Mississippi Gulf Coast — Katrina Now Just Bad Dream As Area Renews Its Efforts to Attract Tourists

By Linda Lange

BILOXI, Miss. – Three simple words: sun, sand, sea.

The way to bliss is to wiggle your toes in the sand of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Watch pelicans patrol the shoreline, nap in the sun, read a book from a beach chair planted in the surf.

Climatically blessed with moderate temperatures and refreshingly cool breezes, the Mississippi coast is a year-round destination.

A tragic exception to this pleasing weather came in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina blasted ashore. High winds and 30-foot tidal surges lifted casino boats to land, blew apart fishing piers and destroyed many houses and businesses. Since then, the transmogrified cities of Gulfport, Biloxi and Bay St. Louis have undergone intense cleanup and rebuilding operations.

“Our recovery from Hurricane Katrina is going very smoothly. We are excited to have visitors coming back in record numbers. People realize the Mississippi Gulf Coast isn’t gone,” says Janice Jones, spokeswoman for the Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Marinas again offer a variety of deep-sea fishing excursions. More than 200 varieties of fish live in the nutrient-rich coastal waters.

Nationally known performers take to the stage at the new Mississippi Coast Coliseum. The Gulf Islands Waterpark in Gulfport has expanded its attractions. Golfers have challenging new courses, including Fallen Oak, designed by Tom Fazio.

The Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, a play-and-learn center nearly destroyed by the storm surge, has since been voted “the best attraction for kids” by readers of Mississippi magazine and was named Mississippi Travel Attraction of the Year. Nature, history and commerce galleries beckon with fun, interactive experiences. Play structures are sprinkled across the well-treed lawn.

Chic, lively and very stylish casinos attract many tourists to this waterfront playground. The neon-lighted entertainment centers also feature snazzy theater, comedy and cabaret-style performances.

The Walter Anderson Museum of Art in the center of Ocean Springs has an extensive collection of the artist’s work, including the “Little Room” mural. After his death in 1965, the family entered his cottage on the Shearwater compound and discovered whimsical, pastel murals inspired by the Book of Psalms. The room was moved from the Shearwater compound to the museum in 1991.

A few of America’s most beautiful and unspoiled barrier islands parallel the Mississippi coastline. Sea currents and winds constantly move and reshape Petit Bois, Horn, East Ship and West Ship islands. Petit Bois once extended much farther east into Alabama. Four-mile-long Ship Island was divided by Hurricane Camille in 1969. Horn Island, a 3,650-acre ribbon of pristine wilderness, supports diverse habitats, including pine and palmetto forests, lagoons and beaches. Petit Bois is a wildlife sanctuary with a sizable population of alligators, raccoons and a multitude of birds. These flecks of land are part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Hurricane Katrina wrought devastation on West Ship Island. A storm surge of about 30 feet swamped the island and demolished the National Park Service facilities. But new restrooms, outdoor showers, picnic area and snack stand are ready for the hordes of beachcombers who prefer the clear water and shell-laden, white-sand beach of the barrier island to the more silty water washing up to the mainland’s beaches.

If you make the 12-mile crossing of the Mississippi Sound to the island, be sure to explore Fort Massachusetts, a relic from America’s feuds with the British. Early in the Civil War, Confederates seized the unfinished brick fortress. Federal troops under the command of Adm. David Farragut regained the defense post in 1861 and completed its construction. The island was used as a staging area for the capture of New Orleans and as a prisoner-of- war camp. Visitors climb to the top to inspect the two 15-inch Rodman cannons and grab a panoramic view of the interior marshes and sparkling, sugar-white shoreline.

Linda Lange is the travel editor of The News Sentinel in Knoxville.

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On the web

Mississippi Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau: gulfcoast.org.

Walter Anderson Museum of Art in Ocean Springs, Miss.: walterandersonmuseum.org

Gulf Islands National Seashore: nps.gov/guis

Originally published by Linda Lange Scripps Howard News Service .

(c) 2008 Commercial Appeal, The. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.