A Rainy Morning and Then Some Caching in Gulfport 2/19/2008

We got a late start this morning as we had a line of rain and thunderstorms roll through the campground starting about 6:00 am and lasting till 10:00 am. We did leave soon after 10 and drove to Gulfport which is west of Biloxi. We got there quickly and started with a multi-cache located in a small park and nature walk area, then it was on to a cache located near the campus of Mississippi State U. in the woods, then it was on into the downtown area of Gulfport along the ocean, but more on that later, and a cache located near the tug boat S.S. Camille which was washed ashore during Hurricane Camille in August 1969 and just left there as a reminder. A gift shop was built behind the tug boat in 1970 and there it stayed until August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina destroyed it. They are not sure if it will be rebuilt and also not really sure if the tug boat will make it through the renovation.
Then it was on to a cache in a small refurbished park, another multi-cache in a baseball complex, then on to a small cemetery for another multi-cache in and around the cemetery, then a cache in another small rebuilt park with a nice walking track and the last cache was a virtual at a plaque at the location of the Harrison County Mississippi's County Seat.
We then took time to drive around Gulfport and you know , we thought the damage from Katrina was bad in Biloxi, it was ten times worse here. UTTER DESTRUCTION and so unbelievable and so so sad. As you drive along Beach Blvd there is absolutely nothing left of any kind of house, condo, motel, restaurant, gas station anything except debris or concrete slabs. NOTHING AT ALL except it was something that has been rebuilt since the hurricane. There are a few casinos, of course, and a few fast food restaurants and one or two gas stations. It is so sad to see the residents living in a small trailer on the property that used to be their homes. For sale signs all over the place and we bet very inexpensive too. We saw one sign where you can buy an oceanfront condo for $109,000 which is unheard of along the ocean. We can't believe that 2 1/2 years later and some people have no homes to live in the feeling must be so discouraging and hopeless at times. There are 7, 8, 9 story buildings that have had all the doors and windows blown out and the wind just took the everything inside and just wiped it out, furniture, dishes, sheet rock, walls, everything. The roads are in absolutely terrible condition with only one lane along Ocean Blvd open to traffic as they are still replacing curbs and roads that were completely washed away. It seems as we move west it gets worse and worse and we can't imagine what it's going to be like closer to New Orleans.
After seeing this we stopped at a Sonic and had lunch and then it was on back to the RV. I showered and Mom did the logs and we just got done dinner and I am doing the blog. It's gotten cooler and it's supposed to be fairly nice and less humid for the next week or so,. We'll say so long until tomorrow now and we love you and miss you all.


Picture List:1-Damage, 2-S.S. Camille tug boat washed 200' from ocean during Hurricane Camille in 1969, 3-Damage, 4,5-Small shopping center that used to have these businesses in Outback Steakhouse, Beach Pharmacy, Kern Optical, Beach View Dental Clinic and Nola's Castaway Cafe, 6,7,8-Damage, 9-Huge pile of concrete derbris, 10,11-Original site of the First Baptist Church which was built in 1910 and relocated after Katrina destroyed it, 12,13,14,15-Damage.