Gustaving it up

Whew-ee, what a day! I'm still here in New Orleans, waiting out the storm in Algiers Point. I debated with myself all yesterday and today, but I decided not to evacuate. Andrew has to stay to report on the storm for the paper, and I just can't imagine taking off and not being here when he finally gets to come home, whenever that may be. He took off around 3 in the afternoon today and headed to the Plaquemines Parish emergency op center in Belle Chasse. Normally it's only a 15 minute drive or so, and on the same side of the river, but everbody's almost positive that it's going to flood by the end of this. So I guess he'll be home when the water goes down, unless we get lucky and the storm surge stays low.

Here's a picture of my poor boarded up house! No porch swing, no plants, no windows. So depressing! But I feel pretty well bolted in at the moment. After Andrew left I sat on the porch for a while and chatted with the strange procession of passersby. My next door neighbor is this great ex-bouncer named Todd, who has a gun just in case (and knows how to use it). Down a few doors the other direction is an LSU cop who's staying. Three NOPD officers were using the house across the street as a rest house, so they hung out and chatted while they waited to go to work. They also promised to swing by a few times tonight, which was greatly appreciated.

It's a pretty strange sight on the street. The neighborhood feels like a ghost town, and the national guard has a humvee and a couple of armed troops on foot patrolling the streets. As strange as it is to see them rolling around, it is comforting. This afternoon, they stopped and asked me how to get to the coffee shop. They also promised to keep an eye on our street (being a little blonde girl with boobs really comes in handy sometimes).

I had dinner at Skip and Maria's--DELICIOUS beer can chicken and rice. If you haven't heard of beer can chicken, google it or holler and I'll rave about it. Best thing ever! We sat on the porch and watched the first squall roll in, and I decided it was time to head home. Unfortunately, just as I was walking out the door, the national guard rolled by and made sure we remembered the curfew (can't be out after dark or they throw you in Angola--seriously), so I waited until they moved a few blocks down and then took off. Not the smartest idea--I think they saw my headlights and I ended up having to race them home. I seriously felt like I was running from the cops. At one point I had to hide and turn off my engine! Crazy.

But the good news is that the storm isn't looking as bad as they though. It's also moving quickly, which means that will hopefully get over us quickly. But we're in for quite a bit of rain and wind, which means that the power will probably go out at some point. I'll try to post tomorrow, and until then, nighty night!