February 26, 2006
I-10 is very rough, rougher it seems than the roads in Canada! We left Louisiana behind and found some of the roads in Texas almost as bad. We made it through the huge metro area of Houston, not a fun city to drive in. We wanted to stay the night at Walmart in Sealy, Tx. but they had signs up “No Truck Parking.” Usually that means no RV’s too. So we went on to Columbus, TX. They have a
Walmart there but the very small parking lot was full. We had gone by a campground, Happy Oaks. So we went back there to spend the night. It was a nice, clean campground and friendly hosts. We did our laundry there and had a nice evening.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
February 22 to 25, 2006
We are staying at a campground near Kinder, LA. It is north and east of Lake Charles which was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Rita. We see a little tree damage here but that is about all. This campground is filled with FEMA trailers, probably about 50. We are about the only ones here that are just traveling through. We drove to Lake Charles and found very little damage from Hurricane Rita, mostly damage to roofs and some tree damage. It is interesting to note the winds at Covington came out of the north and all the trees fell south. This was from the back of the hurricane. Here the trees have fallen to the west thus the winds were out of the east. Also, here the trees were uprooted rather than just breaking off. On Friday we drove to the gulf coast where the eye of Hurricane Rita came ashore. As we leave Lake Charles and head south there is only tree damage. Most of this highway goes through a Wildlife Refuge so there are very few houses or buildings but we can see debris that has either washed up or blown against the trees along side of the road. As we reach the gulf we are in a Holly Beach but there is nothing left of the town. Not one house, building or even a tree is standing. Some cleanup has been done but it is a very strange sight. Somehow the water washed up under the foundations of homes and the slab floors just broke into pieces. Frames of mobile homes are strewn everywhere. There are still no services here. Two or three properties have been cleaned up and one has a new foundation poured. This family has a trailer parked there. The city has provided porta-potties but these people have no services other than a possible generator. As we leave Holly Beach we are heading east to Cameron. We took a ferry across a little bay. Here we could see the remains of boats that had washed up on dry land. While on the ferry we spoke with a man who works there. He said about 10 large boats were lost. He said the only life lost was one man who drowned refusing to leave his home. Cameron is a larger town than Holly Beach. The homes here too were mostly destroyed. Probably were about 10 or so that could be salvaged…with lots of work. As we head back north the fields are strewn with debris. One wonders if these small towns will ever recover since they have little resources and very few volunteers as we saw in the bigger cities. Friday night we ate at Cajun Charlie’s. They served excellent food and had a live band which played Cajun music as well as country. It was not “economical” but we enjoyed it. Saturday was a rainy day. Two Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans were rescheduled for Sunday. That is very unusual as parades are just not held on Sunday but the importance of Mardi Gras this year accounted for the change.
We are staying at a campground near Kinder, LA. It is north and east of Lake Charles which was hit pretty hard by Hurricane Rita. We see a little tree damage here but that is about all. This campground is filled with FEMA trailers, probably about 50. We are about the only ones here that are just traveling through. We drove to Lake Charles and found very little damage from Hurricane Rita, mostly damage to roofs and some tree damage. It is interesting to note the winds at Covington came out of the north and all the trees fell south. This was from the back of the hurricane. Here the trees have fallen to the west thus the winds were out of the east. Also, here the trees were uprooted rather than just breaking off. On Friday we drove to the gulf coast where the eye of Hurricane Rita came ashore. As we leave Lake Charles and head south there is only tree damage. Most of this highway goes through a Wildlife Refuge so there are very few houses or buildings but we can see debris that has either washed up or blown against the trees along side of the road. As we reach the gulf we are in a Holly Beach but there is nothing left of the town. Not one house, building or even a tree is standing. Some cleanup has been done but it is a very strange sight. Somehow the water washed up under the foundations of homes and the slab floors just broke into pieces. Frames of mobile homes are strewn everywhere. There are still no services here. Two or three properties have been cleaned up and one has a new foundation poured. This family has a trailer parked there. The city has provided porta-potties but these people have no services other than a possible generator. As we leave Holly Beach we are heading east to Cameron. We took a ferry across a little bay. Here we could see the remains of boats that had washed up on dry land. While on the ferry we spoke with a man who works there. He said about 10 large boats were lost. He said the only life lost was one man who drowned refusing to leave his home. Cameron is a larger town than Holly Beach. The homes here too were mostly destroyed. Probably were about 10 or so that could be salvaged…with lots of work. As we head back north the fields are strewn with debris. One wonders if these small towns will ever recover since they have little resources and very few volunteers as we saw in the bigger cities. Friday night we ate at Cajun Charlie’s. They served excellent food and had a live band which played Cajun music as well as country. It was not “economical” but we enjoyed it. Saturday was a rainy day. Two Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans were rescheduled for Sunday. That is very unusual as parades are just not held on Sunday but the importance of Mardi Gras this year accounted for the change.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
February 21, 2006In the February 9 blog we wrote about the storm damage in this campground we are staying in. We spoke with one of the owners today about the damage. She says they had almost 500 trees come down and 80 of the trailers were damaged beyond repair as well as damage to the swimming pool and the game room. They have cleaned up most of the trees and most of the trailers except for about 10 that are owned by people who have chosen not to take care of any clean-up. She says pine forests in an area about 5 miles around here were severely damage, kind of like a tornado spawned off of the hurricane. The people were all evacuated prior to the hurricane so no one was injured. They are working very hard to get back to normal before the recreational season starts. They have a water slide and many activities for families here. Go to http://www.camplop.com/ to see the damage at this campground. We will be leaving here on Wednesday heading towards Texas. We have not made any plans but hope to check out what Rita did to the area around Lake Charles and into western Texas
Friday, February 17, 2006
February 17, 2006
We went to New Orleans again today. We want to see how things are in the Big Easy these days during the week. When we were there last on the weekend it we found it quite busy with people and open businesses. We also found out later on that there was a Mardi Gras parade the evening we were there which would explain some of the business we saw. Today we went first to the River Walk Shopping Center. Many businesses were completely closed, some were open only weekends and there were very few people. We walked over to the French Quarter and French Outdoor Market. Again, there were very few people and not nearly the activity that we saw there last year. It is going to take tourists coming to the Big Easy to bring New Orleans back. Come on down when you get a chance. There are 2 cruise ships docked at the River Walk. Policemen and firemen plus some workers live on board. However it is getting close to the season for cruise ships to bring in tourists so those now living aboard must find other arrangements for places to live. This will begin to bring some income into the city. For now they are just hanging on and very hopeful. Many of the residence have not returned yet so there are not enough people to fill the positions. This is why many businesses have not opened. Our niece who lives there says more businesses are opening every day and things are getting back to normal in some areas.
We went to New Orleans again today. We want to see how things are in the Big Easy these days during the week. When we were there last on the weekend it we found it quite busy with people and open businesses. We also found out later on that there was a Mardi Gras parade the evening we were there which would explain some of the business we saw. Today we went first to the River Walk Shopping Center. Many businesses were completely closed, some were open only weekends and there were very few people. We walked over to the French Quarter and French Outdoor Market. Again, there were very few people and not nearly the activity that we saw there last year. It is going to take tourists coming to the Big Easy to bring New Orleans back. Come on down when you get a chance. There are 2 cruise ships docked at the River Walk. Policemen and firemen plus some workers live on board. However it is getting close to the season for cruise ships to bring in tourists so those now living aboard must find other arrangements for places to live. This will begin to bring some income into the city. For now they are just hanging on and very hopeful. Many of the residence have not returned yet so there are not enough people to fill the positions. This is why many businesses have not opened. Our niece who lives there says more businesses are opening every day and things are getting back to normal in some areas.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
February 11, 2006
Today our good friends Tim and Linda, from Manhattan stopped by. They are on their way to Florida and wanted to see the devastation in New Orleans. We went there together. We drove through the 9th Ward and Chalmette, where the worst of the damage is. To us, this is the saddest destruction of all because these were the poorest of poor. Most of these houses were still standing but most all were totally ruined. Occasionally we saw a brick home built on an actual foundation that seemed to be ok structurally. But they were few and far between. Many of these homes were just sitting on blocks and they washed off their foundations and landed wherever they were when the flood waters receded. Some were still in the middle of the streets. Some were wedged between other buildings. Some were just a pile of rubble. We saw a few people trying to do a little clean up. We could tell the street had been covered with debris and plows had pushed the debris onto the curbs, sometimes as high as the roofs behind it. It is a very depressed and depressing area. It brings tears to our eyes and a prayer on our lips for the very poor people. As we were leaving this area we could see the dikes which were breeched. They are still working to repair them. Downtown New Orleans was spared any damage and tourists were milling around, shopping, eating and having a good time. This is good because the tourists will bring money back into the economy. The traffic on the main streets and highways was very heavy as it was before the hurricane. We wonder where all these cars come from since the population is much less that previously.
Today our good friends Tim and Linda, from Manhattan stopped by. They are on their way to Florida and wanted to see the devastation in New Orleans. We went there together. We drove through the 9th Ward and Chalmette, where the worst of the damage is. To us, this is the saddest destruction of all because these were the poorest of poor. Most of these houses were still standing but most all were totally ruined. Occasionally we saw a brick home built on an actual foundation that seemed to be ok structurally. But they were few and far between. Many of these homes were just sitting on blocks and they washed off their foundations and landed wherever they were when the flood waters receded. Some were still in the middle of the streets. Some were wedged between other buildings. Some were just a pile of rubble. We saw a few people trying to do a little clean up. We could tell the street had been covered with debris and plows had pushed the debris onto the curbs, sometimes as high as the roofs behind it. It is a very depressed and depressing area. It brings tears to our eyes and a prayer on our lips for the very poor people. As we were leaving this area we could see the dikes which were breeched. They are still working to repair them. Downtown New Orleans was spared any damage and tourists were milling around, shopping, eating and having a good time. This is good because the tourists will bring money back into the economy. The traffic on the main streets and highways was very heavy as it was before the hurricane. We wonder where all these cars come from since the population is much less that previously.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
February 9, 2006
We are leaving Crossroad Church of the Nazarene today. It is with mixed emotions. The “home team” for Nazarene Disaster Relief (NDR), those who have been here most of the time since October, are great people to work with. The spirit of God is surely among us and everyone was so friendly and uplifting. They are very thankful to all who come to help. There are groups coming here from all over the United States to work and witness, most for about a week at a time; also some individuals and couples who come for shorter periods. The Sunday services were excellent. The praise and worship team leads the congregation in worshiping our God for about ½ hour at the beginning of the service. Pastor Ted speaks the word with boldness and draws people back to the Lord. When we left we knew we had been in the House of the Lord. It was an awesome experience serving God by serving other while we were in the Gulf area. We have definitely grown more compassionate and spiritual while here. We have a desire to continue doing volunteer work. We serve an awesome God. We want to see some of the devastation there and how the people are getting along. We are staying at Land-O-Pines Campground which is located about 9 miles north of Covington, LA. It is approximately 50 miles from downtown New Orleans. There is much tree damage from the hurricane here. This campground is about half permanent RV’s, mostly small trailers, and the other half is RV’s that are normally here for short periods if time. Right now those spots are filled with hurricane relief workers and some insurance agents, etc. Most of the permanent trailers have corrugated metal roofs built over them with extended patios. When the hurricane came through here the pine trees came crashing down. So there are many trailers with severe damage to them. Some have been cleaned up but mostly they are just sitting there like it happened yesterday. There are piles of cut-up trees all over the place so you can tell they lost many trees. There seems to be about 10-20 trailers destroyed.
We are leaving Crossroad Church of the Nazarene today. It is with mixed emotions. The “home team” for Nazarene Disaster Relief (NDR), those who have been here most of the time since October, are great people to work with. The spirit of God is surely among us and everyone was so friendly and uplifting. They are very thankful to all who come to help. There are groups coming here from all over the United States to work and witness, most for about a week at a time; also some individuals and couples who come for shorter periods. The Sunday services were excellent. The praise and worship team leads the congregation in worshiping our God for about ½ hour at the beginning of the service. Pastor Ted speaks the word with boldness and draws people back to the Lord. When we left we knew we had been in the House of the Lord. It was an awesome experience serving God by serving other while we were in the Gulf area. We have definitely grown more compassionate and spiritual while here. We have a desire to continue doing volunteer work. We serve an awesome God. We want to see some of the devastation there and how the people are getting along. We are staying at Land-O-Pines Campground which is located about 9 miles north of Covington, LA. It is approximately 50 miles from downtown New Orleans. There is much tree damage from the hurricane here. This campground is about half permanent RV’s, mostly small trailers, and the other half is RV’s that are normally here for short periods if time. Right now those spots are filled with hurricane relief workers and some insurance agents, etc. Most of the permanent trailers have corrugated metal roofs built over them with extended patios. When the hurricane came through here the pine trees came crashing down. So there are many trailers with severe damage to them. Some have been cleaned up but mostly they are just sitting there like it happened yesterday. There are piles of cut-up trees all over the place so you can tell they lost many trees. There seems to be about 10-20 trailers destroyed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
