At any given time we can see pelicans, several blue herons, sea gulls and other birds hunting the shores and the waters for their meals.
I drove down here from Elkton, Virginia, on Saturday morning, after saying goodbye to the Monger family, including daughter, Anne, who was the guest minister for Sunday's Homecoming Services at our church, and also, her daughter Bethany and Bethany's husband Kam, who drove up from Charlotte, N.C. Friday night. It was good to see Bethany, who is pregnant and expecting in February, as I hadn't seen her for some time.
My first night was spent in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then the next day, Sunday, I arrived in Waveland, about 3:30PM. Both drives were easy and uneventful, but I want you all to know that I passed Philadelphia, Cleveland, Detroit, New England, and several other well known cities and places. I always wonder how these little places were named and by whom. So far however, I haven't gone into any of the towns and asked.
Jo was home and Johnny had taken their three dogs, one waiting for adoption, up to their country cottage, as all three had vet appointments the next day in a town nearby.
Jo and Johnny had sold their house in Atlanta, and had just moved in to their house here on the coast. 82 days later, Katrina hit the Gulf coast with not only winds and rain but also tornadoes. Their house, and all of their belongings, some of which had just been delivered ten days earlier, were blown to smithereens. As well as all the houses along the coast on either side of them, and inland. When they came back down to view the damage, there was nothing left. Jo did find about 100 pieces of her sterling silverware, and a few other heavier items. Johnny found a tee shirt of his blown into someone else's yard, which he wore up until last year when he left it somewhere, and never got it back.
They rebuilt. This time having the house moved further back on their lot. 26 feet off the ground, it was a modular home, brought in by truck and put together in one day, roof and all. They added porches - front and back, with a workroom on the ground floor, within some of the concrete pillars.
There are 28 of these pillars, each 16" x 16". They are poured concrete with rebar on the inside. They are sitting on a two foot slab of concrete and are 12 feet high. They also installed a storage lift (not an elevator) which could be used to bring up heavy items, groceries, wheelchairs, etc. I go down the stairs to the cars, but often go up on the lift, because of my knees.
The first things the county did here, was to restore the infrastructure; electricity, sewage and gas lines, etc. Now they are replacing Beach Road, which runs in front of the house, taking out the concrete slabs which were broken, and replacing them. When that is finished they will put several layers of asphalt over that.
Most of the houses in Waveland, were originally owned by New Orleaneans (sp?), who came here to escape the heat and humidity of N/O. There is a train that runs along the coast, so it was an easy commute for people to live here and work in N/O. Many of the homes here were passed down from one generation to another, some being called "Camps". When Katrina hit Waveland, all the homes along the coast and two houses behind them were blown away, with tornadoes, 26 feet of water surging inland, and of course very high winds. The homes behind those first three rows of homes lost their roofs, and had 15 or more feet of water in them.
The water went across the railroad, and U.S. Highway 90. Many people on Beach Drive rebuilt, but there are still empty lots, some with remainders of part of the house, but most level to the ground. This is what is left of a house next to Jo and Johnny, after Katrina.
Hancock County mandated that if a lot owner was going to rebuild, the homes had to put up at least 24 feet above the ground. A few "mansions" got rebuilt before that legislation, and rebuilt on the ground. The county also mandated that if a lot owner was going to rebuilt, the lot had to be maintained, i.e. mowed, and trash taken away. If the house was not going to be rebuilt, the slab upon which the house stood had to be broken up and hauled off, letting the lot revert back to trees, bushes, weeds, and wild flowers. Many people around here have done just that. Others were given trailers to live in, and then Katrina Cottages, which are cute as anything...
...and many of those who received them, bought them outright for very little. They are one and two bedroom, and resemble many of the classic Louisiana neighborhood homes.
Others are keeping their lots clean, in the hope probably, that they can return and rebuild. As we drove around both Johnny and Jo would say, "This whole area was completely built up," but there was nothing there to indicate that it had been except for an area where the driveway had been.
All the houses further back that survived Katrina, had to be gutted and the inside rebuilt, and all of them have new roofs. Sometimes you can see chalk like numbers on houses, mostly 0's, which were put there by the National Guard as they went house to house making sure everyone was gone and no-one was dead.
Downtown Waveland, which is a small community, was completely built up with stores, offices, restaurants, etc. Here is what it looks like today.
The library is brand new. The fire department was totally destroyed, and a new one is being built, stronger and safer than ever. But many of the businesses have not come back.
One town down, Bay St. Louis, is the highest point along the Mississippi Coast, 38 feet above sea level. There weren't too many homes totally destroyed, but of course everything had twelve feet or more of water come in and wreak havoc. The bridge that ran across the St. Louis Sound was totally lost, and it has been relocated and a brand new one is in its place. Interestingly enough, the railroad bridge, which is located before the other bridge, survived, and was repaired by the railroad in record time.
The coast line of Mississippi is all man-made beach, open to everyone. Every year or so, more sand is hauled in and spread over the existing beaches. This sand is coming from dredging operations, as well as sand pits. Right now in front of the house "dozers" are spreading the sand.
Jo told me that at one time Mississippi had the longest man-made beach in the country. Only three counties border the coast, and Hancock and Harrison Counties have the beaches, which they maintain. There are lots of pelicans, killdeer, gulls, terns, etc. around. Jo found a photo in a thrift store which she bought, and realized that it was taken by someone she knew. It was entitled "My boys are back" with rows of pelicans on the pilings and wharf after Katrina.
The live oak trees were entirely stripped of all their leaves during Katrina as well as all the Spanish moss growing from the branches. But they didn't go down, unlike many other trees. Now after six years, many look very healthy, and others are sprouting leaves in various places along their trunks and branches. One live oak Jo showed me has an incredibly huge trunk, and Jo said that it was probably there before Columbus. I have named it "1492".
To have a trunk like it has, it has to be at least 500 years old. Jo showed me a picture of her and her siblings near a live oak 50 years ago. She said she went back to see how much it had grown, and she said it was the same size! They don't grow fast, that is for sure.
Jo and I went up to the top of the parking lot at the Silver Slipper Casino, here in Waveland, so that I had a better view of the bayous and the Sound. The first picture is the front of this bayou out to the sound, which is deeper, and the second picture is the shallower part of the bayou.
Yesterday, we went to New Orleans, taking U.S. 90, instead of I 10. It was an interesting drive, very little traffic and you could see the estuaries and bayous, as well as the Pearl River on either side of the road. Many of the "camps" that were built along this highway were destroyed, but they are coming back, high up on stilts, with great names given to them. In the last picture, beyond the bayou you can see a couple of those camps being rebuilt.
There is a large population of Vietnamese around these parts, because of the fishing business, and they have made their presence here known selling fresh fish, and starting restaurants. Their children are in the highest rankings at local schools. We had boiled shrimp last night that Jo and Johnny had bought from one of the fishermen they knew and trusted. God, they were outstanding and sweet! As Jo said today, they look out at one of the biggest fish and shrimp hatcheries around, the Mississippi Sound.
We didn't have enough time to get to Bourbon Street, which will be another day and time for me to enjoy. But we did get to the World War II Museum. Before crossing the street to the main museum we encountered this...
I cannot imagine going inside this with the confidence that if a bomb fell, I would still be alive! Plus, what about claustrophobia?
We came in and got our tickets. The first floor seemed to be rehabilitated vehicles with planes hanging in the air. One of the vehicles was a half-track. similar to the one my father was on ...
We went through the entire three floors, and then discovered there were three more floors behind the first three, which had even more information. It was very nicely done, with the European front and the Pacific front, across from one another on the second and third floors. There were lots of photos, some artifacts, and several short films running continuously about various battles. We then grabbed a bowl of soup and went into the movie, which was narrated by....why Tom Hanks of course! It was about the D Day invasion and the end of the war in Europe, and several key battles in the Pacific, the dropping of the A Bomb, and the end of the war in Japan. Actual film and photographs were used, along with comments from various men present at the battles. It was EXTREMELY loud, and when battles were going on, the audience seats would start shaking. When the A bomb was dropped, a bright flash went off, and then it was like the entire room was shaking. It was an interesting film, but not one that I would revisit. I have seen many others that I thought were better.
"Naked ladies" are all over the place here in Mississippi...
...these are in the next door neighbor's yard. I have never seen red ones, only pink. Johnny and Jo have Sugar Cane grass growing in their yard. This was only six inches high in April...
This sugar cane kettle has made the rounds of the neighborhood for at least 20 years, and now is in Jo's backyard. It was originally owned by their next door neighbors, who had given it up for lost, and when Jo offered to give it back, they told her to keep it, that it was in good hands...
These pictures were taken from the front porch last night, when a storm was coming up...
Johnny took me sightseeing before lunch today, telling me all about Katrina and what happened. After lunch, Jo and I resumed the sightseeing, and Jo took me across the new bridge over St. Louis Sound, to what she calls The Pass, which is the next town over from Bay St. Louis. We stopped to look at a place called Middlegate Gardens. The house is long gone, but some of the statuary is still around. Jo told me that it had been owned by one of three sisters, who were fascinated by the Japanese gardens they had seen. So she created one on her property. This is all that is left of it...and not a victim of Katrina...
Kind of sad to just see those pieces and wonder about the life of the woman who lived there long ago...
And now the mystery picture! Not what is it? But what will it become? Taken next to the Silver Slipper Casino, Jo told me that this barge/boat has been tied up here for six months or more...it looks like a floating hotel...
We went out to dinner tonight at a wonderful local restaurant. I had shrimp and grits, outstanding. Right next door was this sign...
It is hot and humid here in Mississippi, with a population of mosquitoes, that quite possibly could haul me away if I let them! I am doing well, and will be leaving here tomorrow, headed for New Mexico. My first stop will be Denton, Texas, overnight, then on to Tucumcari, New Mexico the second night. On the 23rd I will meet Annie in the afternoon in Lemitar, having only a three and a half hour drive from Tucumcari.
A hui huo and vaya condios mi amigos,
I love you all,
Sally
1 comment:
Thank you, Sally....this was very interesting.....what a fascinating part of the world.
Drive carefully.....enjoy NM.
Give a hug to Annie for me.....
Love,
mar
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