The Adventure Bug bites!

The first order of business today was to find out why my diabetes tester was not working. The pharmacist decided the strips were no good, regardless of the date. That should not happen to a first-time user, but of course it could not be helped. He gave me a new box of strips, which also made up for the ones I used trying to get a reading!
(What's a lancet? Which end of the test strip goes in the machine? a valid question since neither end appeared to work. etc. How come the lancet holder comes apart in 3
pieces? It is funny now, but then it was serious.)
After stopping off at the doctor's office to update them on what had happened, I continued on Rt 90, the coast highway, toward Biloxi. My co-worker suggested a day-trip to Biloxi, which I knew was east, toward Florida. However, with no travel in the area, how far and how long a trip were complete unknowns.
So here goes:

Waveland and the small communities suffered a direct hit from Katrina. No where is totally recovered, and because of the historic value of properties, locals say it never will be. Some areas have more money and have reached a greater degree of repair, but even where there are a number of rebuilt buildings, whether homes or businesses, there are lots with foundations which is all that is left of what was there. When their home or place of business was totally destroyed, some folks just walked away. The community cleaned the trash up, but the foundations stay, often with posts in the ground when the building was elevated.
Most of the beaches are beautiful white sand, and run next to the highway, as trees would in other parts of the country(on one side, of course.)
Before leaving, I looked up hair stylists in the phone book. There are none listed in Waveland. Turning north onto Rt 49 in Gulfport, I found a hair stylist in the shopping center with Walmart. It has been our experience at the Christian Life Center that people usually want to talk about their Katrina experiences. This woman was totally beaten down and depressed. She was sick of repairing, said she no longer saw the damage, and emphatically declared things would never be the same. Pray for her: her name is Angel.
On the way back to Rt 90, I stopped at Quisnos for a sandwich, which I took to the Westside Pier on Rt 90. It had 4 pagodas built at the end (they may have another name: that is what they look like) as insets with benches. There were several families on the pier, and some fishermen.
This is the first pier actually rebuilt which I have seen: usually, there are just pilings out into the ocean. The pilings are concrete, while the piers are wood.
Continuing toward Biloxi:
The next pier,the Ken Combs pier, was partially rebuilt. There is a parking lot here, rather than just a pull-over, with outdoor lighting. They have a trash bin and port-o-lets enclosed within walls of wood. The sidewalks are obviously new concrete: probably done within the last year.
A breakwater of stone has been built in a U around two boat ramps. Men with City of Gulfport on their truck were digging sand out of the ramps. It is apparent from the trash in the sandpiles that a lot of time is spent moving sand from where people do not want it to be. There is also a channel with concrete on the beach that appears to be able to contain storm water. Palm trees are planted, still being braced with boards. Their fronds are not developed.
Moving on toward Biloxi:
There are big oaks up on the residential street that runs parallel to the highway and the beach! I had heard that many oaks were able to withstand Katrina.
There are fences in the sand on the beach, similar to the snow fences used up north, to protect the highway. Bulldozers are working on moving the sand: I cannot tell if they are redoing the beach, or just controlling the sand that exists.
Edgewater Village Shopping Center is the first mall I have seen bigger than a strip mall in this part of the country. It is just inside the Biloxi corp. limits.
Suddenly: Beauvoir, the historic home of Jefferson Davis. There are no billboards or signs of any type to advertise its presence: just a street sign with an arrow designating the name and historic value. It is suddenly THERE just pick the right driveway.
The lawn area is huge: there are 10 oaks on the front lawn alone, with more on the side. Beauvoir (house)
lawn with oaks
rt 90 PICTURE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY
beach
the Gulf (water as far as you can see)
After paying for a guided tour of the home, I am directed to sit on the wrap-around porch and wait for the giide to come out. While waiting, I observed distances, and the closeness of things that often would be further apart.

The guide said the oaks went down to the gulf when Davis lived here-there was no beach. Inside, there are pictures of before and after Katrina, and a case of broken china pieces which are artifacts from the Davises, destroyed by the storm. A replica of a ring worn by Mrs. Davis had been on display and was found in all the sand and flotsam after the storm. It is so small, one wonders how they found it at all.(the original is in the Smithsonian, we are told)
The home is relatively small, with high ceilings. We are told it was built by a man named Brown who had lots of money.
After finishing the tour, I headed back, stopping at Shelleys Restaurant in Pass Christian for supper. There is a harbor there for pleasure boats. I observed a man sailing his boat into the harbor and into the slip between two other boats. In my ignorance, I was not aware a sailboat could be directed that closely. The motor which it had was on the back of the boat with the propellor up in the air.

Back "home" again. Heres hoping you enjoyed my adventure.