We had a great time at camp and really had a wonderful group of kids. No one tried to sneak out or eat all of someone else's snacks, or even wear a two-piece. Essentially by Baptist standards, it was near perfect! But of course...it was called Student Life at the Beach. Hmmm....huge oil spill + beach = problems. And I was there to document it all. That's right folks...you heard it here first.
This was what greeted us at the beach everyday. We even checked the super-accurate Wikapedia to determine that red means going in the water is illegal! I did see one lady go in up to her knees and no lie, a police vehicle came bounding down the beach to tell her to get out.
We arrived on Sunday and I guess the crews hadn't been working over the weekend? (or working much at all...it's your call :) So it looked pretty bad on Sunday when we got there. But I will say that it looked better Monday-Wednesday...perhaps because President Obama was in town??
I like to think this is a clean-up boat. I have really no idea.
Sad day. All the tar that had washed up with the tide the night before.
Tar balls primping for their close-up!
Ok, if you normally go to Orange Beach or Gulf Shores in the summer, this shot will floor you!! I took these pictures at 4pm on a Sunday! The beach looks positively deserted compared to what is usually is.
You can see the boom far out there with some clean-up boats.
(note: if there is a more scientific name than "clean-up boats" please let me know)
More tar/oil from the tides.
On our first night there, we were eating dinner and looked down to see what looked like a giant snake on the beach!! Our condo of girls ran down and discovered this boom that had washed up. It was HUGE and heavy with water and oil. No clue where it was from. We asked a guy that was employed with the chair company and he said that his own company had pulled several big booms like this up because they couldn't get anyone out there to drag them up. I will say, though, that this one was gone the next day.
I made the girls in my condo take their picture with a portion of it. Hey...what else are youth leaders for?
Tar ball on toe. Thank goodness for the "tar wash" that was stationed at the end of each boardwalk to wash the tar off your feet.
Seeing it firsthand was really an eye-opening experience. It wasn't as bad as I imagined, but also wasn't good either. And the water had kind of an "old" smell to it....not a fresh, clean, saltwater smell. For the sake of all the people and businesses on the gulf coast, I hope and pray that this will get solved soon. Our way of life is definitely at stake.
More tar/oil from the tides.
On our first night there, we were eating dinner and looked down to see what looked like a giant snake on the beach!! Our condo of girls ran down and discovered this boom that had washed up. It was HUGE and heavy with water and oil. No clue where it was from. We asked a guy that was employed with the chair company and he said that his own company had pulled several big booms like this up because they couldn't get anyone out there to drag them up. I will say, though, that this one was gone the next day.
I made the girls in my condo take their picture with a portion of it. Hey...what else are youth leaders for?
Tar ball on toe. Thank goodness for the "tar wash" that was stationed at the end of each boardwalk to wash the tar off your feet.
Seeing it firsthand was really an eye-opening experience. It wasn't as bad as I imagined, but also wasn't good either. And the water had kind of an "old" smell to it....not a fresh, clean, saltwater smell. For the sake of all the people and businesses on the gulf coast, I hope and pray that this will get solved soon. Our way of life is definitely at stake.
And I'm definitely willing to do the cutting-edge reporting that brings the stories to you. (just like Geraldo!) This is Marylou, signing off.
3 comments:
You are just like Geraldo chasing hurricane Katrina around N.O.!
Can't wait to talk to you, thanks for the news briefing.
Good report!.All that time at WWL payed off.I can't believe how vacant the beaches were.
Thanks Geraldo! Guessing I need to check more into our status at Ft. Walton Beach. Hoping it's a go but we'll see. The spill just saddens me so much. Hope you are enjoying your timw with sweet T!
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