Coastal

 Considering that it's below freezing, perhaps this is the Lake Michigan shore. Endless water, blue sky, white sand...

Well, maybe not with palm trees. This is the Gulf of Mexico. Seriously, I had a hard time getting my head around the idea that this is the ocean, not my familiar Great Lake. Of course, I'm being teased for bringing all the cold weather because I packed shorts and sandals for this trip. Haven't worn either one yet.

This is just a couple of miles from where Dale and Margaret live, and it was all devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The water did not quite make it to their house.

This carved tree trunk is called the "Angel Tree." In the early 1900's a woman living on the street asked that the tree, an oak, be spared when the road was being constructed. Later in the century the house became an inn. When the hurricane hit in 2005, three of the seven people in the inn survived by clinging to this tree. The inn was washed away. The tree died, but was carved into this angel. There is too much shadow in the picture, but you get the idea.

This tree, however, weathered the storm. This is a live oak, estimated to be 150 years old.

This church is "Our Lady of the Gulf" in Bay St. Louis. It was established in 1847 and is the fifth oldest in Mississipi. The building was damaged in the hurricane, but has been restored.

There wasn't much logic to which homes were damaged and which were washed away. This whole street is lined with stately southern buildings, but they are now a mixture of new and extensively restored.

The former bridge here was also destroyed. This is the new Bay St. Louis Bridge. Seriously, coming off that to the other side looks almost like coming off the Big Mac. Only Fort Michilimackinac is missing. Totally messed with my head. A ferry operated after the hurricane until this bridge was built.

And just to nail down that southern atmosphere, Margaret fixed gumbo.

It's supposed to get really cold here overnight. Crazy. All part of that same system that is dumping snow on those of you who are actually in Michigan.

See Stop Seven- Dale and Margaret