SAD ~ BUT SEEING IMPROVEMENTS

We saw Katrina's destruction everywhere we went along the coast. After five years...we also saw some progress. Not as much as one would think after that period of time, but we didn't see the entire area. We did see where the water came into town and how they have built the concrete wall back up, also adding a system across the road to help hold the water back. 

So many people have stepped up to help the people that lost houses in Katrina. On our tour the area we were taken to was the one Brad Pitt is helping to build green/solar homes. There were several homes, a few are shown below.

A memorial to Katrina has been erected on the neutral land strip between the streets. A house wall, a couple of chairs (representing the homes lost), and graduated posts to show the water levels that buried the town.

Many, many homes are boarded up, falling down, and left as reminders of the destruction. We saw numerous homes marked with symbols telling if they were checked for people, animals, gas leaks, etc. It was very eerie--watching it on TV five years ago--seeing it in person now.
We also saw Fats Dominos house/recording studio, which still needs to be cleaned up before he moves back in. On the cast iron fence we could see the letters F-A-T-S, see them?

It was a somber, sobbering tour. I kept thinking of all the people that were displaced. Where did that many people go?  We did meet two brothers, that left to live with relatives in Georgia and went back to NewOrleans a couple of years ago. They now live in a different area- they said -where the water didn't reach. Coincidently, they also lived in Brookfield, WI through their high school years. Small world.

WHO DAT COUNTRY

             NEW ORLEANS WAS THE

We arrived in New Orleans and hit Bourbon Street within an hour of checking into our hotel. Talk about visual overload ~ Bourbon St. ~ the place to be in New Orleans. The balconies are the first thing we noticed. My sister and I have pictures of so many balconies ~

the pictures really do not do them justice.

The balconies are everywhere you looked and they are beautiful!    ENJOY

Besides balconies there were funky stores to browse through, Tarot Readers to visit, and characters on the street. Bands played jazz, people transformed themselves into street statues, clowns and dancers.  We ate local food at a retaurant on Bourbon Street, and listened to bands in several locations. 

The great street cars still travel through several streets in New Orleans.  Desire Street is found in New Orleans ~ thus the movie ~

A STREET CAR NAMED DESIRE

The best part of the street cars is that they travel from one end of the line to the other. There is no place to turn around - so they flip the seats around, the driver goes to the other end of the car and presto===it goes in the other direction! We had a great tour guide on the Katrina/City Tour we took. He filled us in on little 'secrets' of the city.

JAZZ FUNERAL STORE ~ PEOPLE ARE JUST DYING TO GET IN  

   HIPPIE GYPSY STORE ~ WHERE THE PAST COMES TO LIFE                       

The two guys above played guitar and the drum

(a cardboard box.)

They didn't know the words to a single song we asked for, but they were hauling in the money!

Jambalaya is what Joe chose. He didn't care for it much. He expected various meats in the dish and it turned out to be mostly RICE! His dish was pretty, but pretty doesn't make it for a hungry man!

I chose red beans with rice, sausage and chicken. I gave the sausage and chicken to Joe.

The beans and rice were excellent!

So many street preformers were out, day and night. Some sang, some played instruments, some did tricks, some were silver or gold statues - standing still - in strange positions for a long time.

The paint that some of them used really bothered me. I'm not sure what kind of paint it was, but it just seems that painting your face and hands everyday is not a healthy way to go.

The best was the man dressed in the white suit walking the dog. The dog was just a toy, but looked real. He stood like that for a very long time.

Cars actually slowed down for him, and he was going nowhere!

This guy must've been living on the same jambalaya that Joe ordered. Not enough food for any man!

Nancy and Geri enjoying themselves on Bourbon Street ~~~  New Orleans, LA

MEETING UP WITH FRIENDS IN BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI

I haven't blogged in some time now. When I returned from Jamaica it was just a few days and we picked up my sister Geri, at the Brownsville Airport, and took off for Biloxi, Mississippi. Going on a trip to Biloxi has been in our plans since last winter.  We went to meet up with friends, Bill and Andrea. We met them last winter in Florida.  (The restaurant lights were a little on the yellow side.)  We had a great time with them!  Watching the Saints/Vikings game turned out to be a highlight. Strange to be in "Who Dat" land cheering for the Vikings!  After the Saints won we were hugged, kissed, shook and high-fived by Saints fans. Going along with the hoopla seemed like the thing to do--we like our lives and those Saints fans are serious people!

Visiting the Biloxi National Cemetary was solemn and informative. The cemetary is well-kept and sacred. We met a lady that takes pictures of markers, to post or email to family members. She does this for an internet site/for people looking for their family soldiers. http://www.findagrave.com/
If you are searching for a family service member and don't know where he/she is buried, going to the above site might be the lead you need to find the person you are looking for.
Sunset in Biloxi was beautiful, as it is most everywhere, but I can't resist taking those sunset pictures!
Only sad note: too cold to walk on the 26 mile beach!

BUC-EE LAND - - WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

Not often would someone blog about a stop for gas. We continually saw signs on the highway for Buc-ees. About this time Joe, Geri and I were a little tired of driving and the Buc-ee signs were quite entertaining. When you are entertained by signs on the highway it must be time to stop and re-group!  So, we stopped at Buc-ees!

If you get the chance--stop at Buc-ees!  This place is something else.  The little beaver, above, is Buc-ee. The quick stop turned into about an hour! Browsing through this place takes time! The bathroom alone was facinating. The Jailbird, above, greets you --really--he talks to you as you enter!

The wooden Indian is inside the Cowgirls Place. There were 24, yes, I counted 24 stalls in the bathroom! This place must've been designed by a woman! Each full door had a decoration above it and inside it was immaculat!

There was a deli, a coffee spot, a bakery (they bake their own breads), a meat market for every flavor of beef jerkey one could imagine, a store with tons of "this and that", a snack area, a place for salsas, etc. you could order yourself a meal from the deli-via the computers/in the computer center above.

There also is store next door for the outdoor part of your house! Yes, this place is huge.

If you find yourself driving through Wharton, TX ~ stop at Buc-ees ~ you won't be disappointed!    http://www.bucees.com/locations.htm

A FINAL PEEK AT SOME BEAUTIFUL JAMAICAN SIGHTS

A smattering of sights I thought worthy of a photo. The beautiful hotel pictures are of Moon Dance, where we enjoyed the pool, hot tub, and gorgeous grounds. There were fishermen on the cliffs by this resort. Even though we didn't stay there the staff was very welcoming.

One day we walked for miles - Jamaican "miles"!  We kept asking how far the Westender Hotel was, continually getting the answer that it was just a ways down the road. After miles of walking, in the hot sun, we were running out of steam. It's a sign of respect for people passing to ask if you were alright. As one young man was passing, on a motorscooter, asking if we were alright-I yelled, "NO." He turned around to see what was wrong. We told him we just couldn't walk anymore. Now, his motorscooter was quite small---but he fit us

on, by moving WAY to the front of it and off we went another mile down the road! It was a little scary with MaryLynne's legs sticking out, holes in the road, and me yelling, "Go slow please!"  We made it to the Westender and found out, Ryan, our kind motorscooter driver, was Head of Security at the hotel. We did not get a picture of the three of us on the scooter--probably not a pretty picture!

Below: signs that tell it like it is
          Rasta dreads
          Acai on the tree
          Pictures within the lion painting (double click to enlarge)
          Ojah's hat collection
          The "castle" next to Sis and Lars
          Colin-our pattie baker, in his bakery
          A very old canon, at the lighthouse
          Tiny house built by the Rasta next to it

               A very large hermit crab
                                A mechanic's shop ?

                     A FANTASTIC TRIP --- CAN'T WAIT TO GO BACK!