Our Hard Rock Experience

As we drove through what is left of the coast highway through Biloxi, there were many sad sights, and some surprises, as detailed in my previous post. Coming around a corner, there was a surprise - a Hard Rock Resort/Cafe/Casino appeared, brand spanking new! We thought this deserved further investigation (and we were hungry, and they advertised a buffet). We have been to a few Hard Rocks, but this complex was huge. We found out that they had reopened only a few months ago.

We asked a host how they had stored this stuff with Katrina coming, and he told us that they did not expect the hurricane to hit them, so they had not stored or removed anything. When Katrina turned towards Biloxi, they simply evacuated, so nothing was saved. The picture below is some of the stuff that was salvaged from the Gulf in the aftermath. We did see some things, like the Army uniform that Elvis wore, that had been recovered, cleaned, and redisplayed; but most of what we saw was new to the facility.

Memorabilia in the foreground, and a pic of the destroyed Hard Rock in the background

These montages are huge. We thought that they were made of fabric, but, upon closer inspection, found them to be made of woven newspaper! Can you figure out who the artists are?

Who are they?

And these four?

Newspaper!

One of Elton John's flamboyant costumes was quite impressive, as was a banner on display from Pink Floyd's movie "The Wall", and one of John Lennon's smoking jackets.

Not quite my style!

Banner from Pink Floyd's "The Wall"

John Lennon's smoking jacket

As the Hard Rock was getting ready for Christmas, their bakers had prepared two huge gingerbread houses. By huge, I mean 5-6 feet in height! To all of us amateur gingerbread house makers (T&V and R&D), these set the standard for the future!!

Now that's a gingerbread house!

This is the "small" one

This place was so impressive, and there was so much to see, that we came back a second time (the buffet was great both times, too!). Our next time through this area, we'll definitely stop here again.