Day 1, or should I say Day 3 and counting down, until Hurricane Gustav slams into the Louisiana coast.  We are in Baton Rouge which is about 75 miles from the coast and expect damaging winds, torrential rains, major power outages and possible structural damages to our homes and vehicles.  Whew, this is a big one!  Winds are up to 145 mph and strengthening.  They forecast it to impact our area by Monday evening through Tuesday.  Throughout the last 3 days Randy and I have been preparing.  We have purchased the canned and packaged foods, batteries, bottled water; we've secured all [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in New Orleans in mid-August. Needless to say, it has been crazy so far! I have been getting used to my new school, my new surroundings, and attempting to get my job off the ground. In the middle of all of this, New Orleans has had 2 tropical storms, 1 major hurricane, and 1 manadatory evacuation! But all is calm now, and barring any more hurricane activity in the Gulf, things should start to return to normal. I came to New Orleans to study historic preservation and applied anthropology at the University of New Orleans. I am very happy [View Full Entry]

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New Orleans After a long but very comfortable train ride we arrived in the Big Easy. We stayed the night with John & Abigail (CS) in the garden district. We ended up having Abby’s apartment to ourselves while they slept at John’s down the road. We did go out for a quick drink and bite to eat with our hosts as they wanted to partake in a celebratory birthday drink for one of their friends. The next day was spent exploring the French Quarter including Bourbon Street, Jackson Square and beignets (donut-like delights) at Café Du Monde. We partook in a [View Full Entry]

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Wow, I didn't realise I was this far behind! It's gonna be a long entry! So we arrived at the Gateway Hotel at 7.30 ready to start the next trek. Our new tour leader was called Darcy, younger than Dawn and on her first season as a leader. It took quite a while to get on the road but when we did we stopped by Hollywood again quickly for those who hadn't already seen it. Since we had and I'm going back we took the opportunity to join the crowd for a TV show that was being filmed, Ten Years Younger, [View Full Entry]

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In the city, you couldn't really tell the effects of hurricane Katrina. [View Full Entry]

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After a relatively short, (by US standards), train trip we arrived in a boiling hot and humid New Orleans. We got to our hotel in the quaint French quarter and headed out to find an internet cafe and get some dinner. As soon as we left the cafe, the heavens opened and a massive thunder storm rumbled above us. The storm provided some welcome relief to the humidity, and the rain was refreshing after the heat after the previous few days. We awoke to clear skies and hot temperatures, and went to carry out our favourite chore - washing! Then we [View Full Entry]

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We left Hot Springs and drove all day through forests, farmland and swamps and finally arrived in New Orleans at midnight. The next day we walked around the French Quarter, sampling the local food and drinks. In the evening we ate fried alligator and went to the Spotted Cat to hear some great live music. The next morning we woke to the smell of 400,000 gallons of oil in the Mississippi river. Our room was about 100 yards from the river and we felt woozy all day. The river is now closed from New Orleans to the Gulf of Mexico and [View Full Entry]

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Just trying to get the hang of this blogging stuff before the big flight. I've got all my shots, a Vietnamese visa and a couple days worth of Baht to start out with. I think I'm set! [View Full Entry]

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