Mississippi Coast

I decided to take a drive up to Mississippi on Labor Day. I wanted to see the state’s coastline, which sustained the most damage from Katrina. I’ve been here awhile now and there was never a doubt in my mind that I wanted to focus on the New Orleans area. Still, I felt it was important to at least see Mississippi’s coast. I know quite a few volunteers who have spent time up there, and have heard stories and descriptions, but just like greater New Orleans, words and pictures don’t do justice.

I got off of I-10 shortly after crossing over the state line and cut over to Rte. 90, which runs right along the shoreline. At this point I was about 12 miles west of Bay St. Louis. I ended up driving along 90 from there all the way over to Biloxi. It’s not that far, maybe about 35, 40 miles, but after originally thinking I’d just hang around and check out Bay St. Louis, driving along that long of a stretch allowed me to see more than I thought I would. I was glad that I did, too.

It’s not that the surroundings and scenery change all that much as you go along. In fact, if not for the bigger hotels and casinos that you see as you get close to and then into Biloxi – and there are some big ones there – it all looks pretty similar. Mile after mile of endless beach to the right, but they were pretty nice beaches. There were quite a few people out enjoying one of the last days of summer, although something tells me the entire Gulf Coast has plenty of hot, humid days left. And to the left, I saw a combination of open or abandoned land, often full of vegetation, of homes that were empty, homes being rebuilt, shops, and an occasional trailer or trailer park. None of it was ever cluttered, either. Things were always very all spaced out, maybe a house or plot of land and property every 500 yards or so. Clearly a good part of this stretch is not made up of the typical sprawling residential type neighborhoods but rather is a very relaxed, vacation-like setting with beachfront homes, hotels and businesses. Not cheesy, not like Daytona or Myrtle Beach, just a nice setting that happens to be on the beach.

The one consistent theme or sight: the damage and destruction. It was very clear as I made my way along 90 that this area had been hit hard and received a lot of damage. Two years later, and just as you’re struck as you enter St. Bernard or the Ninth Ward in Louisiana, you know driving along this stretch that the destruction was significant.

I don't know enough about the Mississippi Gulf Coast to really understand why I saw what I saw. But I do know this, like New Orleans, there's a problem if two years later that kind of destruction is still so evident.