Hurricane Katrina 8 years later

Gulfport, Mississippi---Planning this trip meant being open to any unplanned turn of events. One was finding out a friend was going to be working in Mississippi exactly when I was going to pass through. So here I am in a nice Marriott Hotel facing the Gulf!

I would never imagine that this very hotel barely weathered Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005. But on the room's TV was an in-house video with a loop showing five guys who stayed behind and filmed the storm and the storm surge (UltimateChase.com).  I now understand why and how storm surge does the most damage. One hour of footage had been edited down to show the stages of the storm.



Current

It was remarkable to see the lobby that I had just walked through with a floating car being pushed through the front doors.  Furniture floating, surge rising, and wind howling.  It showed the beginning where water began to pour through the front doors to all four entry doors completely missing! It continued to record water that rose past the first floor and lapped up the stairwells towards the second floor.  As it turns out, this property formerly the Holiday Inn, reached 28 feet 10 inches of storm surge and a line in the lobby marked it off.

Current/water line above TV

I continued to notice the empty lots that line the Gulf front and large foundations.  I was told Mansions lined Highway 90 along the water.  I counted 31 driveways to nowhere in just the 2 miles prior to the Hotel. Watching the news never seems to capture the magnitude of it and this is 8 years later!

 



NOTE Foundation from past home still sits 13 years later.

State Crossing: Mississippi

Sights along the way: Alabama

State Crossing: Alabama

BP Oil Spill and the Effect on One Person's Life

Destin, FL---The hotels were completely booked and every indication was that it was going to be a prosperous summer.  Dee had bought a map company catering to tourism businesses that provided them with opportunities to advertise to visitors.  Her business had been growing.  She felt good about her investment and the years ahead.
But then one thing happened:  170 statute miles away it would change everything.  The 2010 BP Oil Spill in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico put her city on a tailspin.  People cancelled their plans to vacation in Destin regardless of the reality or the condition of the beach. The media frenzy put 1,631 miles of beaches into one word, “the Gulf.”  From Texas to Florida regardless of the actual condition of the beach, people didn’t separate them and didn’t want to take a chance on the all-to-short American summer vacation and changed plans away from Destin.

Businesses had to close, clients couldn’t pay their bills.

But in her world it was the disaster that didn’t happen;  “The weather was great and the beaches were fine.  We got some small tar balls that were immediately cleaned up,” she explained. “But everything else was out of fear from what the media was putting out about the area.”

And so Dee returned to a past job and continued with two jobs to get through the turn of events.

Then to make matters worse, the much reported misuse of area advertising dollars came to light two years later.  The director of the area’s convention and visitor’s bureau had purchased a $710,000 yacht and a $747,000 home by unorthodox and secretive means. His suicide days after his resignation would cap off the tragedy and leave investigations and unanswered questions.

“It was terrible to see the businesses close.  It all seemed so pointless.  But you do what it takes. For me it was working two jobs.”

Hyundai: Rythms with Sunday.

My Hyundai Tucson (T) at the starting point: Daytona Beach

My journey across the USA will be solely dependent on where the road leads me, however to ride that road I am the captain of my vehicle. I have owned my Hyundai Tucson since returning from my year on sailboats in 2011, where before I had left, I sold my Toyota Highlander thinking I would buy another when I returned.

But something happened overseas.  I loved seeing all the strange vehicles on the roads of Italy and Greece, all the used American cars through the Caribbean. In Santorini, Greece, I rented a teeny-tiny car that was the size of my beach towel and nicked named it, well…Beach Towel.  In the Cape Verde, Islands I did not have time to notice cars since I was in the back of small pickup truck that was screeching around curves as I was  praying that God spare my life from dieing by rolling off the side of the mountains as we had to travel 1 hour just to get to the only Internet cafe. But then it was Ecuador that it finally occurred to me: I had seen the Hyundai brand all around the world. From Spain to yes, the Galapagos Islands it had been there. I did not notice a Toyota in Morocco or an Isuzu in South Africa but I had seen a Hyundai.

Now I’m not saying that those brands do not exist there, I just didn’t notice them.

I had bought into the early reputation of “what kind of a car could South Korea really come up with…” and seriously, couldn't figure out how to actually say the word “Hyundai” properly. But with a year away from the hammering of American advertising, I could think for myself.

At the time I didn’t know that the Montgomery, Alabama production plant was a 9.1 billion dollar facility, or that the brand adds 7 billion to the US national Economy and contributes more than 94,000 jobs to the United States.  And yes, as it turns out they are sold in 193 countries.

But I also didn’t base my decision to go to Daytona Hyundai on the fact the Glen Ritchey, Jr was in my Rotary or what I feel  has a good dealer reputation. I made a decision to go directly to Daytona Hyundai based on what I had seen overseas. I love my T. It always wants to go 90mph without me even knowing it. But no, on this trip no texting and no speeding. And the road will lead, my Hyundai will follow and I am at the helm.

Because I do not drive a foreign car, I drive a global car.

When the “WHY NOT?” outweighs the “WHY?”.

I get it about this crazy idea I have to road trip across the US. I get it that it might not be the best use of my time as an unemployed person, or the wisest use of my savings.

I believe that anyone could do this if they really wanted to but I understand that everyone is not able to do it. This is something that I have always wanted to do and I believe God puts things in your heart for a reason and whether you act on your dreams or not is up to you.

But where do you draw the line between dreams and responsibility?

Everyone has to decide for themselves and find some balance. Fight back fear and try to remember what you "always wanted to do". I’m lucky. At this moment in time, I have no responsibilities towards a family or others; my parents have both passed and 20 years of owning pets has come to an end. Not everyone is in this position. It does not mean that I am roaring out the door. I’m doing this alone and I am actually really scared.

But for me, I look at the map of the United States and think:

Enchanted Forest, La Palma Island, Canary Islands 2010

I have seen the mountain of Pompeii, Italy but have never seen Pikes Peak.

I have seen the mysteries of Delphi, Greece but never Area 51.

I have hiked the Enchanted Forest of the Canary Islands but have not seen Yellowstone National Park.

I have been on top of the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean but never seen the Grand Canyon.

And so it goes, some ask why? I say with an overwhelming sense that life is short…why not.