Tar balls from BP in Biloxi

We stopped for Mexican tonight and after the all day rain it's a cool 78 tonight so we stopped at the beach across the road from the campground. Yep, the tar balls are here in Biloxi. There are quite a few of them but we didn't see any cleanup crews, there were a couple buses a mile down the road so perhaps they just arrived, night time, when it's cool, is good for the crews and makes it easier to pick them up. I did get some pictures of a clean up crew the next day a mile or two down the beach.

SeaBee Museum & Hurricane Alex

Not too much going on this past week. WE have been doing some tinkering at Jody's house and the best news is that Judy thinks she's determined what has been giving her so many headaches & sending her to the doctors while we were in AL. She had a root canal yesterday due to an infected tooth. The bad news is really good.

We did go to the Naval SeaBee base and went through their one room museum. Not much there but I think there's enough SeaBee history for a bigger & better museum. I would have liked to get a picture of the large SeaBee logo on the water tower but pictures are not allowed on the base, Homeland Security I imagine. Do I look like a terrorist?

Hurricane Alex is far far away but we are still feeling it here in Biloxi. It's been much cloudier than normal and two days ago the rains started. Sometime it just comes down in sheets. The oil has arrived at the Biloxi beaches, it has been reported on the local TV news and we have seen large crews combing the beach for the last couple days.

Mississippi Gulf coast

We decided to play tourist today & started by returning to Boomtown Casino for their 1/2 off buffet again. That was noon, it's now 7pm & we are still full. There's more shrimp down here than we can eat. We drove out to a Gulf Island National Park & checked out their campground. We caught this raccoon foraging in the day. The boat is a shrimper heading home for the day. You can see the wide white sand beach here, it goes on for miles. The light house is metal & the only one to remain after 4 major hurricanes from 1906 to the last one, Katrina, in 2005. How about the live oak tree that was carved into porpoises? A chain saw artiste went along the beach after Katrina and carved many remaining tree trunks into unique sculptures along the shore.

Jody's residency graduation

Friday night was a biggie for Dr Bahnmiller. She is completing her 3 year residency at the University of Southern Alabama. We were invited to the ceremony, there were 6 graduates in Family Medicine. The food was really good, everyone was quite happy, the video spoofs were quite funny & the light at the end of Jody's tunnel is getting very bright. She has made us quite proud and it was strange hearing everyone calling her Dr Bahnmiller all the time, I always thought she was Jody.

Busy busy busy; planes & trains

Do you like how the firemen down here water their front lawn? We got a kick out of it!!!

Monday Jody closed on the Mobile home, Tuesday she closed on the new Biloxi home. Monday we did go to Boomtown Casino for the lucnh buffet, half off of course. Judy left the casino $11 in their slot machines. Wednesday Judy & I oversaw the movers packing & loading up her stuff in Mobile and the storage place. We did some cleaning after the movers where done and then met them in Biloxi to oversee the unloading. We did get to stop at The Shed in MS for some good BBQ. Thursday Judy and I did the kitchen unpacking and put kitchen stuff away. Judy has been especially busy. When it's in the 90s daytime & 80s at night it seems all you do is look for someplace cool.

The CG is quite near Keesler Air Force Base so we get to hear & see planes taking off often, if I was a little quicker I could get some better pictures. BUT...I got a good pic of the ever present train. CGs are often near railroad tracks!

Biloxi, Mississippi

We have escaped Alabama after 3 weeks. Thursday we assisted Bruce while he had movers loading up his stuff for his move to Jacksonville. After the movers left we did some house cleaning for Jody because she's in Dallas at a seminar preparing for another federal medical exam next month. Friday we made the 100 mile move west to Biloxi Mississippi to a CG we scouted out last Saturday. It's only 10 minutes or so from the house Jody is purchasing and the CG is across the street from the Gulf beach. We really had to hunt for acceptable CGs over here, much of the area has yet to be rebuilt after Katrina 5 years ago. At least there is no oil on the beach. Guess what....it's as hot & muggy here as as Alabama.

Oil in the Gulf & on the beach

We have just been hanging out this last week. Jody has been coming over so she & Judy have been running around. We went to their place Saturday and helped separate their stuff in storage facility then went to Biloxi. We checked out several CGs because we'll be moving there Thursday. We also rode by the house Dr Bahnmiller is purchasing. We finally isolated our CG search to one we can spend a month in, Southern Comfort on Beach Ave across from the Gulf.

Yes, there is oil on the marshes and beaches down here. BP is busing in workers to pick up some oil globs (tar balls) that wash ashore. At Gulf Shores the beach is open and there are a few people in the water. We understand that there are not near as many people on the beach as there should be this time of the year. You can see folks on the beach sunbathing with bags of oily sand nearby in the pictures. For the most part the locals do not believe BP is doing enough to clean up their mess & I agree. Business down here is hearting.

We have been spending some time in the CGs pool and it is NICE. Daytime its in the low 90s and at night the high 70s.