Day 4
It's technically Day 5, but too early to make any comments about today. The last two days have been great. Work on the site has been going steadily. Lots of caulking. I've had fun using the pnuematic nail gun - the rapid fire feature is lots of fun!
On Tuesday night, we took a drive to Biloxi - about an hour by the route we drove. The bridge on the road along the coast is out, so we had to go up to the freeway and then back down. On our way back down to the coast road, we drove through a town that looked like it weathered the storm fairly well. At least, until we got about 3 blocks from the water. From that point on, all we saw were slabs and driveways. It's hard to describe. All the rubble has been cleared away at this point. I can't imagine what it must have looked like right after the storm.
In Biloxi, the casinos are hard at work rebuilding. Because of the storm, legislation changed and now allows them to be built on land. (Previously, they were only allowed on water.) We had a nice dinner at the only one open, but I always find myself a bit depressed from the environment.
On Wednesday, we wanted to eat at a the Bay City Grill. We'd heard about a great microbrew they had, and that the food was the best in town. Unfortunately, they were moving stuff out as we arrived - they'd closed the day before. We ran into the owner, and when we mentioned why we were there (to try some of the brew and food) he invited us in for a pint. I'm looking for an adjective, but nothing really describes it. We heard the story about his trials after the storm getting things running, then having $3,000 to his name and buying $3,000 worth of liquor to sell. They were pretty much day-to-day, using this week's profits to buy next week's supplies. It was a great opportunity to have some good IPA and hear some stories. Painful as well, but the people here are resilient. (Or stubborn. Depending on your point of view.)
After finding a place to eat, we stopped by Benigno's (pronounced behn-ing-gos) for some beer and darts. Mary had been looking forward to darts since we heard they had a board. Not 5 minutes after we started trying to get the second board up and going, Ted and Shea (pictures to follow) invited us to join there game. 2 hours and 3 gin-and-tonics later, we had to make our exit. It was great fun, but not something I can do every night!
Yesterday was actually much tamer. Work on the site continued at a reasonable pace, and we had a nice dinner at Rickey's around the corner from the church. Tonight should be more interesting - we've been invited to Daniel's for a final wild night out.
I have more to write about the emotional aspect of the experience, but it's time to clean up and get ready to head out. I'll get more tomorrow when I get back. I'll have to edit this as well - they've asked for the address so they can read it!
On Tuesday night, we took a drive to Biloxi - about an hour by the route we drove. The bridge on the road along the coast is out, so we had to go up to the freeway and then back down. On our way back down to the coast road, we drove through a town that looked like it weathered the storm fairly well. At least, until we got about 3 blocks from the water. From that point on, all we saw were slabs and driveways. It's hard to describe. All the rubble has been cleared away at this point. I can't imagine what it must have looked like right after the storm.
In Biloxi, the casinos are hard at work rebuilding. Because of the storm, legislation changed and now allows them to be built on land. (Previously, they were only allowed on water.) We had a nice dinner at the only one open, but I always find myself a bit depressed from the environment.
On Wednesday, we wanted to eat at a the Bay City Grill. We'd heard about a great microbrew they had, and that the food was the best in town. Unfortunately, they were moving stuff out as we arrived - they'd closed the day before. We ran into the owner, and when we mentioned why we were there (to try some of the brew and food) he invited us in for a pint. I'm looking for an adjective, but nothing really describes it. We heard the story about his trials after the storm getting things running, then having $3,000 to his name and buying $3,000 worth of liquor to sell. They were pretty much day-to-day, using this week's profits to buy next week's supplies. It was a great opportunity to have some good IPA and hear some stories. Painful as well, but the people here are resilient. (Or stubborn. Depending on your point of view.)
After finding a place to eat, we stopped by Benigno's (pronounced behn-ing-gos) for some beer and darts. Mary had been looking forward to darts since we heard they had a board. Not 5 minutes after we started trying to get the second board up and going, Ted and Shea (pictures to follow) invited us to join there game. 2 hours and 3 gin-and-tonics later, we had to make our exit. It was great fun, but not something I can do every night!
Yesterday was actually much tamer. Work on the site continued at a reasonable pace, and we had a nice dinner at Rickey's around the corner from the church. Tonight should be more interesting - we've been invited to Daniel's for a final wild night out.
I have more to write about the emotional aspect of the experience, but it's time to clean up and get ready to head out. I'll get more tomorrow when I get back. I'll have to edit this as well - they've asked for the address so they can read it!
posted by dan at 7:03 AM
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