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I'll never wait this long again.
OK, I'm a damned liar. Anyway.
Since my last entry, I've returned to N.O. twice, the second time for good. I'll post the details of my first trip now; the rest to followtomorrow next week eventually.
Made my first trip back on 3/5, returned on 3/9. Victoria, TX's airport was about as tiny as I'd expected, although I wasn't the only passenger like I'd thought I might be :-). My flight left at 10:05; I showed up at 8: Damned terminal wasn't even open. Finally they opened up and let me in about 30 minutes later. One check in desk, a small rental-car desk, two drink machines and that was it. I hadn't flown since before 9/11, so I thought I'd best show up early in case there were any unexpected delays. And there was; apparently someone who shares my name did SOMETHING to end up on a no-fly list. Took about ten minutes to confirm that I wasn't him.
Didn't sleep well the night before, and I was hoping to sleep on the plane. No such luck. Victoria to Houston took 30 minutes; Houston to N.O. 40 minutes. Plus in Houston my arriving flight landed on the exact opposite side of George Bush Intercontinental from my connection, forcing me to literally run to make my next flight before they closed the gate.
It was weird when I got off the plane. Louis Armstrong Int'l had been used as a triage facility post-Kat; I caught myself walking through the place looking around, as if I expected to find bloodstains at the baggage claim six months later. In fact there were no visible signs of Katrina damage--or even damage from the tornado that hit the airport the month before--just a sign warning people coming back to storm-damage homes to take precautions.
And the sight of the house was a shock. Hearing about it second hand was one thing. Actually seeing MY HOUSE with an ugly brown waterline eight feet up was another matter entirely. The lower floor had already been gutted, stripped down to the frame, but even it still reeked of mold that had had over a month to seep into the beams. Amazingly--especially since it was built in the 30s and predated the building codes--it held up well overall; other than the flooding, one torn-away awning and some superficial roof damage, it came out pretty good (better, considering the roof had been repaired just before my arrival). Contents on the other hand, especially my collection of books in the (ground-floor) garage...
Anyway, I spent most of that trip taking pictures of the damage (will get those up ASAP) and reacquainting myself with "real" food (I love Victoria, but the Tex-Mex on every corner got old fast), and all too soon I was back in Victoria...but resolved to go home to stay. My friends at work--by which I mean the whole restaurant,--gave me a great send-off: two cakes, a framed picture of the entire crew with everyone's signature, and a card. I'll keep what was written on it to myself, but I intend to keep those words in my heart till the day I die.
Victoria: not my place, perhaps. But a wonderful city nonetheless,. Maybe I'll return someday, start a business, introduce these generous, hard-working people to REAL coffee...But those're challenges for another day.
OK, I'm a damned liar. Anyway.
Since my last entry, I've returned to N.O. twice, the second time for good. I'll post the details of my first trip now; the rest to follow
Made my first trip back on 3/5, returned on 3/9. Victoria, TX's airport was about as tiny as I'd expected, although I wasn't the only passenger like I'd thought I might be :-). My flight left at 10:05; I showed up at 8: Damned terminal wasn't even open. Finally they opened up and let me in about 30 minutes later. One check in desk, a small rental-car desk, two drink machines and that was it. I hadn't flown since before 9/11, so I thought I'd best show up early in case there were any unexpected delays. And there was; apparently someone who shares my name did SOMETHING to end up on a no-fly list. Took about ten minutes to confirm that I wasn't him.
Didn't sleep well the night before, and I was hoping to sleep on the plane. No such luck. Victoria to Houston took 30 minutes; Houston to N.O. 40 minutes. Plus in Houston my arriving flight landed on the exact opposite side of George Bush Intercontinental from my connection, forcing me to literally run to make my next flight before they closed the gate.
It was weird when I got off the plane. Louis Armstrong Int'l had been used as a triage facility post-Kat; I caught myself walking through the place looking around, as if I expected to find bloodstains at the baggage claim six months later. In fact there were no visible signs of Katrina damage--or even damage from the tornado that hit the airport the month before--just a sign warning people coming back to storm-damage homes to take precautions.
And the sight of the house was a shock. Hearing about it second hand was one thing. Actually seeing MY HOUSE with an ugly brown waterline eight feet up was another matter entirely. The lower floor had already been gutted, stripped down to the frame, but even it still reeked of mold that had had over a month to seep into the beams. Amazingly--especially since it was built in the 30s and predated the building codes--it held up well overall; other than the flooding, one torn-away awning and some superficial roof damage, it came out pretty good (better, considering the roof had been repaired just before my arrival). Contents on the other hand, especially my collection of books in the (ground-floor) garage...
Anyway, I spent most of that trip taking pictures of the damage (will get those up ASAP) and reacquainting myself with "real" food (I love Victoria, but the Tex-Mex on every corner got old fast), and all too soon I was back in Victoria...but resolved to go home to stay. My friends at work--by which I mean the whole restaurant,--gave me a great send-off: two cakes, a framed picture of the entire crew with everyone's signature, and a card. I'll keep what was written on it to myself, but I intend to keep those words in my heart till the day I die.
Victoria: not my place, perhaps. But a wonderful city nonetheless,. Maybe I'll return someday, start a business, introduce these generous, hard-working people to REAL coffee...But those're challenges for another day.