Aside for being awakened by a cat fight outside at around 3:30am, I had a good night's sleep and, as usual, got online first thing in the morning to check the weather. That low pressure
system was heading toward the panhandle, so I decided to keep moving west. The next stop on the agenda was New Orleans, where I lived for four years in the mid-'80s. By the time I got to the airport, the clear skies had already turned to broken and almost overcast, which was earlier than the forecast. There was quite a crosswind for my departure, but that translated into a nice 35 knot tailwind at times. Once I got to Mississippi, there were just a few clouds here and there and smooth air. I was headed for New Orleans' Lakefront Airport, which has still not fully recovered from the damage it suffered from Hurricane Katrina. Just last month, the control tower had
reopened, but there is still quite a bit of reconstruction to be completed. Fortunately, the services I needed such as fuel, rental car tie-down, and fresh-baked cookies upon arrival were available. As I've become accustomed to, my rental car was driven up to the plane, so I could load up my luggage and be on my way in short order. I hadn't been to New Orleans since before "the storm" and was curious to see how the recovery was going. Between the airport and downtown, there were many abandoned houses, overgrown with various types of plant life, but at the same time, there
were lots of "now open" signs on the businesses along the way. I mainly confined my drive to the French Quarter, the central business district, and uptown, so I did not see the hardest hit areas, which I'm told are still devastated except for a few pioneers here and there. In the areas I drove through, aside from the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line still not operating (expected to re-open later this fall), there was little evidence of the storm. The homes along St. Charles and in the Garden District were as stately as ever, Tulane University was bustling with activity and sporting a new university center building, the
Camelia Grill recently re-opened, and the French Quarter was alive and well, although the number of tourists seemed a bit low. I had dinner in a revitalized area on Magazine Street and, of course, headed to the Cafe
du Monde for
beignets before a little bar-hopping in the Quarter and taking a go-cup between stops. So, I can personally attest that New Orleans is alive and well and is certainly "now open", so if you've never been or haven't been there in a while, plan a visit and help the recovery. Now back to my trip... there is some weather headed this direction, scheduled to make landfall Saturday morning, so it looks like I'll continue west tomorrow, possibly stopping in Houston or go a little farther to Austin. Today's flight totals: 1.4 hours, 194 miles, one state. Trip totals: 30.1 hours, 3482 miles, 19 states.
system was heading toward the panhandle, so I decided to keep moving west. The next stop on the agenda was New Orleans, where I lived for four years in the mid-'80s. By the time I got to the airport, the clear skies had already turned to broken and almost overcast, which was earlier than the forecast. There was quite a crosswind for my departure, but that translated into a nice 35 knot tailwind at times. Once I got to Mississippi, there were just a few clouds here and there and smooth air. I was headed for New Orleans' Lakefront Airport, which has still not fully recovered from the damage it suffered from Hurricane Katrina. Just last month, the control tower had 
reopened, but there is still quite a bit of reconstruction to be completed. Fortunately, the services I needed such as fuel, rental car tie-down, and fresh-baked cookies upon arrival were available. As I've become accustomed to, my rental car was driven up to the plane, so I could load up my luggage and be on my way in short order. I hadn't been to New Orleans since before "the storm" and was curious to see how the recovery was going. Between the airport and downtown, there were many abandoned houses, overgrown with various types of plant life, but at the same time, there
were lots of "now open" signs on the businesses along the way. I mainly confined my drive to the French Quarter, the central business district, and uptown, so I did not see the hardest hit areas, which I'm told are still devastated except for a few pioneers here and there. In the areas I drove through, aside from the St. Charles Avenue streetcar line still not operating (expected to re-open later this fall), there was little evidence of the storm. The homes along St. Charles and in the Garden District were as stately as ever, Tulane University was bustling with activity and sporting a new university center building, the 
Camelia Grill recently re-opened, and the French Quarter was alive and well, although the number of tourists seemed a bit low. I had dinner in a revitalized area on Magazine Street and, of course, headed to the Cafe du Monde for beignets before a little bar-hopping in the Quarter and taking a go-cup between stops. So, I can personally attest that New Orleans is alive and well and is certainly "now open", so if you've never been or haven't been there in a while, plan a visit and help the recovery. Now back to my trip... there is some weather headed this direction, scheduled to make landfall Saturday morning, so it looks like I'll continue west tomorrow, possibly stopping in Houston or go a little farther to Austin. Today's flight totals: 1.4 hours, 194 miles, one state. Trip totals: 30.1 hours, 3482 miles, 19 states.
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