Van Magic (Andre)

Van Magic

In the backpacking world, there is a term called ‘trail magic’. Basically, trail magic refers to unexpected pleasures, gifts, or support that you find and receive while hiking. Once many years ago we were on a 7 day hike and passed a hiker going the other direction who alerted us that up the trail at a river crossing were cold sodas in the stream. It being a hot day we greatly appreciated that bit of trail magic. On another trip we found out about ‘the cookie lady’ who left a basket of cookies on her front steps which was a short detour off the Appalachian Trail. Then there was the time at a road crossing where a local person put up a sign offering hikers to leave their trash. These were just some of the many instances of trail magic we experienced on our backpacking trips.

So, let me share some recent ‘van magic’ we have experienced in Biloxi, Mississippi!

We found Biloxi to be a fascinating town and may post a bit later about what we learned about the town. But, for now, the ‘magic.’ It started when we found a large and mostly empty gravel parking lot right next to a casino that had a few tractor trailers parked there apparently for the night. We followed their lead and parked only to find a working plug that allowed us to power up the van for the night. The next morning we found out the casino hotel allowed public use of their rooftop resort style pool and hot tub. After enjoying a good night sleep with full electricity, a refreshing swim, we thought there might be some more magic in store.

 

Onto the next casino – a Margaritaville that offered new customers $10 in free play. Laura is more the gambler than me, so she turned our ‘free play’ into about $15 in winnings – don’t laugh, it all helps on the road. Next casino, more free play for new customers, and another $20 in winnings. Did I mention the free drinks you receive while you play the slots?

 

By this time, we knew 1: not to push our luck and 2: we were going back to the parking lot with the plug and the pool for another night! Thank you Biloxi for the van magic!