This is probably going to take numerous entries here. Especially since I may not find all the words to use to describe how I felt seeing the coast. I am not even sure where to start.
I suppose I could first give an account of our trip. Just a day-by-day on what we did and saw and then perhaps I can try to put into words how I feel.
Friday, September 16, 2005: We left at 7:30am. It was only a half day of school for the kids so, they weren't missing anything important. There was really nothing out of the ordinary for the trip until we hit Mobile. We stopped at a gas station/Arby's to fill-up, to make sure we had enough gas to leave the area on Sunday(although that ended up not being a problem.). It was really there that we first saw any hurricane damage. The sign for the McDonald's next door was pretty mangled. It wasn't the last really mangled McD's sign we would see. My mom drove from there so I could man the video camera and digital camera on the way in to Mississippi. Still, once inside MS there was only minor damage to be seen-trees down, billboards tore up. Then we got to the Pascagoula River bridge, and the traffic due to the repair being done on one side. We sat for nearly an hour, but it really wasn't too bad. We actually listened to Jeff Foxworthy CD's all the way down to try and get as much humor in us as possible, because we knew what was coming would be extremely depressing. We finally arrived at the Naval Construction Base and then at my sister's house. The Seabee base is a few miles away from the beach, and their home only suffered some roof and siding damage. We ate dinner and rested up for the next day. No cable or even regular tv, we listened to the local radio who is spending the days giving updates and taking calls from people with questions. From what I heard, it was quite the opposite of the AM stations. Those were only New Orleans stations, and every time I listened I only heard bitching and moaning. Give me a break.
Saturday, September 17, 2005: Curfew being over at 8am, we got up, had breakfast, and got ready to go. We left the Base through the south entrance and went straight down to the railroad tracks. My sister had gotten a pass for the "south of the railroad tracks" area. You have to have a pass. There is razorwire along the tracks. Nobody in who doesn't belong. We could have gone down Railroad St to Long Beach, but we went in here at Broad Ave, which is just west of the Gulfport port. Once we got over the tracks, the real damage began. About 5 blocks from the beach, the debris was piled as high as a 2 story home. There were boats back here. Containers from the port, destroyed eighteen-wheeler trailers, piles of things that had been in those containers. And then the smell. I'm not sure what it was, but it wasn't pleasant. We got to the beach, where the familiar Domino's Pizza had been. I was overwhelmed. Absolutely nothing there. A slate wiped clean. I literally sat there in the back seat with my mouth open. I tried to take video and photos at the same time. I don't think I took nearly enough of either, but it is something burned in my head that will never leave. We drove as best we could westward on Hwy 90. Only the northside lanes are passable here. We stop here and there to sit and stare, stunned at familiar landmarks that are simply gone. We got as far as the USM campus, and the road was not passible any longer. We had to turn north, cross the tracks again, and head down to the Long Beach entrance. Once there, on Jeff Davis Ave, through downtown Long Beach, we made our way down this ravaged town. The Sonic, destroyed. Down at the beach, the Taco Bell we had enjoyed the view from back in July, gone. The pink house. The gray house at Lang. Gone. Then, we are at Arbor Station. The sign is gone, but the cell tower just beyond it(my landmark for always finding the apartments) is still standing. We turn up the drive. Garbage containers-gone. Office-gone. Front gates-destroyed. The second driveway to the left. And the building on the right. The stairs lay there on the ground, leading to the slab that was the downstairs apartment. Mom lived upstairs. There is nothing but debris in all directions. The next building north has been pushed by the 15 foot high or so pile of debris into the building behind it. We begin to walk around like zombies. Eyes down. Watching for nails and anything else that might hurt, hoping like hell to find something familiar. I wasn't wearing a watch, but I think we wandered around for at least 2 hours, maybe three. We found a mini Astros baseball bat that I had bought my nephew one of the times I had taken him to Astros games many years ago. A few pieces of my mom's wicker shelves. So much of other people's lives. Photos, dishes, video cameras, tvs, piggy banks with their change strewn about. It was just mind-numbing. We finally pulled ourselves away, and drove a little further west. Just a few blocks down was the Wal-Mart. Gutted. I loved that Wal-mart, as much as anyone can love a store like that. Nicest one I had ever been in. The huge home just past it, the one I don't think anyone ever lived in-gone. I thought for sure that one would survive a storm. Nope. And then we went back across the tracks. Now we made our way to Biloxi Cemetery. I feared the worst and was shocked that it truly was not as bad as I had imagined. Don't get me wrong, it was bad. But it appeared to be only some water damage and mostly wind knocking trees over. There were headstones near the front destroyed, scattered everywhere. There was a very rusted coffin sitting sideways on the ground. We walked across what was Hwy 90 and could see the Biloxi lighthouse. Left the cemetery, back up to Pass Road, and then left on the road leading to the Coliseum. From there we could see that the Confederate Cemetery behing Beauvoir did not seem to have much damage. It was tough to see Beauvoir from the trees, and we didn't have time to walk down the beach to it, but I know it is bad. And of course, nearly in front of the Coliseum was the Presidents Casino, not sitting in its dock 1/2 mile east, but on top of a hotel north of Hwy 90. And to the east, Treasure Bay Casino, sitting closer to the beach than it should be. I just stare in amazement. And then as if it had only been a few minutes but had been most of the day, we had to head back to the Base. A trip to the Walmart at Hwy 49 and I-10 later was almost a mistake-I've never seen a store that busy, even the days before Christmas. And again, another numbing sleepless night, listening to the radio, hearing updates on how destroyed Pass Christian was, but how positive every one there is trying to be.
Sunday, September 18, 2005: Again, waiting until curfew was over at 8am. Heading across I-10 to the apartments where my family rode the storm out. Even those there had major wind damage in places. Unfortunately my mom's car, which had been sitting here for nearly three weeks, had been sucked dry of gas-from those who needed it desperately in the days following the storm. It's tough to be mad about that. Although we did have to sit for two hours while my brother-in-law tried to find a gas can and gas so we could get going. There was more to the trip home, but nothing worth mentioning. Still thinking about the day before overshadowed nearly everything I thought or felt.
I will post pictures later. And more thoughts. And if you sat and read all that, I thank you and hope I didn't bore you.
