We are now near Mobile, AL. Mobile itself is nothing special. We have explored the coastal areas on the East side of Mobile Bay and there are many charming communities. The beaches all have beautiful white sand. The sand is made of quartz from the Apalachan Mountains and are tiny oval grains. There are many great places for tourists. Pensacola has a very nice downtown with an interesting unique style. The new areas are very much set up like Redmond Town Center with living areas and work places integrated. Again, everything is for sale.
We had a wonderful seafood dinner at a restaurant near Mobile. We were on an island on the bay about 20 feet above the water. We saw an alligator go swimming by! Our waiter, Chris, told us about his hurricane experience. The water came up about 6 feet in the restaurant. He and wife lived in an apartment in Mobile. They were without power for 2 1/2 weeks. There was a curfew to prevent looting and he said the 2 weeks without air conditioning and not being able to go out was a miserable time!
Today we drove West toward New Orleans along the coast. Went through Biloxi and Gulfport. It was especially interesting to us as we had stayed in that area 14 years ago. It is terrible what the hurricanes did. We remembered the wonderful beachfront houses in Biloxi that were probably built starting in 1890 through about 1940. They had roomy yards and were just accross the road from the beautiful beach. Obviously, many had been there for years. Sadly they are virtually all gone! There are some foundations still there and an occasional remnant of a brick wall. The devistation goes back 1-2 blocks from the shore. There is very little rebuilding. It goes on for miles along the shore. It is going to take years for this area to recover. There are a few casinos that are trying, but the whole coast is still about 90% vacant! It looks like they are going to have beachfront high rises, but there are not many of them either. It is sad to see many businesses where the building is gone, but somehow the battered signs remained. We are not going any farther West on the gulf coast - too depressing.
We are going to head North now along the historic Natchez Trace Parkway to Nashville.
We had a wonderful seafood dinner at a restaurant near Mobile. We were on an island on the bay about 20 feet above the water. We saw an alligator go swimming by! Our waiter, Chris, told us about his hurricane experience. The water came up about 6 feet in the restaurant. He and wife lived in an apartment in Mobile. They were without power for 2 1/2 weeks. There was a curfew to prevent looting and he said the 2 weeks without air conditioning and not being able to go out was a miserable time!
Today we drove West toward New Orleans along the coast. Went through Biloxi and Gulfport. It was especially interesting to us as we had stayed in that area 14 years ago. It is terrible what the hurricanes did. We remembered the wonderful beachfront houses in Biloxi that were probably built starting in 1890 through about 1940. They had roomy yards and were just accross the road from the beautiful beach. Obviously, many had been there for years. Sadly they are virtually all gone! There are some foundations still there and an occasional remnant of a brick wall. The devistation goes back 1-2 blocks from the shore. There is very little rebuilding. It goes on for miles along the shore. It is going to take years for this area to recover. There are a few casinos that are trying, but the whole coast is still about 90% vacant! It looks like they are going to have beachfront high rises, but there are not many of them either. It is sad to see many businesses where the building is gone, but somehow the battered signs remained. We are not going any farther West on the gulf coast - too depressing.
We are going to head North now along the historic Natchez Trace Parkway to Nashville.
posted by Bob and Linda at
5:42 PM
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