Sunday, November 13, 2005

Cousin Gary's!

We arrived in Zachary, Louisiana, on Friday and are staying in Gary and Jo's back yard. They have a really large yard and we backed the rig up to the barn and plugged in there. The weather has been warm during the day and cool at night, so it has been absolutely perfect. Warm enough in the day to be comfortable, but air conditioning is not needed.

Yesterday Gary drove us into New Orleans. This was a really special treat. Our original plan was to stay in a state park near New Orleans and sightsee from there, but that camp is closed to the public due to Hurricane Katrina. So we scrapped plans to go. But Gary took us down there and we drove in right next to the SuperDome.
Other than debris around it, you wouldn't know anything had happened to it. The roof appears repaired, but Gary said the estimates to repair it are astromical. Buildings right next to it are missing a lot of windows. .
They are repairing them, but a couple of the buildings are nothing but glass panes and it will take a long time to get them all replaced. We drove on down and parked and walked to the Cafe Demunde (sp?) and had beignets and coffee.
They are pastries topped with powdered sugar. I guess it is a tradition that people coming into the city have to go there first and have their treat before moving on. We went into the French Quarter and visited the flea market first, then strolled into the narrow streets with balconies overhead. I had never been to New Orleans and I was very interested in taking in as much as I could. I took a lot of pictures, and will post here when I have a good connection, so check back later.





A lot of businesses were not open, but there were enough places open to shop and buy some souveniers. We made it to the world famous Bourbon Street and we drove in on Canal Street. Some of the really "funky" places were open for business, but we didn't bother going in there.

There were water marks on some of the buildings, but Gary said that most of the French Quarter was spared the bad flooding. Still, some water marks were 12-18 inches on the buildings. There was definitely a stench that smelled like garbage. Terry has been there before and he said he believed that may have been grease from some of the kitchens that leached out into the street. We did see one water main that was busted and water was bubbling into the street. Unfortunately, it will take a long time to get everything back in working order. Gary said they don't anticipate being there before 5 years is up. There is trash and litter everywhere


When we left there, he took us out through the lower 9th ward, which you may remember was flooded the worst when the levees broke. We saw water marks 6-8 feet, which was still not the worst of it. So much trash in the streets. Not a lot of people around, but those that were there appeared to be cleaning out their houses.
There is still no power to the area and businesses like McDonalds and Winn-Dixie's are not open. Nothing is open. We saw the marks the workers sprayed on the buildings indicating the number of live/dead occupants as well as pets they found when they entered after the storm. There was so much trash and the houses were so bad, cars in the streets were covered in mud and salt from the seawater. It truly was like driving through a landfill. Gary said they have been hauling trash out and even though it was piled high in the middle of the streets and boulevards, he said truckloads have already been hauled out. We continued out and were going to cross Lake Ponchatrain on the I-10 bridge (1 lane open), but there was a horrendous traffic jam. We sat and waited for over an hour before cutting through the median and going back the other way. Gary said there had to have been an accident. He is currently delivering trailers and supplies for FEMA into New Orleans, so he has seen the worst and was a good guide. Oh, I forgot that they are taking all the cars that were damaged from the flood and putting them under the bridge overpasses in the city where they will pick them up. They are going to scrap them all out. Cars that are flooded and in water for more than a few hours will be worthless except for scrap because of the salt water rust and corrosion.

Captain Gary, I might add, is a charter fishing captain. He is not chartering right now because his fish camp was wiped out during Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, so he is working for FEMA at the present time.


Today we had a shorter day and went to another flea market in Gonzales, Louisiana. Tomorrow Terry and I are going out on our own to St. Francisville to see some antebellum homes.

It has been an interesting couple of days here. Tonight Gary's son Chris, came back from St. Charles. He has started a new job as an investigator for the state attorney general. We had not seen him since he was a young boy. He is staying with Gary and Jo until he is able to relocate his family here.

Till next time. . .

Dale

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the report. What a sad, but also interesting, opportunity you had to see New Orleans post hurricane. I hope there's a way you can print out your journal someday to save offline. I bet you'll have all kinds of interesting stories as you travel around the country.
-- Tom

Anonymous said...

We are seeing a lot. I have been thinking about the best way to preserve my journal. Glad to know you are following us.

Dale

Anonymous said...

Maybe this Jan. or Feb., if you run out of things to do you could start putting your Journal into a book for other people who are beginning life on the road. Am sure that some of your experiences would be very interesting to them. Mother

Anonymous said...

I think what I will do is put all the pictures with the text entries and burn them to CD.

Dale

Anonymous said...

We have always had to stop at the benge (you know the pastry place) everytime we have been in New Orleans. I had wanted to go again this fall, but I will wait, give them more time to clean up. We have always enjoyed the French Quarter, but it has always smelled bad when we've been there, so I don't think that is a change!

Anonymous said...

Hey that last comment was from your sister. I forgot to put my name at the end! :-) hee hee

Cyberion said...

You'd be surprised at how many of the 'scrap' cars are still driving around in Russia and Eastern Europe! And they don't come cheap, either, because they've been fixed up to look as good as new, so usually the new owners don't even know their cars have been in the water for so long.
And yes, your blog IS very interesting for people who are interested in 'full-timing'.
Thanks! Keep it up!