Working in Biloxi

 
Leaving behind the snow and cold weather, we drove south and made it Biloxi, Mississippi. Not realizing the city of Biloxi sits on a beach, I was excited to arrive and see white sandy beaches and the ocean. A huge sigh of relief, we had made it!

After checking in and securing a great spot for Bluhilda to park while we were there (complete with electric hook-ups and wireless) we headed to the beach to walk in the sand and enjoy the sun. Whipper had his first experience with salt water. When his ball ended up in the water, he ran right in, stuck his head in the water and came up with a funny look on his face. He tread carefully in the water from then on, not quite sure what to make of the funny tasting water.

Back at camp that night for supper, we met the 4 other volunteers (2 other couples from Minnesota and Wisconsin) and we settled in for a supper of pulled pork sandwiches and chilli.. Hmm. We had our orientation and were told we would get out assignments the next morning. Breakfast was at 6:30 a.m. and we met at the Green House to get assignments and tools at 7:30 a.m. Definitely an early start.

Our first 3 days were spent at a house in Pascagoula, a 45 min drive away from Biloxi. The house was almost finished, so we were there to do some finishing touches. We painted, installed trim, repaired the trim in the front of the house, sealed tiles and the piece de resistance, installed a carpet. It was good work, we learnt a lot, came home tired at night, and were able to leave on Wednesday after finishing and cleaning up the house, ready for the owners to move in (except for the plumbing in the toilet). It was a nice feeling, though we did not do most of the work, to complete a house. Unfortunately we did not get to meet the family, who were living in a trailer on the front lawn.

Thursday, we joined one of the other couples at a larger home on the water, where I learnt how to plaster and tape, did some painting and Jake started to put together a deck.
Our final day was supposed to be spent painting that same house house, but some complications led us to move on to a third home, even larger and more beautiful, to work outside (on our most beautiful day). There I learnt the art of caulking while Jake worked on the outer trim of windows, all day. It was a big house.

We finished the week, exhausted but happy. We met a lot of wonderful, welcoming and caring people. We had some interesting discussions and we saw a lot (see more recent post about Katrina).. We ate well, and though it had been pretty cold for there (below freezing at night) we knew we were warmer than our Northern families. We even made it to the beach at the end of every day.

We spent Saturday on the beach, relaxing enjoying, before heading to New Orleans and our next set of adventures.

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.ca/tjkuenzli