New Orleans

After witnessing the desolation left by Katrina in Gulfport, the shocker in New Orleans was that the flood waters here seemed to have subsided only days ago. Desolation follows devastation on the path to storm recovery, wrecking balls and debris haulers clearing the way for rebuilding. But in New Orleans' ravaged neighborhoods destroyed houses still teeter and makeshift stop signs guide drivers through intersections where traffic lights remain defunct. The hole in the roof of the Superdome still gapes sickly. Folks at the campsite adjacent to mine north of Lake Pontchartrain evacuated to the state park for the hurricane and live there still, having lost their home and its contents. Yet contractors from Tennessee can't seem to get any work. They'd hoped to do every sixth job pro bono, but they haven't had the chance in the two months they've been in town. Mayoral campaign billboards vaguely champion rebuilding, but my sense is that no one really knows where to start.

But the bon temps still roll in the French Quarter. After beignets and café au lait at Café du Monde, Moxie & I took a mule-drawn carriage tour of the neighborhood. Then we took in more scenes on foot and savored lunch and live jazz at an outdoor restaurant.