Sippi Lovin'

We departed from Hattiesburg, MS early Friday morning and traveled due south to Gulfport & Biloxi, MS where we basked in the sun along the Gulf of Mexico & toured the wreckage leftover from Hurricane Katrina. Michelle is pictured above sifting through treasures washed up along the beach.


From Gulfport, we took I-10 to New Orleans, stopping briefly in Slidell, LA for dinner at the Southside Cafe. The special that night was fresh catfish (breaded & fried to a golden brown), a leafy house salad, and New Orleans Creole-style "red" jambalaya...tasty! Hotels were difficult to come by due to the damage inflicted by Hurricane Katrina, but we happened across a Days Inn on the outskirts of New Orleans and spent the night there. Saturday morning, we got up, ate breakfast, & drove the rest of the way to the French Quarter. Once there, we walked the streets, shopped, and watched the barges come and go on the river. The photo above was taken along Royal Street in the French Quarter. Lunch was served at the Please U Cafe in downtown New Orleans and the gyros received high marks all around. Our last stop before embarking on the two-hour trip home was along Lake Pontchartrain, where the hurricane-protection levees (built to protect against only a Category 3 hurricane) failed to effectively gaurd against Katrina's wrath.