June 20, 2008 ~ Meet me in Bay St. Louis

June 20, 2008. Day 1 on our first field trip. Destination: Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Rudy and Laura didn't come because they're leaving to go back to Ohio for a while. They will be missed but we look forward to them coming back at the end of the summer. Especially Laura, with all these men running things Laura was the only one keeping things in order. *Sigh* Looks like we're on our own.....

We get an understanding that New Orleans was not the only area hit by Katrina. We visited affluent areas on the Mississippi Coast. One of the areas is the location of the Sullivan House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was explained to me that because it’s registered as a Historical Landmark the government is paying for it to be restored.
A tour of the Jefferson Davis home was arranged for us. Each student had to pay $7.50 to get the tour. The house was badly damaged in the storm and artists are currently working hard to recreate the interior frescoes. Unfortunately, the Historical Integrity of the house was ruined in the 1970s due to porch modifications and interior paint jobs.

After the Jefferson Davis Home we also looked at other damaged homes along the coast. As you can see they are in need of some serious help.....

I was hoping to see poorer areas affected by the storm but we were not able to fit it in the schedule. However, we briefly visited the house that we would be working on that weekend.