/The Mississippi Aquarium A New Jewel on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

The Mississippi Aquarium A New Jewel on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

How do you eat an Elephant? Take one bite at a. One bite at a time. It was amazing to see how things have changed on Highway 49. Many medians have been cleared, and traffic lights have multiplied like rabbits (helps with fallen trees during hurricanes). The northward movement of civilization has also been seen since Katrina. The population of Wiggins has increased. The area north and along Interstate 10 appears busier. Many vacant lots are still south of the railroad tracks, which is the line of demarcation that will be used to control the storm surge. My son, who was my copilot on the trip, and I sat at a Gulfport traffic light. I thought back to all the destruction that I had seen a decade ago. To see a new Coast, I opened them up again. One of my cartoons after Katrina depicted the Gulf Coast running a marathon and not a sprint. It was a cartoon I did after Katrina. The Coast was littered with debris and toilets didn’t flush. Volunteers flooded in to help pick up all the plans of other government agencies and agencies that had been washed into the Mississippi Sound. The Coast would return, I was certain. But how would it look? Friday was the day I found out. Casinos can now be found on land. (Well, their barges were there after the storm, but that was not intentional). Restaurants and businesses are back. Bridges and roads have been repaired. Many homes, churches, and businesses are now located north of railroad tracks, as I mentioned. However, fancy homes are filling long-empty lots. Even the Gulfport Library is being restored, after it was a rusty shell of a building that sat for more than a decade. The Mississippi Aquarium is located right next to it, just where Highways 49 & 90 meet. The Mississippi Aquarium, which cost $100 million to build and was partially funded by BP oil-spill recover money in May 2018, contains one-million gallons salt water. It is situated on 5.8 acres. Ten lots were used to create the site. Their website states that it has “over 80,000 feet of exhibits, connected by landscaped walkways with plants representing each of the seven Physiographic Regions in Mississippi.” Is it good? Yes. It’s very good. It is very good. My 13-year old daughter, who loves aquariums, loved it as much as those in New Orleans, Atlanta, and Gatlinburg. Alligators, sharks, alligators, and cownose rays greeted us. There were also 200 other aquatic species. Many staff were happy to see the opening day and are grateful for their relief. The opening day will bring in $360 million in annual revenue to the Gulfport region businesses once the world returns to some level of normalcy after COVID. It’s a win-win for the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast. As the politicians praised the attraction, my son and I listened. When he spoke about it, Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes got emotional. Who wouldn’t want to be a mayor? It is a new and shining piece of the rebuilding Gulf Coast puzzle, which will bring dollars and visitors to his city for many years to come. But I was still thinking about Katrina, and all the destruction it had done. I looked at the structure and wondered if it would be strong enough to withstand the next storm surge. I think it will. We drove home past the spot Jim Cantore had stood before the storm, in front of Treasure Bay Casino’s pirate ship. He warned us not to look back because things would change. Cantore was correct. They aren’t the same. They look much better than they did before the storm, and they are improving every day. As I was cleaning up Waveland from the aftermath of the storm, I asked my coworker how the Coast would recover. He smiled and pointed to the debris all around him. “How do you eat an Elephant?” One bite at time.” He smiled and pointed at the debris around us.