Crews anchor boom in Grand Isle, La., as part of the Deepwater Horizon Response. Photo by US Coast Guard
We’re walking a fine line here — what do you do if you have a vacation planned on the Gulf Coast.
Well, that really depends upon where you’re going. Most of the tourism boards for the Gulf states have said that the damage is minor and people should not stay away.
“At this time, there are no beach closures. Florida’s 825 miles of beaches, 1,260 miles of coastline and 14 seaports, including cruise ships, remain open for business,” VisitFlorida.com says. Other sites are making similar
Enjoy the Sunshine state -- a recent picture of a child playing in Florida. Photo from Visit Floria fan page on Facebook
claims and for the most part we believe them. Our advice, if you’ve booked the vacation, then go, enjoy yourself — all of those businesses will appreciate you a lot more than you might expect.
However, if you’ve spent two minutes online or in front of a TV, everyone is talking about the damage being done to the Gulf of Mexico, dying birds and fish — the fishing industry there is collapsing and an oily Armageddon is upon us.
Somewhere in between is the truth. No, you shouldn’t cancel your Florida trip – you can actually go to the VisitFlorida.com and check the site’s live webcams to see if what your beach looks like. Or you can stare into the mouth of beast and volunteer for a week cleaning up shorelines in Louisiana or Mississippi. Mark our words, this is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better.
Check out this video if you want to be depressed:
There lots of groups you can actually help — and we don’t mean giving them money. First of all, this is not a disaster that money buys you an out. Second of all, if anyone should give money, it’s BP, which has spent about $50 million helping people. Money can’t buy you forgiveness.
Time, effort and some good old fashion hard work is what the Gulf Coast needs. Plus, you’ll be able to cast aspirations on BP with a dose of dignity.
Here are some groups you can offer to volunteer:
State Government websites looking for help:
Louisiana — Clean up by day, listen to jazz by night, then clean up hungover the next day.
Mississippi — You’ll need to work just to make up from all of the BBQ the day before.
Florida — More than 2,600 people have already volunteered to clean up the beaches there. More are on the way.
Alabama — They’ll let you work by day and then go to church at night. Go to Florida first.
We hate being wishy washy on this topic, but it’s pretty serious stuff. There are lots of other organizations you can find that will put together a volunteer vacation (Sierra Club does that) and others who will take your money (Sierra Club once again). But we’re apolitical and without agenda other than just enjoying the day.
And if you really want to volunteer and help — go outside and see what’s happening near you, no matter where it is. It likely could use a hand or two.
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