Swamp Tour

Our last day in the New Orleans area included a two and a half hour church service at this all black parish near our rv camp. What glorious music and wonderful message about our willingness to live God's will and not ours. We were almost late for our Swamp tour near Slidell and the Pearl River. The tour was two hours long in a small boat that took us through the bayou and sloughs. Along the way we saw some homes/water homes in the area. We didn't see any aligators or turtles even as the weather was too cold. However, we did see some bird life and strange plants not seen in our area. The moss was spectacular! We were chilled and hungry when it was over and only wanted to warm up and eat. Much to my surprise, just then another tradegy occurred. Something sharp scratched my hand and looking down to see what it might have been, I freaked out immediately as I realized I had lost three prongs and my large diamond in my wedding ring. Can anything more go wrong on this trip? I'm hoping not, but keep us in your prayers as we travel back to MN. We are leaving tomorrow morning and are planning to be home for sure by the weekend. It's just plan time to come home for various reasons. I'm so looking forward to seeing everyone and catching up on events at home.

Mardi Gras and Musician's Village home

This decorated house was found in Musician's Village...all decorated for something...whatever...who knows???? As well, here are some photos from the first Mardi gras parade held on February 3rd. More elaborate parades follow nightly until February 16th or Fat Tuesday. It's quite the wild time down in the French quarter and we could have marched in the parade with the Habitat for Insanity group. Too many people for me, everyone grasping for beads and the many strange items passed out during the parade. WOW!

More volunteers in the 9th ward

Working next to us was a young group of teenagers from Maine. They were cleaning out this nasty house that the owners claimed to be coming back to live here again. These teens surely deserved credit for working in such dire conditions. The pink house in the bottom photo is called a shotgun house. They were built long and skinny because it was cheaper to own as they were charged by the number of feet in the front of the house.

Habitat for Humanity

Our week working with Habitat was succh a great experience We met some of the nicest people and were very appreciated for our help. We were astounded with the number of volunteers that showed up and it seemed it wasn't long they had us all organized into different groups, painters, roofers, landscaperes, caulkers, builders, site cleanup, and organizers to hand out tools. Purple house is finished and in an area where the houses are all new in an area called Musicians Village. It is quite different from the site we worked at Tues-Fri. It was an area where they were building new houses here and there among really dilapitated, ruined flood homes. I find it hard to believe people will move into the only new house in the neighborhood and feel comfortable doing that. But they are slated to build 1,500 new houses as soon as is humanly possible just with Habitat volunteers. It's a good organization and I wish more people would sign up to give their time and talents.

Beautiful New Orleans

Contrary to what everyone thinks, not all parts of New Orleans were destroyed by the hurricane. Many parts by the French quarter were not affected by the water at all. Here are some of the beautiful sites along the river and in town. Richard and I attended a "Hats" theatre performance at Harrah's, a fancy casino down by the River.

Jude Travel Park - 9th ward area

The Jude Travel Park pictured above has been our home while in New Orleans. You can see the nice steel gates that were locked at night to keep out offenders trying to break into campers. However, back where we were is another photo of the security fence...well sort of security fence. Anyway, we've been safe here and have had a good experience.