Biloxi and a Swamp Tour

Posted by Thane
We went to Biloxi, Mississippi to check out the storm damage from Katrina. This is where our friends Don and Linda volunteered for two Springs over the last two years. We wanted to see what had taken place since October of '05.

There was a 32' storm surge that hit the gulf causing all of Biloxi to be underwater. The houses that weren't completely destroyed had to be gutted Here is a picture of some of the rubble still there after almost 3 years with a new building coming out of it.

Highway 90, the main coastal road is just being re-opened now.

Shrimp boats on the Gulf.

From there we traveled back toward New Orleans for a swamp tour. Casey, our guide , took us and 20 others out in to the swamps. He would call the gators to the boat saying,"Yankee meat, Yankee meat" and then throw a marshmallow in the water and sure enough a 12 footer would show up. He even had a scrub brush to give them a loofa.

He talked about the ecology of the river and how the upstream activities affected the swamps.


He also gave us his favorite Creole recipes and told us the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee. His wife is from Indiana and she was the damn kind. (a Yankee comes down here, does whatever and then leaves while a Damn Yankee comes down and never leaves)

This is a typical creole house, up on stilts to let the water and breezes flow though.