Whew!
I have been obsessing off and on all day trying to get information and photos regarding the condition of one of my most dearly loved spots in the world. West Beach/Little Lagoon area of Gulf Shores, AL.
Late afternoon and evening tv crews seemed to be getting some photos on the air. Prior to that, many, many thanks to WWL-TV out of New Orleans for the aerial video on their website:
To access the video, you need to go to the main page, look in the left sidebar for new videos. If you are not already a *member* there, you need to sign up. It is free.
The shots seem to be in random order, and there are some really heartbreaking views. As I sat near tears the first time I viewed the rubble that remains in many places, one bright ray [for me, anyway] appeared in appeared in the last ten seconds or so of the film. Beach side of Little Lagoon in approximately the 1800 - 1900's blocks [just west of Lagoon Pass] seems to be in fair shape! I am sure there is more damage when the buildings are inspected at close range, but the vast majority of the structures seem to be standing and totally fixable. How those little houses survived with so many other larger, seemingly stronger buildings crushed defies my version of logic. But there they are. The only thing that crosses my mind is that they were just enough to the west that they missed total leveling by inches.
Or, as I believe, they truly are magical and a protective, enchanted bubble was cast around them.
That is the part of the world cast a spell on me from day one! The word that came clearly into my mind the first time I set foot on that stretch of beach was *HOME!* I will have one there one day. And I will be a returning guest until that time. .
Anyone who has been in that area knows that the Little Lagoon ~ West Beach area has the most beautiful sunsets that can be found!!! Its survival was such a ray of hope!
If you are trying to find more information on houses or businesses in the Gulf Shores area and how they weathered the storm, another helpful spot might be the Gulf Shores Forum at al.com:
http://www.al.com/forums/gulfshores/
It is a small, grassroots board, but people are jumping in and sharing bits of information they have and trying to help others find what they want or need to know. No one can physically return to the area, but as with all things online, people from across all walks of life each get different bits and pieces of information. If they come here and share them the overall picture starts to become clearer.
Goodnight to one and all!
Farron
[ _^..^_ has totally lost interest ]