Old town Bay St Louis, MS
We spent the afternoon in old town Bay St Louis. We were among the few outsiders who saw Bay St Louis immediately after Katrina. What we saw that day and what we saw today are worlds apart and almost defy description. In 2005, we drove until there was no road, the immense storm surge had just eaten away at the south side of the city and completely wiped out all of the businesses and Beach Blvd. It was such a beautiful little town we just stared at the gaping hole with dropped jaws. Today we saw that the hole in the dirt bank had been turned it into a huge sea wall with a small park and tons of sidewalks. The shops that could be rebuilt have been and they are so cute. We walked and shopped and really enjoyed it. There are still many empty spaces but the general feel seems to be that somehow this place will come back to life in time.
One tree trunk that survived the storm has been anchored in concrete
and the trunk carved to show two Indian princesses with arms that look like eagles.
A pretty work of art with an uplifting feel to it.
This is the nice bridge which replaced the one completely destroyed by Katrina.
In 2005 we could drive to where it used to be and look at what little was left, only a few pilings.
We almost missed today's sunset because of the clouds. The shrimp
boats were quietly waiting for tomorrow's run at dawn.
It was a beautiful day to spend outdoors and we are glad we slowed down to enjoy it. As we drove a little farther we were heartbroken at the number of missing houses and the huge amount of empty lots for sale. We both think that about 75% of the original houses are still missing, some probably never to be rebuilt. People out of this area simply do not understand how devastating a big hurricane can be. I'm still thinking about those people in the Northeast and how they do not understand what lies ahead for them.
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