New Orleans, here we come ...

Or so we thought. This year, our cruising plan was to spend the winter in SW Florida, then slowly head north to the Panhandle and get to New Orleans by April. We would miss Mardi Gras and the Jazz Festival, but nevertheless we'd be docked at a city we always wanted to visit.

At least that was the plan. All that vanish when our trusty generator went kaput in St Petersburg. And what great timing - right in the middle of a blues festival, and with friends on board. Guess all good things must come to an end some time. We search  frantically for a marina. There weren't many to choose from, as most have been bought out by developers and they have them turned into dockaminiums. We were lucky to find a space at Tierra Verde Resort and Marina, a hurricane hole, we were told. We totally agree, having survived Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma! As it turns out, St Petersburg is an excellent place to spend the hurricane season. We have relatives and friends nearby, and our car was stored at a relative's place! The marina is a mere ten minutes from Fort DeSoto Park, which by the way, was voted to be America's number 1 beach this year.

One way or another, we were determined to visit New Orleans. So we have this road trip planned for September.  We were supposed to be in Biloxi on Wednesday; Katrina hit on Monday. Needless to say, we were quite  disappointed but very glad not to be caught in the horrible situation that unfolded. Our thoughts are with the people of New Orleans and we hope that they can rebuild their lives and their lovely city again. This is the second time we tried to see the Big Easy. Next year perhaps?

If you notice the resolution of the pictures, it's because we got a new camera! Yep, we're back taking pictures, 5 megapixels of it. Still, we have to shrink them when posting to the web. We upload via the cell phone and it is s l o o o w.