Wednesday, March 29, 2006

This morning we rescued a toad.  It was trying unsuccessfully to climb up
the bulkhead and get out of the water.  We used the net we brought in case
Rosie or Cinder go into the water.  It worked fine for the toad.  We hope we
never have to use it for a cat rescue.

Today we stayed at the dock to organize a bit more and stretch our legs off
the boat. We could see that the damage from Hurricane Rita was extensive.
The little grocery store that was here is a pile of scrap wood. The hardware
store is gutted.  Big shrimp boats rest on land at precarious angles.

We met a man who is rebuilding his home high atop pilings that are sunk deep
into the ground.  A bulldozer was creating a hill of dirt between the house
and the ground.

The man said that he and his family evacuated upriver by boat.  He got one
of his cats onboard, but the other disappeared before he could take it.

He said the water rose 10 feet in one hour.  After the hurricane passed, he
returned by boat and showed us pictures he had taken of water up to the
rooftops.  When they went to his house, they found the missing cat yowling
at the top of her lungs and hanging onto the bricks of the wall of the house
just under the carport ceiling.

The house was standing, but the inside was destroyed.

The man said he has been here since 1929 and he was not going to let a
hurricane run him off..

The man with the sailboat was talking to one of the workers here who noticed
the sailboat dog and mentioned he was looking for an energetic dog for his
kids.

Now the dog has a family and the man is sailing alone.

Tomorrow, we will attempt a long day to Morgan City.  We have been without
cell phone and Internet service for nearly three days.