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It doesn’t happen much, but on occasion I look around Florida and think, “eh.”

When longleaf pines, saltwater, and sunsets start to elicit that sort of reaction from me, I know it’s time for an attitude adjustment.

We’d already planned to take a trip west this summer but things kept happening. By the time we left Florida, it was almost July which, if you know me, means in my mind it’s almost Halloween, not summer.

Leaving Florida

It took us three days and two campsites but we made it out of Florida. (My MLA in Florida Studies did not get revoked at the border as I feared.)

While I love camping on public land — Florida state parks are some of my favorite places — we camp at myriad types of places. For Christmas this year I bought a membership to Harvest Hosts. If you’re unfamiliar, the membership offers you access to free (or mostly free) campsites at nontraditional places, with the expectation you spend some money at the attached business.

And so, as we sat in our Lance while the scraps of a storm finished soaking the ground at Sapphire Island RV Park in DeFuniak, we secured our first Harvest Host site: The Shed Barbecue and Blues, in  Ocean City, Mississippi.

We made the reservation and the confirmation message arrived quickly, with a note: If we wanted a full hookup, we could get a discount at the attached RV park, the Cozy Rosy. Full hookups for $33/day? Why not?

Friends, if you camp you know that at that price the campground had the potential to be a disaster. But this is a road trip into uncharted territory, and no one makes great memories by playing it safe.

The Shed Barbecue and Blues

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Arriving at The Shed and Cozy Rosy (they really are one and the same) right before a storm, the restaurant looked deserted but smelled amazing. The check-in office was across from a playground I can only assume is haunted. The sites were close together. Roosters and hens and one clueless orange cat wandered the grounds.

In short, it was perfect. The Shed didn’t have anyone playing live music but still had a modest crowd — one wonders exactly what else there is to do on a Sunday night in a small coastal Mississippi town.  We set up the RV and followed our noses to the barbecue.

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If the almost-certainly-haunted playground and overall vibe of the place wasn’t enough, the interior — can you call it that? — of The Shed was enough to send me into road trip nirvana. We walked through the entrance (I think; it doesn’t have an intuitive layout) and heard a distinct GenX anthem: “Come On, Eileen” played over unseen speakers. A sign for the bathroom lead to the counter where we ordered, and ornate chandeliers shared a foam-insulation ceiling with dollar bills stuck to that same ceiling with plastic forks.

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The food was simple and perfect: Pulled pork with collards and potato salad. The Shed makes its potato salad with bacon and despite any plant-based leanings I may exhibit from time to time, I will no longer accept any potato salad that does not contain bacon. With the replacement of pasta with potatoes, it tasted suspiciously like the Suddenly Salads I shamelessly devoured in the ’90s. This is not a bad thing. They were neither salad nor prepared “suddenly” and I’m certain they didn’t taste quite this good.

The Cozy Rosy Campground

On our way back to the campsite we wandered through the community garden. Here, the owners and campers continued the theme of the playground with random childrens’ outdoor toys — a tricycle and ride-inside toy car were perched above our heads on a beam.

A regular warned me about a specific white rooster. He was, she said, aggressive. For several years, when I worked at Creative Loafing Tampa, I dealt with Ybor City roosters. In my experience, all roosters are assholes, and I said as much. Not so, she said, indicating other white roosters, all of whom she claimed were quite lovely.

It is a testament to how long I’ve lived in Gulfport that I could tell the difference in the white roosters. (I also have a working knowledge of ducks and anatidae legislation, but that’s a post for another time.)

The whole place is the sort of place countless conglomerates have tried to create for the “quintessential guest experience” that delivers offbeat memories, but you can’t create this ambiance in a boardroom. This happens organically and I don’t know how or why, but I would wager someone in charge loves this place a whole lot.

We leave today but we’ve had two wonderful days here, listening to storms and roosters and eating barbecue. I highly suggest stopping by if you’re in the area, if only for that potato salad.

And so we head west, onto the next adventure.