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Chattanooga, my new home

I left New Orleans Saturday night, my car packed full of all my most important belongings, but with some many of things I hold dear propped up throughout my apartment in Uptown New Orleans.

I left the city at around 10 p.m., hopeful that I'd be able to beat the evacuation traffic. The actual distance from downtown to Mississippi, which takes you across the infamous Lake Pontchartarain, is around 30 minutes. It took me three hours to make it about half way. I finally took what I would term a little farm-to-market road, if I was still in Texas. Yes, I was able to go a little faster, but then I ran into a draw bridge. No joke.

I made it to Hattiesburg, Miss., a 70-mile or so ride from New Orleans, in 6-1/2 hours. Luckily, though, traffic started thinning out as some folks headed west to Jackson, Miss., others headed north, and I headed northeast.

Aside from one small 30 minute nap at the Post Office in Fosters, Ala., around 9:30 a.m., I drove straight through to Chattanooga, Tenn. It took a grand total of 17 hours to travel the normal 7-1/2 hour drive to southern Tennessee.

I checked into my hotel and immediately turned on my computer and the TV. Right now, the Weather Channel is reporting that Gustav has actually weakened to a Category 3, but there's a chance it heads a little more easterly now, which would send the hurricane right up the Mississippi and, consequently, pouring into most of the city's neighborhoods.

I'm going to sleep now. It's been a long day. How long will I be in Chattanooga, only Gustav knows.

Posted by Lara Richards at 5:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)