Big news for Cotton!!

[2Ports]

Hi Cotton-

 

I’m new to posting (this is my first), but have been lurking here for over a year. I’ll tell you more about myself in another post, but in case your net access is no better than mine is in Gulfport, you may not have heard the news last week:

 

From: Redevelopment Master Plan Charrette Book for Gulfport

 

Available at: http://www.mississippirenewal.com/info/plansReports.html

 

From page 28:

 

2) Reconfigure the Central Pier into a street and block pattern enhanced

for storm protection that facilitates mixed use development, hotels

and related buildings, with street and subsurface parking, facilities for

major cruise ship docking, a ferry dock and other marine activities,

 

From page 30:

 

The Central Pier

• Located at the end of the Central Pier, the cruise ship terminal is proposed as an international terminal for five to seven day cruises, 800ft- to 1000ft-long boats,

for 1,200 to 3,200 passengers plus crew. Huge trucks must be able to supply these cruise ships.

 

An artist’s rendering is on p1 and a great overview rendering is on page 28.

 

For me, this means I’ll be able to walk out my front door, south a block and a half, and see the ships! AND walk to the terminal to boot. Not sure exactly where you are, but from your posts I’m guessing you’re over near Hewes – not quite in sight, but a 10 minute drive. Not that I don’t love NOLA, but…

[Cotton]

Wow! Thank you for this info. I had heard bits and pieces, but nothing concrete. Yes, info is hard to come by these days, so everything is appreciated. Very nice of you to think of me.

I went over to my lot this afternoon and sat there on a piece of my roof that the cleanup crew left. As I gazed out over 90 and the MS Sound, I tried to visualize Gulfport being as it once was, and the way it WILL be again. I appreciate the site you provided. I'll send it on to my son, who will be interested as well.:)

 

Maybe this will be just the shot in the arm that my lovely city needs. We could certainly use the tourist money!

[LHP]

with the Grand not returning to Gulfport and the casinos concentrating more in Biloxi....I was just asking my husband why in the world doesn't Port of Gulfport rebuild with a cruise ship terminal as part of their plan.

 

The Gulfport downtown area is ripe for "cruise tourist" development. I would so love to see the Gulfport downtown area like the Florida coastal towns.

Tasteful and fun!!!

[Kittybork]

That is wonderful news; I'm originally from the coast. I love to hear good news.

[NMCRUISERS]

GO GULFPORT!!!!!!

 

(I have family in Gulfport and Long Beach...many lost homes also)

[dan40]

Cotton,

Just think, when your home is rebuilt and the cruise terminal is operating, you can have thousands of CCers parking in your driveway. :eek:

 

I was touched about you sitting on a part of your roof. I remember when we went to a lot, 3 lots away, and picked up pieces of our roof. Each was very roughly 4X8 with shingles on one side and truss remnants on the other. We would set them on 2 saw horses in our yard and strip them down to bare plywood. We used them to make a wooden walkway from the FEMA trailer to the house. Gave the place a "wild west" feel. Now that plywood is all stacked under the deck and we are back in our like new house. You will get there too. It might seem like everything is taking forever now. But its all easy to forget once recovery is complete. Keep your chin up and hang in there. We'll all be parking in your driveway in no time.:)

 

Dan

[Martinalut]

Great News for the Gulf Coast!!

[Cotton]

Dan, sometimes you just have to laugh through the tears. One of my neighbors was walking around her lot, and when she saw me, she went to her car and got a bottle of wine and two little bathroom Dixie cups. I had a package of Cheetos in my car, and surprisingly, they went very well with the wine.:D (Took awhile to polish off that whole bottle in teeny little cups, but somehow we managed.)

 

Actually, I would welcome all CCers to park in my yard, but they'd have to walk a mile or so to get to the terminal. But wait...maybe I could set up a lemonade stand! Silly Cotton.;)

[voyagerfl]

Dan, sometimes you just have to laugh through the tears. One of my neighbors was walking around her lot, and when she saw me, she went to her car and got a bottle of wine and two little bathroom Dixie cups. I had a package of Cheetos in my car, and surprisingly, they went very well with the wine.:D (Took awhile to polish off that whole bottle in teeny little cups, but somehow we managed.)

 

Actually, I would welcome all CCers to park in my yard, but they'd have to walk a mile or so to get to the terminal. But wait...maybe I could set up a lemonade stand! Silly Cotton.;)

 

WoW.....with an attitude like your's you'll come through it all just fine ! :)

[hockeyluver]

Yes it is great to see that after all the hell you have been through you still have a sence of humour!! My brother recently went down for a cruise before christmas and stayed 2 weeks at his sister in law's putting her home back together for her. Still praying for everyone affected in the south.

[Kittybork]

My sister, who lives on the point in Biloxi, set up a tarp to get some respite from the heat while trying to clean up after Katrina. They put up a hoakey "Home Sweet Home" sign and hung the wet, muddy dear head above the tarp. She referred to it as her summer home. When the weather from Rita blew by, it knocked down her "summer home." She laughed about it, but it was a bit sad.

 

She and her neighbors put up a Christmas tree in a vacant lot (they're all vacant now) and the deer head went on the tree. She went to her daughter's house in FL for Christmas and saw the tree and her deer head on Good Morning America!

 

A cruise ship on the coast will be great for their economy. We all agree that Cozumel needs the $$$ to help them rebuild. The same is true for the MS Gulf Coast.

[LHP]

the great attitude coastal folks have. My old boss had a home on the beach in Gulfport. There is now nothing but a slab and a sign that says "Gone to the Virgin Islands". (He has - or maybe now "had" - a beautiful Choy Lee yacht and cruising is his thing.)

 

With the parking garage intact (where the Grand used to be) and the Grand hotel looking in pretty good shape....I would say that they have a good start to a cruise terminal. (The Grand is where the Conquest docked by during their temporary move from New Orleans.)

 

With flying becoming more and more of a zoo, I see multiple ports a definate plus for Carnival. This would give us 3 ports that we could drive to in less than 7 hours. This would be a definate plus for us "frequent" cruisers.

[2Ports]

Hi Cotton-

 

Maybe you are closer to me than I thought! I'm over on Camp Ave. (1 block west of Broad - where the Waffle House used to be) - a big barge came down across Camp right at Ford street (just south of me) and seems to have "saved" those of us north of there, if 8 - 12 feet of water counts as "saved". I have 4 walls left, a new roof (finally!), and not much left inside to show for 4 generations of my family. Everything a block or two east and west of us is GONE almost up to the tracks. Most of my family and freinds were beachfront and lost everything. But we came back after Camille (yes, I was there for that one too - just a bad thunderstorm) and will do it again - hopefully this time better! So everyone call the planning comission, your aldermen, and anyone else you can think of and let's make this happen!

[glrounds]

For those of you who have never seen a pic of Cotton, go to a dictionary and look up the word "resolve" . . . she's right next to the definition.

Give 'em hell, Cotton. :)

[LHP]

2ports:

 

Hubby grew up just a few more blocks west of Broad on Edmund (off of Railroad) in Long Beach. Thankfully his parents moved about a year ago after over 30 years in that house. (They stayed there during Camille as well.) Both of my sons were born at Gulfport Memorial.

 

If the Conquest was able to use the Grand during their brief problem with the Mississippi River level....surely they could put a cruise terminal there now that The Grand isn't returning. As far as I am concerned, they can't have to many Southern ports. My oldest is a senior this year....and we plan to cruise a lot more now that we won't be tied down to "school days".

 

We look forward to a new and exciting future for the coast!!

[Cotton]

Ahhh. Friends. Wish I could give all y'all a big ole hug.:)

 

Kitty, I love the deer head story. (2Ports, near Kelly.) Yeah, I was here during Camille, too, about 1/4 of my house was damaged from her...but Katrina! Oh my. Who'dathunkit?

[Kittybork]

Cotton,

 

You're aging us both. I was there for Camille too. I was always told that Camille was a once in a lifetime hurricane and that I would never see it that bad again. I don't know about you, but it doesn't feel like two lifetimes. Most of my family still live in the same houses (or houses that used to be there) that they did for Camille. It gave some a false sense of security.

 

I'm glad you're ok - that goes for my family too. The rest is just stuff though I know that it doesn't feel that way right now.

[zydecocruiser]

 

Actually, I would welcome all CCers to park in my yard, but they'd have to walk a mile or so to get to the terminal. But wait...maybe I could set up a lemonade stand! Silly Cotton.;)

 

Heck, avoid the rush and go get that SBA loan - Cotton's Car Park and Lemonade Stand - Complimentary Drink of the Day on the shuttle to the cruise ship and lemonade on the way back. Betcha they'd need to make a reservation months in advance!

 

Probably all kinds of tax breaks in there, too!

[BrendaB1]

That's great news for the Gulfport area. I too, sailed out of Gulfport on the Conquest. I liked the GP/Biloxi area so much that I returned to visit several times after that. I'm so glad to see progress is being made there. I would gladly cruise from there in a heartbeat.

 

I have friends from Pensacola that drive casino buses to there & they are glad to be back in business again. Hopefully I will get to go back & visit them soon. I heard part of the casinos are opening but I'm waiting for the Beau to reopen.

 

Cotton: Are you going to make Mardi Gras this year like you usually do? If so, I hope to finally meet you then. I'll be in Houma for Dan's parade on Feb 24th & Nola the 25th.

[bonniemari]

As a big fan of Gulfport we have been going down there twice a year for the last 8 years and were there just 10 days before Katrina hit. I would be on one of the first sailings if and when cruise ships come back to Gulfport. It is one of my favorite places.

 

Of course it won't be the same-no Chappy's or Vearzyle's but one of the things we love most about Gulport are the people who live there so at least that part will be the same.

 

I hope that all of the members of cruise critic will encourage every young adult you know that will be going on spring break this year to think about spending their spring break in Gulfport/Biloxi helping with the cleanup.

 

When my son told me that him and 4 of his friends are planning on doing this-I told him that when he gets out of school for summer I will pay for him to go on a cruise as a reward for being such a thoughtful young man. Now with this news maybe we will be taking that cruise out of Gulfport.

[Kittybork]

As a big fan of Gulfport we have been going down there twice a year for the last 8 years and were there just 10 days before Katrina hit. I would be on one of the first sailings if and when cruise ships come back to Gulfport. It is one of my favorite places.

 

Of course it won't be the same-no Chappy's or Vearzyle's but one of the things we love most about Gulport are the people who live there so at least that part will be the same.

 

I hope that all of the members of cruise critic will encourage every young adult you know that will be going on spring break this year to think about spending their spring break in Gulfport/Biloxi helping with the cleanup.

 

When my son told me that him and 4 of his friends are planning on doing this-I told him that when he gets out of school for summer I will pay for him to go on a cruise as a reward for being such a thoughtful young man. Now with this news maybe we will be taking that cruise out of Gulfport.

 

That is an AWESOME idea. You might want to check on a graoup called Hands for USA. It is a volunteer organization that has been on the coast working in the hardest hit areas since Katrina hit. They live in tents and work daily in someone's yard or house. For the most part, they are college aged kids. They've been there for months and work diligently.

 

I saw them work in my sister's yard: boys and girls. They did in one afternoon what would have taken weeks. They have equipment and young muscles and bones. When I give to a charity, they will get my money.

 

You can check out their website and do a search for many of the areas where they have worked.

 

http://handsonusa.org/

[2Ports]

Just to clear up some confusion: (could be mine - that darned CRS disease)

 

My recollection is that the Conquest docked out where the other deep water ships did, near the old Copa. It's way too shallow by the Grand. The plan shows the new terminal being on the center pier, ~ where the new Copa was. From the Sun Herald 1/11/06: " Harrah's Entertainment has entered into an agreement to sell the Gulfport Grand Casino property to its competitor, the Copa Casino." This makes all the sense in the world - the Copa reopens at the old Grand property, and the new terminal goes in the old Copa property. Voila! I'll dust off the Sizzlin' Seniors card and head up to Uncle Floyds, then on to the pier!

 

Sad news: I doubt Chappy's will be reopening - known him since 2 weeks after he opened the restaurant, and at this point I suspect he will opt for a much deserved retirement. I would. If I could figure out how to do pictures here, I'd put up a great picture from last Christmas of my son w/ Chappy. Vrazel's is more likely - haven't talked to Bill but Ray says 50/50 - Cruise ship terminal news could tip the balance.

 

One last thing: I'd like to mention World Hope International (http://www.worldhope.org) One afternoon last September I when was sitting on my front porch too tired and depressed to do anything, a pickup truck of guys with chainsaws and rakes was followed by a line of ladies armed with buckets and rags. 3 hours later my house had a new blue roof, the front yard was substantially cleaned up, and the inside was under contol. They also ran free medical clinics in W. GPT, and went around offering free tetnus shots, as well as distributing donated items around our area.

[LHP]

That would be even better.

 

I never sailed on the Conquest out of Gulfport, so I did not know what the set up was. I just heard they used the Grand and their parking garage, as part of the set up. You are so right, the water exactly where the Grand sat would be way to shallow. I remember going out of the day trip gambling ship once that parked somewhere around where the Copa was. But that was years ago.

 

Whatever they do, I know they will do it up right. And the sooner the better!!!

[ppeckham]

I was on Conquest's first sailing out of Gulfport. We did shuttle from the Grand to another pier. Our debarkation was a bit messy as the ship couldn't dock that morning as early as usual due to fog. They were trying to get folks off ahd shuttled back to New Orleans as others were beginning to check in. But it was a gorgeous day (temps in the upper 70s - abundance of sunshine). We complained about nothing.

 

The people at the Grand were absolutely wonderful! We fell in love with Gulfport. This will be terrific for the city.