(no subject)
I'm doing better mentally. The family went on a trip this past weekend to Biloxi, MS for a few days and I think it helped us all have a nice break from life for a while.
The trip went well there and back but the devistation in Biloxi was still very apparent as we drove around on Monday. Highway 90 was open from Biloxi to just past Gulfport and then was shut down due to the highway being washed away in places which still have not been repaired yet. The 100 year old homes along Hwy 90 were mostly completely gone. All you saw were concrete slabs of where the homes had stood. There was a lot of debris still clinging onto the trees and some buildings that were still standing but completely destroyed inside and out which were not torn down yet. There were a few brave people who are rebuilding their homes but are still living in the tiny Fema trailers on their properties. All along the highway, you saw the metal outlines of what were once signs for stores, resturants and other properties which were completely destroyed and torn down. There was one store on the Gulf side of the highway which was a surfer and beach store. It had a big shark fin sticking out of the building and surf boards on the walls etc... Well, the first 3 floors were completely washed out and the rest of the building was torn to hell. All the other littler stores which were next to this place are gone. The casinos are rebuilding as best they can. The Grand, the Treasure Bay, the Isle of Capri and the Hardrock Casino were completely destroyed. The Grand, the Isle of Capri and the Treasure Bay are rebuilding accross the street from the Gulf in buildings that were originally either offices or a parking deck to the original casino. They are open and 2 are pretty close to being completed but they still have a lot of building to do yet. The Teasure Bay was a big pirate ship that sat on the Gulf but it was washed up far inland on the beach. The new building is being put up and they have one floor open for some slot machines and a little resturant so far. We walked down this long hallway and there were pictures taken from a space on the wall before, during and after the hurricane. The before pictures showed where all the buildings and homes were along Hwy 90 and the after pictures are just devistating. It was amazing how many buildings were completely washed away. The Hardrock Casino was set to open the day the hurricane hit. The damage was so bad that it had to be completely torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. It wont open till 2008 at this point. You cant imagine the total extent of what happened from TV. You need to experience it first hand. I hope I never see another disaster zone like this again in my life time. I can only imagine what New Orleans looks like if Biloxi is as bad as I saw this weekend. Despite the devistation and hardships, they are rebuilding. The Biloxi bridge was washed away so there are lots of tower cranes working on re-building the bridge. I did see some people rebuilding their homes and the buildings in the main part of town were damaged but were repaired. Some buildings made it through with very little problems. Those buildings in the town which were in front of the Beau Rivage and the Hard Rock Casino were spared quite a bit since the Casinos took the brunt of the ocean. Although the town is much quiter than when I was there a few years ago, people are coming back to the area. It's going to take a few more years before everything gets repaired, rebuilt and completed but I think things will look up for the folks who live there hopefully soon. Jobs are coming back with the Casinos being re-opened but I think the housing is going to be a problem for these folks for a while. There have been many reports of price gauging in apartment rentals and the price of land has sky rocketed. Hopefully, things will get worked out to where the people can finally get a decent place to live. We are planning to go back again over Christmas for another four days. I look foward to another trip down to Biloxi but I think I have seen enouph down Hwy 90 for a while. It's strange. The weather was so nice down there this weekend and the gulf was so calm and beautiful that it was hard to imagine that the gulf could do so much in so little time.
The trip went well there and back but the devistation in Biloxi was still very apparent as we drove around on Monday. Highway 90 was open from Biloxi to just past Gulfport and then was shut down due to the highway being washed away in places which still have not been repaired yet. The 100 year old homes along Hwy 90 were mostly completely gone. All you saw were concrete slabs of where the homes had stood. There was a lot of debris still clinging onto the trees and some buildings that were still standing but completely destroyed inside and out which were not torn down yet. There were a few brave people who are rebuilding their homes but are still living in the tiny Fema trailers on their properties. All along the highway, you saw the metal outlines of what were once signs for stores, resturants and other properties which were completely destroyed and torn down. There was one store on the Gulf side of the highway which was a surfer and beach store. It had a big shark fin sticking out of the building and surf boards on the walls etc... Well, the first 3 floors were completely washed out and the rest of the building was torn to hell. All the other littler stores which were next to this place are gone. The casinos are rebuilding as best they can. The Grand, the Treasure Bay, the Isle of Capri and the Hardrock Casino were completely destroyed. The Grand, the Isle of Capri and the Treasure Bay are rebuilding accross the street from the Gulf in buildings that were originally either offices or a parking deck to the original casino. They are open and 2 are pretty close to being completed but they still have a lot of building to do yet. The Teasure Bay was a big pirate ship that sat on the Gulf but it was washed up far inland on the beach. The new building is being put up and they have one floor open for some slot machines and a little resturant so far. We walked down this long hallway and there were pictures taken from a space on the wall before, during and after the hurricane. The before pictures showed where all the buildings and homes were along Hwy 90 and the after pictures are just devistating. It was amazing how many buildings were completely washed away. The Hardrock Casino was set to open the day the hurricane hit. The damage was so bad that it had to be completely torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. It wont open till 2008 at this point. You cant imagine the total extent of what happened from TV. You need to experience it first hand. I hope I never see another disaster zone like this again in my life time. I can only imagine what New Orleans looks like if Biloxi is as bad as I saw this weekend. Despite the devistation and hardships, they are rebuilding. The Biloxi bridge was washed away so there are lots of tower cranes working on re-building the bridge. I did see some people rebuilding their homes and the buildings in the main part of town were damaged but were repaired. Some buildings made it through with very little problems. Those buildings in the town which were in front of the Beau Rivage and the Hard Rock Casino were spared quite a bit since the Casinos took the brunt of the ocean. Although the town is much quiter than when I was there a few years ago, people are coming back to the area. It's going to take a few more years before everything gets repaired, rebuilt and completed but I think things will look up for the folks who live there hopefully soon. Jobs are coming back with the Casinos being re-opened but I think the housing is going to be a problem for these folks for a while. There have been many reports of price gauging in apartment rentals and the price of land has sky rocketed. Hopefully, things will get worked out to where the people can finally get a decent place to live. We are planning to go back again over Christmas for another four days. I look foward to another trip down to Biloxi but I think I have seen enouph down Hwy 90 for a while. It's strange. The weather was so nice down there this weekend and the gulf was so calm and beautiful that it was hard to imagine that the gulf could do so much in so little time.