Gulf Coast

Mobile, Alabama

January 20, 2007

We had a relatively uneventful drive through Florida's panhandle. When we got to the national seashore campground on a barrier island (toll bridge) across Pensacola Bay from Pensacola, we found that the campground and road had been washed away by a recent hurricane. Sarah used the cell to make arrangements at a park just north of Pensacola. It was just off of the interstate and a short drive the following morning to Mobile.

FORT CONDE: This partial reconstruction of the French fort, built to establish Mobile as the capital of French Louisiana, is a museum and tourist information center.

When in Mobile, we always visit the Exploreum. www.exploreum.net The special exhibit this time: A Day in Pompeii. We had seen an exhibit about the destruction of Pompeii in New York in 1979 (the 1900^th anniversary), so it was time to refresh our memories. Also, much more of Pompeii has been uncovered since then.

Since Pompeii was buried by ash and flow from Mount Vesuvius in hours, what is left is a snapshot in time; a city preserved for nearly 2,000 years. In the 18^th century, the king of Naples asked scholars to recover artifacts from Pompeii for his museum. This was the start of modern archeology.

At the exhibit, I learned that 90% of Pompeii's 20,000 residents got out safely during the first hours after the first eruption began raining ash on the city. Those who thought that the worst was over and remained, didn't survive the second, more devastating, eruption.

I also found out that there were more than 300 fast-food establishments in Pompeii, but no Pizza Hut or Domino's have been found so far.

From the study of Pompeii, we learn that, “He who hesitates is lost.” Of course, there are other instances from which we learn that, “He who hesitates is sometimes saved.” That's sort of: “The early bird gets the worm” and “The second mouse gets the cheese.” (In Florida, the early bird gets 20% off, but that's another story.)

The special exhibits are not always the main reason that we visit the Exploreum. There is a particular display in which iron filings dance around electro-magnetic posts to the beat of lively music. Sarah always enjoys watching the display. It has no official name, but can be referred to as 'Dancing Haystacks' or 'Dancing Cousin Its.' You can see them dance by clicking the 'play' icon below.

The following day we went to the Mobile Museum of Art. www.mobilemuseumofart.com There were several special exhibits that opened the day we were there, but we were almost the only people there.

The museum claims to be the largest art museum between Tampa and New Orleans, but is not large by NY standards. While their permanent collection has no old masters and few pieces by well known artists (If I don't know them, they're not well known.), they seem to cover all the styles of art and the trip to the museum was enjoyable.

We spent most of our time at “Linda McCartney's Sixties: Portrait of an Era.” Mrs. McCartney created the traveling exhibit in 1992 a few years before she died.

Most of the Ansel Adams photographs looked like ones that I had seen before, some didn't.

ALLEN TAKES A SPILL (reenactment)

We are staying at Chickasabogue, a Mobile County park that specializes in disc golf and single-track biking. Coming to this park was one of the goals of my trip; we've stayed here several times over the years. This park has one of the best biking experiences for me. There is a more challenging area in Frasier, Colorado, but right now it is under several feet of snow and will remain so until June. I know some other good places, but they're more for people in their 20s with calves like nail-kegs. Chickasabogue has trails from ones that Sarah finds easy to some that I either can't or won't do. (At least, not yet.)

SINGLE-TRACK BIKING

In single-track biking, the trail is just about wide enough for a single bike; sometimes barely. In Chickasabogue, to prevent collisions, the trails are one way. For variety, the direction reverses monthly. They do this with color-coded signs and tree blazes. Hopefully, the bikers read the rules before going on the trails. As you can see by the photos, the trails in Manatee Springs, where we biked last week, are relatively flat, wide, and obstruction-free. The trails in Chickasabogue are narrow, winding routes with roots, dips, wet spots, and sharp turns. Rails-to-Trails, it is not!

On one particularly sharp turn, the rock-honed steel teeth of my pedal bit into a log on the side of the trail and brought my bike to a sudden stop; six feet later, I stopped, too. Palms first. (But that was on a previous trip) For protection, we wear helmets and leather gloves with padded palms when doing single-track.

There's a fine line between daring and demented. Although the credo of trail bikers is “bones heal and chicks dig scars,” I've biked to the edge of Chickasabogue's “Nose Dive,” but have never gone over. I suspect that part of my reluctance is the realization that, at my age, bones take longer to heal and mature 'chicks' are more impressed with the ability to drive a car, especially at night.

Usually, Sarah bikes along following me; I can hear the squeak of her brakes in the distance. She has the first aid kit and helps me get up when I take a spill. This trip, however, Sarah stayed behind at our campsite and I was on my own; her knee hasn't quite recovered from the strain of biking in the sand when the trails were turned over at Manatee Springs S.P., FL.

I took a walkie-talkie along, but the range wasn't good enough to reach Sarah when I took a spill off of a low, narrow bridge traversing a swampy area. I recall seeing the front wheel go off of the edge of the bridge just past the end of the water, but have no memory of hitting the ground. The next thing that I remember was being on dry dirt next to the water and entangled in my bicycle. I was able to extricate myself from the bike relatively unhurt, but the bike was not rideable due to a misaligned rear wheel; I had to push it through the woods back to our campsite to make repairs. The next trip out I took the cell phone; I couldn't call Sarah, but I could call the campground office for an ambulance, should I need one.

Gulfport, Mississippi

January 21, 2007

Today we toured Biloxi and Gulfport, MS to see the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. We drove along Beach Street (US 90) which had most of the large, impressive homes; they are mostly gone. Some are are still standing, others are in various stages of collapse up to and including vacant lots (lots of lots). Most of the damaged buildings have been torn down and the debris carted away; only stoops and driveways remain for some. One of the saddest sights is to see the spring bulbs coming up in someone's flowerbed with nothing left of the home but the front steps. For sale signs are everywhere, but rebuilding is going on. Biloxi's Beau Rivage Casino opened six months ago after undergoing $550 million in renovations. I should look so good.

SOME PHOTOS OF GULF COAST DEVASTATION