Been Gone On A Short Trip....

I should qualify that statement. Short in duration, not distance. Jessica and Jason came in with wild hair Tuesday night and wanted to take off to New Orleans that night so Jason could see the ocean. He has never seen the ocean and Jessica hasn't since she was less than a year old when we went to Daytona Beach and Destin, Florida. Of course, being landlocked here in Arkansas that was the only time I'd ever seen the ocean, too. After much hemming and hawing and lots of discussion and second-guessing, we finally made the decision to get some rest Tuesday night and leave on Wednesday morning. Destination: Gulfport, Mississippi. We decided that none of us had ever heard of any good beaches in New Orleans, and the main point of the trip was not just to SEE the ocean, but to actually, you know, swim in it if possible. I did have some thoughts about Hurrican Katrina and all the damage that was done to the area, but we were only going to be gone for a day and didn't want to drive any further. Yes, I said a day. As in, drive down there, spend a few hours on the beach, then drive back. All in the same day. Yes. That's a 7-8 hour drive each way. Jessica and Jason did all the driving. Lamar and I both have licenses, but we rarely or never drive, not having a car of our own. Neither of us have EVER drove in a city larger than Trumann, about 6,000 people, and very rarely that.

It was a fun trip, but tiring. The closer we got to the coast, the more damage we could see to the trees and buildings. The forests and trees and shrubs in people's yards and around businesses were stripped almost bare of limbs, and some were completely uprooted or snapped off. Roofs were damaged, and then gone, then whole buildings destroyed as we got nearer to the ocean. Some are just as they were right after the storm, abandoned. Others are being worked on, and still others have been razed, with just the bare foundations giving sign of where homes, hotels and businesses once stood.

When we got to Biloxi, the beaches were almost all still taped off and signs were posted that the beaches were closed due to debris from Hurrican Katrina. They weren't just whistling Dixie, either. I tried to get some pics of the whole trees sticking partway out of the water just off the beach, but my camera just doesn't do distance shots that well. There was miles of beach, almost completely deserted, except for the seagulls and terns. We finally found one little strip that wasn't taped off, but it still had a sign saying swimming wasn't recommended and there was no lifeguard on duty. There were only a couple dozen people on the beach and in the water, so we had the run of the place. But there were trees and limbs, pieces of jagged metal here and there, and just stuff, for lack of a better word, everywhere in the water. The water was shallow for a long way out, and I didn't go out any further than about a couple hundred feet off shore. It was a little over knee deep on me. I just sat down and let the waves rock me as I watched the sun sparkle on the water and Jessica and Jason smooching and playing in the water a little further out. Some kind of silvery fish about 6-12 inches long were jumping out of the water, and I got a kick out of watching them. The main boardwalk where we were had been repaired, but only one little stretch of it. All along the rest of the beach we saw the boardwalk was mangled and destroyed. Only some of the framework was left in places. Other places nothing was left of it. Even after almost a year the devastation is unbelievable. Hotels and homes only a few hundred yards off the beach are in various stages of repair, completely gone and just abandoned as they stand. It was an eery feeling to know that people died in those buildings, and bodies were pulled from the water where we were wading.

There was almost nothing planned about this trip. Jessica can be a creature of impulse, and wanted to leave Tuesday evening and drive all night, then come back Wednesday afternoon with no sleep or rest. Lamar and I talked her and Jason into waiting until Wednesday morning so we could all be rested and plan a little better. I prayed before we left the driveway for a safe trip there and back with no car trouble, and the Lord answered my prayers . I thanked Him all through the day for safety as we travelled. We rode 8 hours down there, stayed about 3 hours, then started back just at sunset. We got back home at a little after 2 am. How's that for a flying trip? I kept expecting Jessica to get stopped by a nice trooper or highway patrolman. I figured he'd ask her for her pilot's license rather than her driver's license. Jason was much better about observing the speed limit, I have to say.

This was only the second time I've been to the ocean, and it was a GIFT, truly a gift. It was almost more than I could do to walk in that sand, especially after riding in the car for 8 hours, but I was bound and determined to get in that water if I had to crawl out there! I sat there in that one place for over an hour, just watching those fish and soaking up the memories. There was a nice breeze blowing in off the ocean and every once in a while a particularly big wave would break around me and slap me upside the head. It was glorious. I can tell you all about sand in your drawers that you'd ever want to hear. Okay, MORE than you want to hear, so I'll just leave it to your imagination. Just, Ewwwwww.....Okay?

Please be in prayer for Addison as she recovers from surgery to repair a hole in her heart. Barb posted an update that she is doing well and Sarah and her hubby should meet with the surgeon later today to find out more about the outcome of the surgery and Addison's prognosis. Thank God for answered prayers, and thank each of you who are praying for Addison.

Also, Amy Wilhoite is IN REMISSION!! Read about it HERE.

I have a meeting tonight at church so I'll try to get blogger to upload some pics but don't hold your breath. If I don't have any luck at it I'll try again after I get back. I'll try to get to everyone's blogs to comment and read as soon as I get back, too. Hope everyone is having a great week so far. Love and blessings to all my friends and family.

PS: Johnny, that flower is cypress vine, a member of the ipomoea family, along with morning glories. I used to have lots of it, and I think Ducky still has somel. Hummingbirds and butterflies love it. Also, your email program won't let me email you. I get an apology email saying I'm not an accepted mailer. :-( Fix it and I'll email you again, BIL. :-)