Long Beach in tha Mutha F***ing House

On Labor Day, Lindsey's Dad, Grandfather and I went to Long Beach, Mississippi where her grandparents (used to) live. They had a home about seven blocks from the beach. Unlike New Orleans, residents can get back in to Long Beach to go through the rubble that used to be their lives in order to take what can be salvaged, though they can't stay. These are pictures from that trip:


This is a one of the hundreds of trees we saw on the way into town that had been ripped from the ground by its roots. Other trees were simply snapped in half like so many matchsticks.


This is a great sign we saw in front of someone's home.


Military police are stationed everywhere. If you want to get across the railroad tracks (where most of the severe damage is) you have to get a permit and go through these guys. The system sounds like a pain in the ass but it was actually very efficient.


Complete destruction is everywhere.


This is Lindsey's grandparent's church. It lost its roof but is still being used as a huge distribution center for food and water. They are providing a number of residents with supplies that aren't otherwise easy to come by. We brought a bunch of stuff with us to give to the church.


Sea Oaks Estates used to be a very nice condo building on the beach. Now all that remains is the concrete foundation it once stood on. It is so hard to even fathom the completeness of the destruction.


A child's rocking horse lay by the road alone and ruined.


Vehicles that weren't used to evacuate are all over town, just totaled.


This is Lindsey's grandparents' front yard. That boat was parked on a trailer in the garage when they left, and now it sits atop a pile of rubble in front. In the background you can see their car in the garage. It has been turned a full 90 degrees inside the garage. The car had leaves, mud, and other debris in it from the five feet of water that stood in it. The car was one month old with only 400 miles on it.


This and many other trophy animals were in their backyard, though they belong to neighbors who lived a few houses away.


The view down their street, toward the beach. Bulldozers had to clear the debris field in order to allow passage.


If you're having trouble with your car I would not recommend bringing it to Advanced Auto Parts.