R-V There Yet?

We will be in the Dallas area this weekend. 

After we left the Tampa area we drove to the Panhandle of Florida.  The Destin area had really grown since the last time we were there.

We were anxious to see the Gulfport-Biloxi MS area and what it now looks like after Katrina. 

The drive between Gulfport and Biloxi has been one of our favorite areas to drive through as there are huge live oaks trees surrounding very old, stately southern mansions. The mansions have large front yards with the beach and the Gulf of Mexico as an extension of their front yards.

 

 

The only thing between the houses and the beach is a 4 lane road (Highway 90). 

 Katrina arrived in the Biloxi area with a large surge of water which destroyed all the houses.  Now there is nothing along there but the large live oak trees. On the lots of these former homes are the new mansions of Beach Blvd. The people are living in nice motor homes or 5^th wheels while they are having their houses rebuilt.  Or maybe they are new owners?

 

 

 

 

Before Katrina the houses were built on slats.  Now almost all the new homes are built on stilts.

The devastation was not just along the beach but the surge destroyed buildings and houses blocks away from the beach.

The casinos are back in business. We figured this could have been a priority to give people jobs and bring tourists and life back to the area.  Beau Rivage is a beautiful casino inside.

 

The Hard Rock Casino

 

 

National chains have been good about moving back into the area and building there.  We saw about 6 new Waffle Houses around the area.  Some of these were standing alone without anything around for blocks.

 

Signs made it through the storm.  

 

Most buildings didn’t fare as well.

 

Rick’s mother went to college in Gulfport and though the college buildings are still standing they are closed for renovations. 

Jefferson Davis’s home was also along this strip of  Beach Blvd (Highway 90) and it is closed for renovations.

It will take a few more years for the clean-up and rebuilding of the area.

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 20th, 2007 at 9:25 pm and is filed under Florida, Mississippi. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.