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Home sweet home?

I returned home to New Orleans about 6 p.m. Saturday night to a vastly different city.

Repair trucks lined the roads. In my neighborhood, fallen limbs and leaves are piled up high in front of every house. I went to the grocery store to get some food for dinner, since I'd thrown away everything in my fridge prior to leaving because I expected the power to go out sometime during Gustav's rein. The cupboard was literally bare at the store. In the bread aisle, there were only six containers of English muffins (five, after I grabbed one).

There was no lettuce or onions. Only two sad looking containers of strawberries. I left the store with two cans of soup, two green bell peppers, the English muffins and a can of beans.

Since that didn't sound much like the homecoming feast I'd intended, I decided to grab some fast food. Wendy's was closed and McDonald's was only taking cash, which I didn't have. So, I came home and ate beans and corn, straight from the can.

I realize things could be much worse. Although Hurricane Gustav spared a lot of New Orleans, many neighborhoods are still without power. Baton Rouge - about 80 miles west of here on Interstate 10 - could be without power for another few weeks.

And the fun isn't over yet. All Saturday morning, I watched the Weather Channel. Tropical Storm Hanna is battering the east coast as we speak, and Hurricane Ike is on the way soon. I unloaded my car Saturday night, but I haven't dared to unpack. I want to make it as easy as possible to reload in a few days if I need to evacuate. Again.

Posted by Lara Richards at 9:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)