Photo Journal - Hurricane Katrina Damage Report in Mandeville and Slidell, LA

September 15, 2005, 18 days after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, John and I took a photographic tour of Mandeville and Slidell, LA, approximately 1.5 hours east of Baton Rouge, just north of New Orleans on Lake Ponchartrain. We went to photographically document the damage at:

1. Colbert Cove, Mandeville, where Michele's Mom has a cottage on a marina on the North Shore of Lake Ponchartrain
2. Mandeville, homes and businesses along the lakefront.
3. Pine Villa, Slidell, the home and neighborhood where Michele was raised from age 7-18
4. Salt Bayou Road, Slidell, and Salt Bayou, a fishing village near Pine Villa on the north-east shore of Lake Ponchartrain.
5. Treasure Isle, Slidell (portrayed here), where Michele's Mom and Dad had designed and built a "hurricane proof" brick home on Lake Ponchartrain, and had lived there from 1968-1974 before moving to Cape Coral, Florida.
6. Scott's House, in Pearl River, on the outskirts of Slidell. (Scott Tilley is Michele's nephew)
7. Patches, our little refugee dog (insert above).

1. Waveland, MS, our friends Mary and Arman, evacuees now staying in Baton Rouge, had just remodeled their home about 3 blocks off the beach. They went back 2 weeks later to inspect, and found that there was nothing left of their entire town, much less their lifetime accumulation of professional records and personal possessions. Read Mary's personal account of the experience here. a truly inspiring story of two people finding humor and counting blessings even in the midst of absolute chaos.