Off Topic: Mississippi Coast

My wife and I went on our first trip with little Georgie. He was great and didn't fuss much. We went to visit my mother in Mississippi. I thought we'd drive through New Orleans and along Highway 90 to see how the recovery effort was coming along. It was disheartening through the last half of New Orleans. I wish I had thought to snap a few pictures. We could see quite a few houses and businesses still gutted and with holes in their roofs. You could tell there has been a lot of progress, but it was saddening to see how many buildings still were not viable.

We did think to grab a few pictures along Highway 90 in Mississippi. Back before Hurricane Katrina, my wife I visited Biloxi. There was a beautiful old Episcopal church, The Church of the Redeemer. The main building had been constructed in 1874. It was architecturally beautiful. I wish I had thought to take a picture. You can visit the web site for the full history. Out front there had been a bell tower. There were three stain glass windows that been fashioned from the glass from the debris left by Hurricane Camille which had destroyed the new church building in 1969. They were a memorial, "Window of Hope", "Window of the Redeemer", and "Rose Window." To left, I have a picture of where the old church stood.

They also had a memorial of those who had died in Camille. It remained, but the flag pole was bent. Camille claimed the lives of 259 and caused $1.42 billion in property damage in 1969. The storm surge reached 24 feet, which is quite high in comparison with Katrina's 27 foot storm surge. Before Katrina, you could see some of the damage left behind by Camille. There was one apartment complex I remember that had been washed out and had never been restored or demolished. However after Katrina, it is not being restored, but it wasn't complete as of when left back for Texas. At least, highway 90 bridge has been rebuilt and actually better than before.

Many of the beautiful antebellum homes that lined the beach were destroyed, some were merely damaged, and only a few have restored or rebuilt.




You can find the full gallery here.