Ok Mother Nature – You Win

From Louisiana bayous to the Mississippi gulf coast was a sobering trip. First we passed through New Orleans (since we’ve been here multiple times, we’ll come back on a New Orleans destination visit) on I-10. Canal Street and the Dome looked great, as did our glimpse at the French Quarter. The east side of the city was different. We saw apartment complex after complex that was destroyed by flooding, sitting empty. I can’t imagine the volumes of displaced families just from apartments. Then we saw the neighborhoods of homes, looking like middle and upper middle class from the construction and size of homes, that were still largely destroyed. A beautiful brick home that had been reconstructed sat next to two with boarded windows and tarp covered roofs.

From Louisiana we took highway 90 along the coastline. We heard a lot about Katrina’s impact to New Orleans, but much less about the impact to the Mississippi coast line. This area was known for its stately antebellum mansions along the beachfront, and wide, white sandy beaches. What we saw made me think of an archeological dig, where a past civilization was being discovered, with little debris left to personalize the site.

Instead of old, stately mansions, we saw grand front steps leading to a foundation. We saw swimming pools and patios without a home around them. Some families put wooden signs on their property with their name and address. We saw people are living on their lots, in mobile homes or campers. But most of these lots are now for sale, with the debris removed and just the surviving grand oaks remaining. There are large parking lots for what were probably shopping centers. There are bones of gas stations and churches. (double click on the images to expand to full screen)

Amid this sanitized destruction, there is a lot of rebuilding. The casinos are repaired and running. Got that tax base up and running quickly! There are new condo complexes open for sale, and new homes being built atop 1 story stilts. A couple of mansions are being repaired, but almost all are gone. I’m guessing the single family homes will be replaced with multifamily condos and the look and feel of the area will change significantly. I hope not, but the reality of the cost of living in an area wiped out by Camille, then Katrina is likely to prevent single family homes from coming back along the beachfront.

We stayed at the Island View casino in Gulfport where Mark made his non tax-deductible contribution to the local economy. Our dinner was at Emerile’s new restaurant at the casino that specialized in seafood dishes with a nod to the local taste.

Food and Drink: Our dinner at Emerile’s restaurant, the Gulf Coast Fish House had a couple of standout dishes. Mark is picky about his cream-based fish chowder (usually called New England clam chowder). He tried Emerile’s seafood chowder and was really happy with it. Different chunks of seafood were cooked in a nicely seasoned cream base. No potatoes, and the light cream helped highlight the fish. Just the way he likes it.
My dinner was delish: Paw Paw Shrimp. (What's a 'paw paw'!!??) Shrimp was grilled, and drizzled with a sweetened, yet slightly spicy tomato sauce. This was atop cheese grits. But these were tasty cheese grits that even Mark – I hate grits – liked.