The cap appears to be holding on the drilling rig blowout off Louisiana's coast, but the impact of the massive gusher is still being felt all along the Gulf coast.
The photo above, taken by Will Atkinson of Baltlimore, shows a sparsely populated beach at Santa Rosa, about 60 miles east of Pensacola on the Florida panhandle. His dad, Bill, a former reporter for The Baltimore Sun, reports that the beach, usually bumper-to-bumper with sun and surf worshippers, has a new clientele - cleanup workers patrolling for oil. Three workers he spoke with had found just one tar ball so far that day, so there wasn't a lot washing up on the beach.
"Last night we ate at Buster's, a local restaurant in Sandestin, which is known for its fried pickels," Bill emailed. "The place normally would be packed, but it was dead."
Vacationers evidently are staying away out of fear their favorite beaches will be soiled, even before it's happened. Of course, with all the oil released, it may be sloshing up for some time to come. Meanwhile, an economy that depends on tourism is taking a big hit.
"Yesterday, my wife and I took our car to the car wash," Bill wrote, "the do-it-yourself kind with the spray wand. The man doling out change said his business was off and thanked us for coming to Florida and supporting the economy. Then, he plugged four quarters into our machine giving us a few extra minutes."
Has anyone else from Maryland been to the Gulf coast this summer? Was your visit affected at all by the oil spill? Share your tales here.
(Photos by Will Atkinson)