Final Trip to New Orleans with SP 8/22-29.

[spaceace12]

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Edited July 26, 2010 by spaceace12

[ParkTrips]

Catch malaria and herpes in one shot.

[mcjaco]

Hookers. Hookers are always a good way to spend one's time in New Orleans.

 

[Homeboy23]

mission trip with my church.

 

Hookers. Hookers are always a good way to spend one's time in New Orleans.

 

Make it a group thing.

[coasterdude5]

Make sure you hit Café du Monde to get a beignet! It's not a trip to New Orleans without one. I like going down to Lake Pontchartrain, it's not as busy and crowded as the River Walk, so I feel it's a little more relaxing. I'd also recommend at least taking a drive past SFNO - it's quite an eerie sight to see.

[spaceace12]

Make sure you hit Café du Monde to get a beignet! It's not a trip to New Orleans without one. I like going down to Lake Pontchartrain, it's not as busy and crowded as the River Walk, so I feel it's a little more relaxing. I'd also recommend at least taking a drive past SFNO - it's quite an eerie sight to see.

 

I honestly have no idea what/if any free time I will have. I have a friend from another website that is from down there so if I have to do things by myself, atleast I will know someone who knows the area. I hope to know more information on Sunday.

[larrygator]

To be quite honest, I've been to New Orleans 3-4 times and all i did was drink myself silly and eat.

 

Well and other stuff I would never think of doing if traveling with a church group.

 

Cafe du Monde's biegnets are a must (and you can get Hot Chocolate if you con't drink coffee). Many of the bars have great live music, but that's depends on your musical taste. Walk down Bourbon Street and if you hear something you like follow your ears.

[spaceace12]

I don't drink, never had, and possibly never will. But French Quarter is a def. must. And the beignet if I can get there. Anythi,ng else is going to be a plus. Music wise, I like the ragtime type music that happens down there. This is something I have wanted to do for a couple years and when it was announced that they were going, I knew that I had to try to go. I hope to do another mission trip somewhere in the USA/Canada area next year.

[astroworldfan1]

Take a ferry ride..It's free and it's pretty relaxing, too.

[The Alex]

You can check out City Park if you have any time. The place is simply beautiful, no lie. There's also a small amusement park if you'd wish to do some credit whoring.

 

Audobon Park is closer to the Quarter, and is also conveniently located nearby the Magazine St. shopping areas.

 

Check out the 9th Ward. Recovery in progress is worth watching.

 

Museums!

 

Definitely take a ride or two on the St. Charles Avenue streetcars. It's the oldest streetcar line in the world, so that's a definite culture credit.

 

 

 

I live here. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me sometime.

[TheRapidsNerd]

Looking forward to seeing you on your pass through Memphis. Girlfriend and I are trying to get down there and Baton Rouge to meet up with Astroworldfan and see Dixie Landings.

 

Let's trade emails and numbers at some point so we can meet. Back to topic, have a terriffic time there and enjoy!

[spaceace12]

I am back and wow what a trip. It was simply the most amazing trip I could have asked for. It wasn't really all the work, but also the stuff I did outside of work. The work was great, my group got a home for a woman named Ms. Helen almost ready (it needed some finishing painting, a few from my group did that). We also started work on a home for a women named Ms. Joan. Ms. Joan is a nurse in one of the city hospitals.

 

The organization that requires the future or current home owners to be able to afford the homes now and in the future, so they have to have credit approved (for the homes that the organization bought from the city) and then the future home owners have to pay into an escrow account and attend classes. They want the homeowners to be homeowners for a while and not loose them.

 

While down there I went to the riverwalk once and the French Quarter twice. The last full day down there, we had dinner in a cafe that was near the St. Louis cathederal.

 

Sometimes things just happen to be happening when you are there. The church we were staying at just happened to be having a revival the first three nights we were there. I only attended the second day, but wow. What a service, I had seen southern baptist services on the television and thought they did some of it for show because they were on tv. I will say that is not true. I was at Franklin Ave. Baptist church and it was fun while having a meaning.

 

I could go on and on, but I will be posting photos later. I have always said things happen for a reason. I knew there was a reason I was supposed to go on this trip. This trip opened up a bunch of thoughts in my head that I have never exp. in my life.

[stingrock23]

glad you had a good time.

 

we're good at that.

[spaceace12]

Lets start out with some photos that were given to me via the organization I went with (Samaritans Purse).

 

The first one is a magazine cover. The orange/red roof is the church we stayed at and the area we worked in.

 

When the pastor of the church returned this signed was taped on the door.

 

This is the pastor and the water line.

 

Then this is the inside of the church. The good thing out of this is that the church just bought these pews, so re ordering was no problem.

 

One of the ladies that lived in NO stayed and when the water rose had to go across the street to escape it. She worked with my group as part of my group and a couple others assigned to our group finished her home. I have a picture of her and her home later. Her name is Ms. Helen.

BTW, her home was on the left.

 

The water came close to getting into the attic.

 

More photos coming, next will be from walking around the French Quarter.

[spaceace12]

These photos have a few specs in them, I tried to edit them. Turns out my camera's sensor was dirty. Now I have another reason to return to get better photos, if I needed any.

 

We parked near the Hard Rock Cafe.

 

This big cargo ship (may not be big by some standards, but this is huge to me) passed while we walked along the riverwalk.

 

The Coast (I almost put coaster, lol) Guard did a fly by while there.

 

 

The ferry was there, but didn't ride it due to time constraints.

 

 

Sadly closed.

 

rawr

 

Hi chuck.

 

I know there is a street car person on here.

 

I loved all the buildings here.

 

 

It is 5 o clock somewhere.

 

St. Louis Cathederal.

 

Some other photos.

 

More to come.

[spaceace12]

My group worked on two homes. There was nine of us from Indiana (well, two people are from Terre Haute, but currently live in Columbus, OH) and two sisters from Kansas.

 

One home is owned by Ms. Joan. She left town with one of her children during the storm. Sadly because her child had car problems once they got to her house, she had to leave her dog. Her other child stayed during the storm and called her after the storm had ended and said the town was okay. Then the levies broke and flooded the area and her child that stayed called her and said the water was raising really fast and that she got out via boat. The water line on the door was about 3 and half feet up.

 

We are the second group to work on this home. The only thing finished on the home was the interior had the drywall done and an sub contractor put the texture on the walls.

 

Three or four people from my group went about a block down the road and worked on a home for Ms. Helen. Her home has already been dedicated, but due to permits at city hall she does not live in it yet. Also, some finishing painting needed to be done. Ms. Helen stayed in her old house during the storm and when the waters rose, went across the street since her home was a flat roof and she had a pitched roof put on. She went across the street to Ms. Bundy's home and that is where she took the picture I posted earlier.

 

Anyway, onto the pictures since I don't know if anyone read this.

 

This is Ms. Joans home when SP first started.

 

This home had a few goals.

*wrap the home in tyveck

*start siding it

*build a deck on the back

* sand and paint the window and door trim.

*paint the trim on the roof

*start painting the interior (prime, seal paint, final paint)

 

There was probably a few others.

 

There was a few women who was painting the trim, but the back of the home was too high for them so a guy had to do that part.

 

If you never been to New Orleans, you would know that the land is hardly level. So holding the ladder on higher things was nec. if it was uneven.

 

This is what siding was on it before.

 

Then wrapping of the home.

 

Sanding of the window trim.

 

painting the roof trim

 

This is what Ms. Joan lives in right now. I would probalby go nuts living in somethign this small, but small is better than nothing.

 

Above the porch is a stained glass window.

 

Wrapping the higher parts is not fun. I did not go that high as heights on a ladder scare me.

 

 

Lunch was desecnt, but made dinner better.

 

They elevate the a/c units to above the flood plain.

 

Ms. Helen's home.

 

Some of the finishing touches.

 

They did finish almost everything needed to move in, just waiting for the city to approve it before she can move in.

[spaceace12]

End of day two.

 

 

End of day three.

 

Ms. Helen holding the back of the ladder, Leah the front and Brad went to get the ladder from Ms. Helen, but she wouldn't have none of that.

 

End f the work week. Most of us honestly wanted to stay another week to work on the home to get more done, but most of use didn't have vacation time.

 

When there is painting, there is bound to be a paint fight, consider this the paint point heard around the world. He may have won this battle, but she won the war.

 

This is Susie, she was a painting person.

 

This was as far was we got with the siding.

 

Also got the deck built, well, the floor, no stairs were done.

 

Had to cut the posts off at the right level.

 

The group.

Ms. Helen is on the bottow row and Ms. Joan is in the middle.

 

 

Ms. Helen's home.

 

More to come.

[spaceace12]

This is other homes in and around New Orleans.

 

I would say about 30% of the homes in the neighborhood where I worked was occupied or being redone. The rest was gutted except one which wasn't even emptied of its stuff from before the hurricane.

 

 

Lower 9th ward.

 

There was quite a few empty lots and tall grass.

 

The homes that Brad Pitt built (or started)

 

There was a shrine for a person who died after the storm with some strong words for the Former President.

 

Then there was this on the trailer

 

They reinforced the old levy walls with this new concrete.

This is where the levy failed or was overtopped to destroy the lower 9th ward.

 

If you look close in this photo you will see the very top of a new home.

 

More pictures coming.

[spaceace12]

Being up at 5:30am gets some good sun rise shots.

 

This is where we took showers, the shower head was about my neck level.

 

Other homes in the area I worked.

 

This was a common scene. A nice renovated home next to a abondoned or gutted home.

 

This was a home behind the home where I worked. You can barely see the search mark on the roof above the attic.

 

While doing something off site we passed these. These are the Florida Ave. Projects. They built these to replace some rundown projects for low income housing. They opened 3 months before Katrina. This is how they have sat since then.

 

 

Another couple sunrise shots.

 

This was the chef for the organization. He was awesome, he worked for Carnival cruise lines

 

The chefette

 

The whole group of 42 people working that week.

 

Hey, it's Ponch.

 

Our group plus some more.

 

Ms. Helen and her home.

 

Ms. Bundy's home.

 

Inside the home next to the one I worked on.

 

I got more coming. Need a post break.

[spaceace12]

The first day down there, I made a comment about this home. It looked like was about to fall down. The second day of work, on the way there, we heard banging. A group of workers literally was taking the siding off and fixing it. By the end of the week, they had sheathed the side and back side and wrapped part of it.

 

This is the home that isn't even empty.

 

The last night in the town, some of us went into French Quarter to eat. I of course took some shots.

 

 

 

I had catfish, it was really, really, really good.

 

Beignets....really good.

 

 

I loved the French Quarter, all the architecture, live music, open air cafe's, and just the French Quarter.

 

Me in front of CAfe Du Monde.....my camera sucks at dark.

 

St. Louis Catherderal.

 

Church we stayed at.

 

And a few homes aroudn it.

 

 

On the way home, over Lake Ponchitrain

 

One more to go....

[spaceace12]

Last post, not as long picture wise.....These are homes that Samaritans Purse has redone.

 

Montanna Home

 

This home has no owner. SP bought it off the city. They will put a home owner in it at some point.

 

This isn't an SP home, but I liked it. It is a modular style home brought in in 4 sections.

 

Another home with no owner. Part of my group worked on this home at one point.

 

 

This is the home of a founding member of Franklin Ave. Baptist Church. When she returned to New Orleans, she was in the church so much the joke is that she wore out her key.

 

Seen this somewhere on the way home.

 

I did not use all my photos, so here is a link to them all.

http://s25.photobucket.com/albums/c71/spaceace12/new%20orleans%201/

[spaceace12]

About two days into my trip I had already decided that I was not done coming down. I plan on coming back in the spring with the church again. Once you go into New Orleans, it gets to you......Well, the spring, winter and fall are fine, summer with 100% humidity and really hot temps are what I wouldn't like.

 

I really can't wait to go back....plus my camera had some dust on the sensor so some of my pictures were messed up to my standards.

[TheRapidsNerd]

These were some neat pictures to see and hats off to you all for the volunteer work.

 

Sorry the timing didn't work out on getting together, but we'll definitely figure out a way. Slim possibility of St. Louis next year.

 

Anyway, glad to see the humanitarian efforts and a couple of those solar houses were cool, especially in design.

 

Thanks for posting this stuff and glad it was a rewarding trip.

[astroworldfan1]

Was the badly damaged side of the Twin Span being torn down when you were there?

 

There isn't an original Twin Span anymore...

[spaceace12]

We didn't get there, I did read an article the new ones are four feet higher then the old ones.