My Experience in New Orleans

A lot of people questioned me about going to New Orleans for a vacation. They said things like, "Why would you go there, there's nothing left of it," and "That city is a dump now - there is nothing worth seeing." J's two nieces moved down there to live and work in August of 2006 - and you wouldn't believe the grief that they got - and are still getting - for moving there.

I wanted to see for myself. I went to Mardi Gras down there in 2005, and I didn't get to see the city like a tourist, I only saw the city as a wild partier. So this time, the trip was going to be a little different.

The good news is that the city is very much alive! The touristy areas - The French Quarter, Garden District, CBD/Warehouse District, etc. - are very much alive and kicking. Lots of people. Lots of partying. Lots of great food. The bad part in the touristy areas is that not all of the workers are back - they fled when their homes were destroyed, and haven't been able to come back, so there is a desperate need for workers in New Orleans right now.

Then there were the areas that were flooded. You can see in the photo below, the waterline on the house. That's where the water sat in some areas for days and days - and it was probably a few feet higher when the flooding happened. I almost cried to see that Lisa and Donnie had to spray paint their house that they were o.k. because there was really no other way to be able to tell people how they were. These people lost everything!!

The 9th Ward looked like a war zone. Here and there patches of re-furbished and/or re-built homes appeared, and they looked strange amidst the mess, but it was hope. It was very sad to look at. We actually paid for a "Katrina Devastation Tour." The tour guide, a native, told us all he was initially opposed to having the company he works for make money off of the trip. Then he told us that it's an important story to tell, and part of our money was going to be designated to the charity of our choice (I had checked into this prior to the tour...)


Not all houses looked like the one above - but our tour guide told us that immediately after the flooding, almost every house did look like that. I would estimate that about 25% of the houses we saw looked like the one above. Most of the rest were just gutted and abandoned - some for sale, some with 'tear down' notices on the doors. Our tour guide asked us to not take photos of the people cleaning out their houses out of respect for them. So we didn't, and honestly, I don't think I could have. The people I saw cleaning out house had on masks and were sweating, some still crying over the devastation.


There are some glimmers of the "new" New Orleans. In the 9th ward, a new neighborhood is being built called Musician's Village (completed house above, back of village pictured below.) You can read more about it with the link. These are photos of the houses, and volunteers building them. Some people have already moved into their new homes.

The last photo here is of the ampitheatre area, where the musicians can come play one the entire neighborhood is built. For some perspective - this area is about 80 acres. All of those cars were filled with volunteers helping build the houses. You can't see all of them, and the other photos I took didn't turn out, but there were a lot of people helping!

There is a lot of sadness and anger there about the government not stepping it up and getting these people out, and now, its lack of help to the victims. From what I have seen - it is warranted. New Orleans was - and is - a great city. It can be re-built better and stronger than it was. It's going to take time and money, and lots of volunteers. Everything helps - if you can only visit the city and put a little money into their economy, do it - if you can volunteer down there, go for it! If you prefer to donate money, find your local Red Cross or charity of your choice and pass it on!