BOLIVAR RE-ENTRY

Tomorrow is my first trip back to the beach house after the hurricane. Well, actually, its my first trip back to the slab of concrete after the hurricane. I am meeting other folks from our neighborhood in Winnie at 6am.

It is looking to be a loooong trip, as I'm sure the traffice will be horrible with only one lane on the RollOver Pass bridge. Not to mention the checkpoints I will have to drive thru.

Most of us will be packing, as we have all heard rumors of packs of wild, starving dogs and lots of rattlesnakes that washed up out of the dunes. The coons have also gone nuts down there as well. One of our neighbors houses, that made it thru the storm, was totally trashed and totalled by coons.

No water, electricity or sewer services are available. We were told they might not be up and running for a year.

Its starting to look like an interesting trip.

Wish me luck, and I will post some pics when I get back.

Good luck Bro, my heart goes out to all of you who lost more than I can imagine.

good luck. Glad to hear you'll be packin- it really looks unsafe there!

Good luck Todd I know from being down there at the folks house that this is going to be a very heart breaking time for you and your family. All of your family are in our thoughts and take care of yourselves while down there on the island.
WATCH OUT FOR THEM COONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the concern.

Nothing I have ever seen in my 47 years could have prepared me for what I saw this morning.

Complete and total devistation and destruction. From the time I drove out of High Island until the minute I pulled up to our "slab".....there is nothing left. I could not put my finger on it at first, but what was really weird was driving down 87 and looking over and seeing the Gulf. You can see the Gulf now because there are no dunes or houses to block your view.
I would say 80% of homes and businesses on Bolivar are gone. Not just unable to re-open because of damage, but gone. Poof. No more.

I was able to dig up about 30 pieces of my grandmothers china. It was buried about 10 feet behind the slab.
I am going back on Sunday with my trusty "archeological kit"....er....shovel, to see what else I can find.

Now for the critter report.....I did not see any snakes at all. Nor did I see any of the famous Bolviar Coons. I did, however, see hundreds, and I mean hundreds of coon tracks. It looked like Saturday night on 6th Street in Austin.....

I am so sorry to hear about your losses.......George said we have shovels and a great metal det. if you need our help just let us know we would be more then happy to help you dig look or what ever you might need

Hmmmmmm, thanks Jennie. I am intrigued by the metal detector idea.

Mom is most interested in her mom's china now, but she had almost a complete set of Calphalon cookware.
I'm sure she would like to find that....

George and I might have to give the metal detector a try. And if we dont find any pots and pans, I bet we could go down to the beach and dig up a dubloon or two....pay the jeep off....

Sorry to hear of what you came home to see. Our thought are with you guys, and I hope you can find what was lost.

damn, Todd. sorry to hear about your parent's loss. Total loss. i saw some of the pictures showing a lot of empty lots and a house or two here & there or what was left of them. you & your family will be in our prayers.

sorry for your loss bro good luck on the treasure hunt and be safe when you let your guard down is usualy when crap happens our prayers are with you guys

Thanks everyone for the concern.

Here are before and after shots.

oh man I hate to see that, it breaks our hearts.....Look we are dead serious if you guys want us to come help you dig and look for things let us know. Also, if you guys need anything else let us know. We are here for ya.

My # 713-582-4981
G's # 713-582-2825

so sad! That was a really nice house

Words can't express how sad we are for you guys, let us know we will come up and do what ever we can.

Thanks Renee.

Everyone has been wonderful with the offers to help. I just dont think there is anything really to do now, except get ready to
fight the insurance companies.....