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May 4, 2006
Steffan and I spent today in New Orleans itself. We began the day at Musicians' Village, on North Roman Street. It's a huge site, and many Habitat houses and even more foundations are already under way there. Texas Roadhouse is sponsoring several of the houses, and volunteers from area restaurants were all over the site, along with a group of volunteers from a church in North Carolina and dozens of individuals from all over the city and the country.
As that site broke for lunch, Steffan and I went to get lunch ourselves. We drove back toward the French Quarter, which is one of the few places you are guaranteed to find places operating. As we got closer to the Quarter, a big rain storm rolled in. It poured on us as we ran from the truck into the French Market. It was, for me, reminiscent of my first visit to New Orleans--one spring break with friends--when it rained nonstop the entire week we were there. Steffan and I found the closest little cafe with an open table, and it was lovely to sit and eat shrimp creole and red beans and rice, relaxing and listening to live music on the covered patio.After lunch (and after the rain eased off), we headed to a couple of other New Orleans build sites. On Mandeville, two houses are down to finish work inside. The look great! They're based off of a very traditional New Orleans design and are really attractive additions to their neighborhood.
At the Mandeville site, I had the chance to talk to Jeff Schwartz, an AmeriCorps member with the New Orleans Habitat affiliate. After Katrina, he and other New Orleans AmeriCorps members had evacuated to Americus, Ga., where Habitat is headquartered. Jeff had given me and another of our photographers a guided tour through New Orleans back in October. It was great to see him and good to know the AmeriCorps group was doing well, though they have faced enormous obstacles during their term of service.
Our last stop of the day was the first Habitat house finished in New Orleans since Katrina. It stands on Delachaise Street. It's beautiful--a bit of hope for a family and an entire city.