Blogs from Louisiana, United States, North America - page 80

2-9-07 I got up around 6:45 and got going around 7:00. The rest of the group were beginning to have breakfast. I again told them thanks and went on my way. I went to Katrina’s kitchen were I heard they serve free breakfasts. Ok maybe I am a moocher. No I wanted to learn more about it and thought if they needed volunteers I could help the following week a few days. I was surprised at the sheer number of people eating. Katrina was 18 months ago. The kitchen was located in Gulfport, originally it was at Pass Christian where I had volunteered. I sat down and talked to a local man. He said right after the hurricane they were serving about 3 to 4,000 people, whereas now they are only serving 1,000 which still seemed ... read more

We recently returned from a fantastic trip to New Orleans, and it came about from Fi having to do a course for work, which just happened to be conducted at New Orleans. All the guys that Fiona work with who should complete the cause baulked at it so it ended up falling into Fiona’s lap. So basically the US Navy was paying for Fiona to fly over to New Orleans, pay for her accommodation and hire car and then fly her back. So I paid my way and although the course went from Monday to Friday, we flew over on the Saturday and back of the following Sunday. We arrived on Saturday only to realise that it was Mardi Gras season. This is about a 3 week long period that attracts thousands of tourists and turns ... read more

Well, wow, what can you say? New Orleans is unique and scenes of the Katrina disaster are blended with scenes a revitalized community - new homes, refurbished homes, businesses open, contractors (and non-profits and mission groups) all over the place. Day 1 - In-transit We started out on Sunday morning (Jan. 28) at 6:00 AM -- 9 degrees F. We drove and drove (a rather, thankfully, uneventful trip except for a random tray that broke part of the van's grill and dented the radiator) and arrived at the volunteer village in Luling, LA around 8:30 PM. They went through the rules of the camp, what we would be doing, the status of the relief effort, and about the camp in general. We also met the people on staff. I also got situated in my little villa ... read more

Motorhome News from North America 33 13th January - 23rd January 2007 Around the Florida Panhandle to the Deep South. Janice heard it first. A very faint tap, tap, tapping…. a squeak - the squeak of a small rubber toy. It was 7.45am. It was cold. A very cold January morning on the Panhandle. The temperature had dropped dramatically overnight from 75 to 40 degrees. We arrived at daybreak, listening, alert, whispering, shivering, watching for the slightest movement in the open pinewoods of our campground at Ochlockonee State Park - as the shallow light of a morning sun cast its first long shadows on the wispy golden grass. She pointed. “There…. David; there!” she said, in a hushed voice, electric with excitement. “On that tree……there…over there!” Our persistence had finally paid off. A Red-Cockaded Woodpecker had ... read more

Ok, I am actually writing this (or copy and pasting it) from the Green Tortoise Hostel in cold and rainy downtown Seattle on 12/10. I am way behind on the blogging thing, but I do have a little voice recorder that I have been recording highlights on, so when I actually get around to writing and uploading pictures, I will not forget stuff. Anyway, I wrote this most of this blog in Austin. God, New Orleans seems like so long ago. 11/30/06 I am on my way back to California with a truck (my recently acquired 2002 Ford Ranger) full of Kelci’s stuff. I packed pretty much everything I could find that belonged to Kelci. She has way too much junk she needs to go through and thin out. I am a “stop and smell the ... read more