We started our roadtrip with a stay in Gulfport Ms on the first night. The next morning before we headed to New Orleans we drove down to the coast and checked out the damage and recovery from hurricane Katriina. The depth of destruction from the storm surge is amazing. In Gulfport they cleared inland 4 to 5 blocks of all housing so that all you can see are foundations of homes and business. In Biloxi they appear to be on a quicker timetable to restoring the area with the casino's leading the effort.