What little we know (updated 9/3)

UPDATE 9/3: Frank and Judy used some NOAA satellite photos on the Internet to locate Marty's house. The street there looks clean! It's possible he didn't even get any flooding, because once-flooded streets have mud swirls on them. Keep your fingers crossed!

In response to comments: Yes, Frank's been looking at charter rates online. If we can't have our cruising adventure in the Zombie Princess, we'll have it in some other boat! And for those who might be curious about Chloe's shoes and Marjie's shirt: We took a lovely break from life at the local shopping mall the other day. Chloe bought some baby blue Converse hightops covered with multicolored bubbles, and Marjie got a skull-and-crossbones t-shirt that says "It's all fun and games til someone loses an eye!" The skull has a patch, of course!

UPDATE 9/2: Well, there's not much good news today.

Rumor has it that most of the boats in our little marina sank. So it isn't looking good for the Princess. We'll post specifics as we hear them. For those who've been wondering, yes, we have insurance!

Looks like Chris is out of a job. Research positions are not a priority in New Orleans right now. She has a line on some temporary work that we hope will tide her over.

Chris' son Paul's place in Lakeview was totally flooded and he's lost all of his stuff. He will have work, I believe with his dad, and plans to move into Chris' place for the time being.

Bob heard from one of his tenants that at least one of his commercial buildings uptown has been vandalized. There's a restaurant on the ground floor and evidently some folks decided it might have food in it.

On the bright side, Bob is getting an advance from his insurance company, Gary is slowly getting his insurance and FEMA benefits lined up, and -- in one of those weird hurricane quirks -- the guy who works for Bob and Anita tending rescued cats survived the hurricane in his tent on their property in Lacombe (northshore), and not one of the ~200 cats was harmed, despite tarp-and-fencing accommodations.

Still no word on Marty's house.

UPDATE 9/1: Chris heard from a neighbor that her house is dry and essentially undamaged. Hurray! Lori was able to get back to the northshore and had a look at Judy's house. There are some problems there -- mud mostly, and their motor boat was lifted off its trailer -- but it looked like the floodwaters didn't rise as high as their living area, and the house is intact. No word yet on Marty's place or the Zombie Princess.

I've gotten a couple of calls from people who are really worried about us (meaning the Krewe). Don't be!! We are happy, healthy, hopeful and enjoying our Houston vacation. We've taken a hard look at the worst case and it's just not that scary. Disappointing and sad, sure, but only a matter of money and inconvenience, and only a delay in our cruising plans. Frank says it would take more than a hurricane to blow us off course. ;-)

Love to all!
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All members of the New Orleans Maier family are safe and well away from New Orleans.
Lori has heard that her place in Covington has some roof damage, plus her carport came down on top of her car. They haven't seen the damage firsthand.
Chris' place in River Ridge has the best chance of any to be high and dry. Marty's house should be fine, too. It is in Metairie, but not near the low areas of Metairie that you are hearing about on the news.
Judy and Gary's place in Slidell always floods in storms and is set up accordingly, with the living area starting on the second floor.
As for our boat, we know nothing. No news is good news, right?

NEW 8/31:
Cori's mom, brothers, and their families are fine.
Bob and Anita and Bob's folks are at a shelter south of Jackson. They aren't exactly comfortable, but they're safe.
Lori and Jerry's dad is safe in Florida. We're not sure where Joyce and Luther are, but their usual habit is to leave early, so we're confident they are fine.

We're getting pretty specific neighborhood-by-neighborhood coverage on a New Orleans affiliate (wwltv.com, I think), and we haven't seen anything that causes us specific alarm regarding any of the Maier homes. Damage is likely, but we have high hopes that we've avoided destruction.

Officials are asking people to stay away for several days or more, so we're resolved to enjoy our little enforced vacation. I spent today sleeping and swimming in the pool. Judy and Chris went shopping. Frank, Marty, and Gary watched movies and news reports. Marjie and Chloe swam, swam, and swam some more. Oh, and they jumped on the trampoline. Life is good.

Thanks for all the kind thoughts in the comments! We love seeing them!

KreweQueen Ronnie