April 9 – The Gulf Coast of MS
We took a meandering route across southern Mississippi and south to the Gulf shore of the state, finally settling down at Buccaneer State Park near Waveland, MS. We headed east on Beach Boulevard to historic Old Town Bay Saint Louis to explore the town. We were impressed with the beautiful houses along Beach Boulevard, but noticed they were all new, with lots of empty lots between them, many with old foundations, pilings or just concrete steps to nowhere. We realized this was Ground Zero for Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. The beaches of the Gulf of Mexico are opposite the new homes and vacant lots. Along the beach are the remains of huge old Live Oaks that were killed by the salt water storm surge of Hurricane Katrina. The trunks of the trees have been carved into beautiful images of land, sea and air creatures and protective angels.
One of the carved Live Oaks.
We heard the story that three survivors clung to one of the oak trees throughout the storm and felt that the tree was their guardian angel!
For a personal account of the destruction of the storm in the area here is a website to visit;
http://4christe.tripod.com/WavelandDamage
For before and after pictures of towns along the coast visit this website;
http://www.louisianaphotos.com/Katrina/B_A/Bay-St-Louis.html
For more images and info on the sculptures visit this website;
http://thanks-katrina.blogspot.com/2009/03/update-on-highway-90-sculptures.html
Just as the dead trees have been revived into beautiful works of art, the communities of the Gulf are revitalized, inviting and beautiful!