Today we saw the other New Orleans 7-1-2008

Well, today we came home but not before we learned about the real New Orleans.

After a very late evening last night of dancing and hounding Paul Caldwell for autographs and pictures, we came back to our hotel and packed and showered for an early rising. Luggage was in the lobby by 7:30 and we were off to breakfast at Little Dizzie's around the corner from our hotel. Janet Perkins discovered this little gem of a restaurant while attending a cooking class while the clan was at the flea market. We were all delighted that she finally grabbed a few hours to herself and especially because she found this restaurant. Her teacher/chef owns the restaurant and we had real grits and biscuits with eggs, bacon and fruit. Love the pictures of her and the two owners (Kevin is the 6'7 one!)

After good eats, we departed our hotel with a "coach" and Barbara, our creole tour guide. (Creole means you are born in New Orleans.) For 2 plus hours we toured the ninth ward, the musicians' alley and St Charles Street to have a better understanding of what Katrina truly did to the city and its outskirts. And we really learned how much more there is to do. It is so much more complicated than just rebuilding homes which is happening, yet at a very slow rate. Many of the homeowners whose families have lived in their homes for years can't prove ownership because you just moved in with momma and when she passed on you got the house and so on for generations. This sort of thing is posing a real issue when it comes time to prove ownership and get federal help! Also the services, such as food stores and drug stores, were wiped out in neighborhoods, and the people who live there can't buy food locally. So they have to travel and they may not have cars or the money for gas. The devastation is a problem that is far from over.
Barbara expressed her appreciation for our coming to New Orleans as it shows that we care enough to come visit the city as well as we contributed to the economy by just being there. We also as a choir raised over $2000 which was delivered to Habitat for Humanity to help with the building of houses. The people are so grateful for everything visitors and donors can do. We also saw a few teenage groups working to help rebuild houses. I think the girls and all of us adults really had our eyes opened and our awareness increased. It truly was a passionate tour and Barbara delivered her message well. She also impressed upon us how important New Orleans is to the United States for import and export reasons. Ask your touring daughter what she remembers and what messages she came home with.

We arrived at the airport and had ample time to grab lunch and relax before our easy plane trip, through which most of us slept like logs, and a fast bus ride home to our waiting families.

It was a great tour and I want to thank all of the choir members who made such incredible music with their voices. You make me cry you sound so beautiful. And you displayed such graciousness, cooperativeness, and enthusiasm throughout our 2008 New Orleans tour. My favorite parts on this tour were every time you sang impromptu for our tour guides, cooks, shop keepers and just when you felt like it, at the aquarium, in restaurants, on buses, and, lastly, as we pulled into PDS tonight and you sang "I need you (to survive)". Your singing always sends goosebumps up my spine. Keep your love of the music and the song. THANK YOU!

Thank you to Jan Westrick who directs the choir so perfectly time and time again. Despite an injury the first day she always showed concern for everyone else over herself and clearly has the girls best interest at heart.

Thank you to Serena who's accompaniment will be sorely missed next year but maybe not as much as she will personally be missed. We wish you the best of luck in your future adventure.

Thanks to Fred who, as our sole male representative this tour, helped keep us safe as the best traffic cop ever and also helped support our choir director.

Thanks to all of the moms who gave so selflessly of their time to chaperone this tour and make it possible. You kept perfect order yet did it with smiles on your faces throughout the tour. You allowed the girls to built confidence and spread their wings while still under your watchful eyes.
Also thanks to Melinda La Nasa whose great suggestions, helpful directions and leadership to and fro, and driving everything including shoes and pizzas and, occasionally, adults, made this tour possible at all!

And lastly, thank you to Janet Perkins, our unbeatable tour director who put it all together, helped keep it together, and, in the end, created an amazing cohesive group of 44 people. Every event we experienced made the tour that much richer, and we have seen so much thanks to your fabulous planning.

This is your newly hatched blogger and amateur photographer signing off.

Thanks for the memories.
Sandy Brown