This is what we do going to Destin from Festus. First night we stop at Sardis ms. and stay at Oak Creek COE. The campground is next to John Kyle State Park which is fine also. They are 8 miles off I55. Night 2 we stay at Paul B Johnson State Park 8 miles south of Hattiesburg and then on to Destin. This is not the shortest route but works best for us. 98 is 4 lane now all the way to mobile. If I remember right Service COE is sort of in the middle of nowhere but nice. Have a good trip, stay warm till then, pretty tough right now. Oh feel free to private message me if you have any questions about my comment.