Sorry this is so late, but I’ve had some issues with Word tonight.
Okay, here is the story, but the pictures will come tomorrow. It is too late to try to figure out how to post them tonight.
I left Jacksonville way too late on Saturday, mainly because I was driving around looking for a generator. Why you may ask, well there was still a crazy idea in my head that I would try to stay in New Orleans if I was able to get in. As if they would even let…
I made it to Diamondhead, MS around 1:00 AM and finally stopped. I wanted to stop before getting into Louisiana because I knew there would be little to nothing to stop and rest any further west. I should have stopped in Pensacola as I had planned, but I wasn’t tired when I passed through there and when I finally did start stopping all the rooms were full. The only one that really annoyed me was a hotel in Alabama just before Mississippi had a bunch of international media staying there. I thought how ridiculous that people that are put out from their home have no place to stay yet the foreign media have rooms. I wasn’t really thinking about myself, okay a little bit, but more so for those who lost everything on the gulf coast of MS. So I kept driving until I reached Diamondhead.
As I exited the I-10 I could see some lights off the road and headed in that direction. There were no streetlights and no traffic signals. I, of course, didn’t realize I was in one of the worst place to be destroyed by Katrina. I pulled into what I found out later to be a Ramada Inn. A group of National Guardsmen was guarding the place so I pulled up to them to find out if it was okay for me to rest there. They said it would be fine for me to’ rack out in your truck if you want.’ So I did. But I couldn’t get to sleep because of the music from the bar was keeping me up. Yes, the hotel bar was open, crazy huh? So I decided a few beers sounded about right and went inside. The bar had a bout 25 people who were mostly contractors or insurance workers. I had a couple of beers and then went back outside and went to sleep.
The next morning I awoke up to see that the hotel the had once been 2 stories high was now about one and a half. The top floor and been mostly blown away. The tops of trees were snapped off and many of the other buildings were destroyed. One of the amazing things was that you could actually see the footprint of the storm. Moving east to west you could see the change in wind. Further east the trees were blown to the north then west then finally south. The damage done certainly didn’t look like wind and water could have done it.
I continued west and found an open Waffle House in Slidell, the staff had special t-shirts printed that said Hurricane Response Team on the back. I then continued onto Baton Rouge then south to New Orleans. Signs indicated that I-55 was closed but as I went over it there was plenty of traffic going down. The whole area was teaming with electrical crew trucks, ambulances, police, recovery crews and military vehicles.
I was able to get a pass to get me into Orleans Parish, don’t ask me how. Let’s just say that some things in Louisiana will never change.
I hate to do this to you guys, but in true media fashion I will close here and tease you to come back tomorrow to hear about the city. And pictures too!
Take care,
Kevin