a great place to unwind. We chose the glamping tent. But they also offer beautiful treehouse cabins , mirror cabins and floating mirror cabjns.

08/03/2026

Brunch at Barometer Waterfront Grill in Orange Beach ! They offer a Mimosa flight, and a mimosa and Bloody Mary bar ! We had the shrimp and crab dip for appetizer which was phenomenal. Then had the western omelette, Nashville hot chicken and waffles , and the shrimp and grits. For dessert we had the banana foster bread pudding and white chocolate crème brûlée ! Great food and great service with perfect water views.

07/31/2026