I spent Independence Day driving along the Gulf Coast, from San Destin, Fla. to Gulf Shores, Ala. I thought I'd share some images from the trip.
San Destin, Fla.-
There weren't any noticeable tar balls along the stretch of beach I went to. The owner of a umbrella shack who services the resort said that he and his employees spend an hour or so each morning cleaning up tar balls that the high tide has washed in overnight. He also said that his business was down 50 percent since the first tar balls to hit San Destin were reported by the media. He said he walked right into Pompano Joe's, a popular beach-side seafood joint in Destin, for lunch earlier that day, and there was no wait, adding that usually you'd have to sit for an hour before you could get a table.
Pensacola Beach, Fla.-
There were only a handful of beach-goers out on the beaches, which were covered, here or there, with tar balls and oiled refuse. There was a staging area full of tractors and carts sitting idle, while more than a dozen BP contract workers rested under a pavilion.
A brick-sized tar ball:
Oil sludge on bottle:
Another pic of brick-sized tar ball:
Perdido Key, Fla.-
There were a few tourists enjoying the water, even though there were large patties of oily glop and innumerable tar balls on the beaches. It was difficult to walk around without stepping in the tar balls, which had a consistency similar to a freshly-baked ginger bread cookie.
Swimmers near a tar patty:
A Great Blue Heron near tar patties:
A tar patty:
A child shoos a blue heron away from patches of oil:
Gulf State Park, Ala.-
The beaches were nearly deserted, and there were tar balls and pebbles covering the beach. There were also tar pebbles in the surf that would probably wash ashore with high tide.
Innumerable tar balls scattered along the beach:
Long rows of tar pebbles washed up during high tides:
An oiled milk jug and tar balls:
And...a few pics of a blue heron: