Katrina was 15 years ago!

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005 – 15 years ago. But when you talk to locals, they still talk about what they will be doing once the area recovers from its affects. In addition to all the buildings lost, apparently hundreds of trees were killed during the hurricane. After Katrina, Marlin Miller, as sculptor from Fort Walton Beach Florida, decided to repay the folks of Biloxi for their assistance during Hurricane Ivan. He transformed the dead trees into a fabulous sculpture garden all along Highway 90.

We have been using the local Edgewater Mall as our preferred location to get steps in, especially when it is inclement or just plain too hot. On our last visit we learned that Marlin Miller continues to help Biloxi recover from Katrina. A couple years ago he sculpted and donated to the City what he named “Katrina 2014”. It is made from hundreds of pieces of driftwood recovered after Hurricane Katrina. Miller says he was inspired by the power of human nature to rise above disaster.

We learned that the beach in Biloxi is man-made. In fact, the beach all along the Gulf Coast stretching from Biloxi to Henderson point is totally man-made. The 200-foot-wide beach stretches 26 miles, making it the largest man-made beach in the world – pretty impressive!

In our many strolls up and down the man-made beach we have been taking in all the sights it has to offer. One of the few structures to survive Katrina was built in 1848. The cast iron Biloxi lighthouse stood up to Katrina, as it had to dozens of hurricanes over the years. While it is not open to climb, we still enjoyed checking it out.

Talk to you soon.