Sunday April 2, 2006 - Visiting New Orleans

New Orleans is a large and vibrant city. Coming in from the North on I-10 , after crossing lake Ponchartrain, there were many miles of neighborhoods, between the lake and the city, which were eerily devoid of activity. Nothing was there. Nothing moved. Houses were damaged or boarded-up. Many had broken windows or structural damage. Cars were abandoned in place. Overall, they look like a silent time capsule. Whole neighborhoods will never be inhabitable, in their present form.

In contrast to this scene, the French quarter was alive with horse and buggy rides and tourists strolling on a balmy warm spring day. Downtown,canal street, a busy shopping boulevard retained its former glory, although the palm trees down the center of the street had clearly seen better days.

The visible damage in New Orleans was mainly due to flooding, in contrast to the havoc and destruction in Waveland, caused by the fury of the waves and wind.