Day 7: The whole country (was) like an oyster for us to open and the pearl was there, the pearl was there.

A little less than one year after Hurricane Katrina New Orleans is coming back. The approach to the city is very erie. From Biloxi on there were trees blown around all pointing westerly; as if they were saying yes, go and see what has been done. As we got closer the damage became more and more apparent. There were blue tarps over some houses here and there but most of the places and housing communities were abandoned and still needing a lot of repairs. You got the feeling that the city would be just as deserted, kind of apocalyptic in a way.

However at the same time a lot of work has been done so places that would've been leveled before are showing signs of rebuilding. Also all the billboards that line I-10 West. All had messages of what I will call commercial hope. They say things like Casino "Grand Re-Opening" or "The New Biloxi will be great...We've seen the plans." There were also tons of billboards that discussed job opportunities in the area. One series for another Casino listed all the jobs they needed and then talked about creating a unified team in diversity to accomplish the best. This was very odd because not many billboards offer jobs to people or trying to establish that much hope.

Approaching the city we did not know what to expect. All we saw was more and more damage. The most telling was road signs that told about Six Flags New Orleans, but when we were passing it we saw the Six Flags marquee and it was completely gutted; as were all the rides, either by the storm or by work crews. Everything approaching New Orleans was boarded up still, and probably is going to remain so indefinitely. After we got into the city we headed for a new visitor center. There they booked us a great room at the Place D'Armes right on Jackson Square for $49!! Alie said because of the location alone that would cost us over a hundred before the storm.

Its kind of funny in the French Quarter you can almost forget the amount of destruction or the fact that less than a year ago this city was underwater, but if you look you will find things have certainly changed. The Virgin Mega Store here still lights up the signs out side and some things inside but there two signs on there. 1. "The Virgin Mega Store is currently closed. Sorry for any inconvenience." and 2. "Available for Lease" and then lists the contact information for a commercial Realtor. Also what is odd EVERYTHING around this area is still in ruins. Alie and I were driving around and underneath the highway to get to the visitor center and all the homes were heavily damaged or basically destroyed. Its amazing how much has been done and how there is still to go. Really gives us a sense of the catastrophy that occurred here. Hopefully I'll be able to report more on the life in the city tomorrow.

I have pictures of the French Quarter and some areas around it that I will upload. But the quality is not the best since it is from a car window. Also before that I must upload some from Fort Pulaski in Savanna.


But before all of that I have our current tallies...


Alie and I have now officially experienced more then a quarter of this country; we have seen 29% of it.
To get to New Orleans We drove 412miles.
In about 6h and 20m
At an moving average speed of 64.9mph
with only stopping for 31m and 9s
giving us a total Average Speed of 60.0mph
Amount of Gas: 1 full tank from Savanna to New Orleans.
Distance to go Getting shorter all the time
Where to next? Pirates Alley and the Place where Tennessee Williams finished A Street Car Named Desire all right here in The Big Easy

PS We are now in the Central Time Zone! Woohoo!