Posted By: Dave H
New Orelans regional - wrap up - 06/13/08 04:15 AM
This past Saturday was the New Orleans regional event. I will leave some of the lighthousing portion to others, but I wanted to share the regional from my perspective.
After gathering by the hotel pool at 0830 we were off to our first stop – the Port Pontchartrain Light (sometimes called the Milneburg Light by locals). While this light is in plain sight it is easy to miss as it is tucked between two office buildings. Fortunately, my contact with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation had made contact with one of their volunteers who also happens to work at the University of New Orleans. They had told the rent-a-cops that we would be visiting that morning and had allowed us to park next to one of their lots. (I’ll tell you about our adventure with the office building rent-a-cop later.)
Arriving at the light we were met by my contact, Anne Rheams (Deputy Director of the LPBF) and one of their volunteers, Sharon White.
After a little introduction and sharing of information we took our pictures and headed for the next stop. Not much to photograph as we were not supposed to walk out on the ground around the light.
Next stop was by Bayou St. John where there were remnants of an old fort. Anne told us that the first light in NO was in this area and also the significance of the Bayou and the flooding from Katrina. The flood gates will hopefully help in the future.
In this area you could still see homes that were marked with the infamous “X” notation from rescue searchers. There were also a large number of homes being worked on as well as ones that appeared to be abandoned. A great diversity of homes from very modest ones up to McMansions.
After gathering by the hotel pool at 0830 we were off to our first stop – the Port Pontchartrain Light (sometimes called the Milneburg Light by locals). While this light is in plain sight it is easy to miss as it is tucked between two office buildings. Fortunately, my contact with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation had made contact with one of their volunteers who also happens to work at the University of New Orleans. They had told the rent-a-cops that we would be visiting that morning and had allowed us to park next to one of their lots. (I’ll tell you about our adventure with the office building rent-a-cop later.)
Arriving at the light we were met by my contact, Anne Rheams (Deputy Director of the LPBF) and one of their volunteers, Sharon White.
After a little introduction and sharing of information we took our pictures and headed for the next stop. Not much to photograph as we were not supposed to walk out on the ground around the light.
Next stop was by Bayou St. John where there were remnants of an old fort. Anne told us that the first light in NO was in this area and also the significance of the Bayou and the flooding from Katrina. The flood gates will hopefully help in the future.
In this area you could still see homes that were marked with the infamous “X” notation from rescue searchers. There were also a large number of homes being worked on as well as ones that appeared to be abandoned. A great diversity of homes from very modest ones up to McMansions.