June 22, 2009

Today I met up with Colleen at noon and went to check in at Country Inn and Suites. Prior to I had wandered around a few blocks from my hotel, in a desperate search for coffee, finally ending up at a Starbucks inside a casino.
We took a Hurricane Katrina tour today. On our tour I witnessed a lot of areas recovering from the storms devastation, and some areas that are rotting. The most striking thing I saw today were the markings on houses yet to be restored. Large X's, most often near the roofs. These marks were made by those who searched the houses for survivors after the storm. Many of the X's are near the roofs due to the fact that the majority of the rescuers were in boats floating by in 14 feet of water. In the four spaces made by the X there were the date of the check the number of survivors/deceased found at the house, the organization that searched the house and NE for no entry.
I really enjoyed seeing the bayous. I am excited to get closer to the water, the wildlife and the spanish moss draping the massive trees. It was interesting to learn that spanish moss is neither spanish, nor moss.
Overall I had a great day, despite the blistering heat. It will take a few days to get used to the heat and the humidity. Sweat however, will be the least pleasant part of this trip.