GOING BACK TO NEW ORLEANS

GOING BACK TO NEW ORLEANS

The wife and I are going to New Orleans on Saturday – two days from now. It's a long, tough drive. Maybe 17 hours, give or take a couple, depending on how many breaks we take. We're stopping for the night about 700 miles into the trip. That's a good day's drive. Have a nice supper. Sleep the night. Start fresh the next morning.

We were there on vacation three years ago in June. A couple months before Katrina.

We loved the place then. Absolutely fell in love with it. We swore we would come back as soon as we could and enjoy the laissez les bon temps rouler – let the good times roll. The motto of New Orleans.

We're fulfilling that promise this year.

We're excited to be going and afraid at the same time. Excited to be going back to a place we grew to love in our short visit in '05 and afraid it won't be the same.

We watched the unbelievable television coverage of the devastation. We read many of the articles and stories about the storm and the terrible aftermath. We saw the horrifying pictures. Our heart went out to the Crescent City.

So now we're going to go see for ourselves.

Will the cafe au lait and the beignet's at Cafe du Mond be as tasty? Will the Hurricanes at Pat O's taste as sweet? Will the Dixieland jazz music sound as glorious to our ears?

Will the Big Easy still be there? Really?

I know from all the reports that the wounds will be still visible outside the Quarter. I know there will be absences and voids not filled, like lost teeth the tongue hasn't quite accepted as gone. I know that some of the magic of New Orleans will be gone.

I just hope some of it remains. At least a little.

We've got our fingers crossed.

We'll let you know what we saw when we return.