Tomorrow morning (wake up is at 5am) we are leaving New Orleans and heading out on an 81 mile ride to Baton Rouge LA. It is sad to leave here, but I'm excited to get back on the saddle.
New Orleans has made a huge impression on most of our group, people keep saying they would love to live here and I agree. We had some issues when we first arrived since our host didn't have a kitchen or air conditioning and was in an area of town that a lot of the group felt uncomfortable staying. We ended up moving to a house run by the organization we were building with, and then after they couldn't host us anymore we moved to someone's home.
The house we are staying in was built in the mid to late 1800s and has all the original stain glass windows - its beautiful. More importantly, the people we are staying with are amazingly generous and nice (seriously, who lets 33 young adults stay in their home for 4 nights?). They even made us an awesome dinner tonight. They love this city so much, and they want to help anyone who comes here to help the city the love.
New Orleans still needs so much help. There are still so many abandoned houses, and you can tell that its just a fraction of the city it once was. Biking in and seeing all the empty foundations and demolished neighborhoods was definately an eye opener. The city has improved a lot since Katrina struck in 2005, but it still has a long way to go.
All the people we've met are so strong and willing to help us. I think, like John and Elaine (the couple letting us stay in their house), that most people from New Orleans have so much pride and love for this city that they will do anything for people who are here to help.
Aside from building during the day, I've spent my time seeing the sites of the city. The night we arrived a good portion of the group went out to Bourbon Street - that was an experience. Then on our day off we walked around the French Quarter and looked in the shops and ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde. I also saw three nights of live music. We went to Snug Harbor and saw a singer named Charmaine with a jazz band - which was excellent. Then I saw Passion Pit (as I already mentioned in the last entry). Last but not least I saw Kermit Ruffins and his jazz band on Thursday night. Kermit Rufins is an amazing trumpet player who also plays himself on the HBO show Treme.
Needless to say I had an amazing and eye opening experience here. I'm excited to continue with the journey, but leaving New Orleans definitely feels like crossing a major milestone.
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So jealous of the beignets! I remember going there and to Snug Harbor (with Heather too) on our youth choir tour there our senior year.
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