Hi everyone! This is our last blog from good old Bay St Louis! Our last day here began with a very simple yet delicious breakfast consisting of fruits, danishes, and cereal. Soon after we had all eaten as much as our stomachs could handle, all of us applied loads of sunblock to prepare to head out to New Orleans. We all piled into Humperdink, our fifteen passenger van (dinky for short), for an hour car ride, not really sure what to expect when we got there. In order to get there, we crossed over Lake Pontchartrain by means of a bridge which was completely destroyed after Katrina. Upon entering New Orleans, or as they say in the south N'awlins, we began to see all of the destruction that took place four years ago. All of the houses had been almost completely submerged in water when the levys broke; some were left with water lines and many had Xs painted on their exteriors. These Xs were used by the National Guard during the storm search. They would show how many people, if any, were found within the house, how many pets were found, or what sector of the National Guard had searched it. On the other hand, upon driving into the garden district, we saw multiple big, beautiful houses (we may have even seen where Anne Rice supposedly lives). Seeing the Garden District made it seem like we were in a completely different place than the houses that we had seen before.
After driving around sightseeing and experiencing Mrs Donnelly's superb driving abilities (Ms Tyrell you know what we're talking about!), we made our way over to the French Quarters to begin our day of shopping. After parking the van, we walked along the Mississippi River in order to go into the city. Our first stop was the St. Louis Cathedral, which is absolutely breathtaking. We walked through the church and took multiple pictures before saying a few prayers as a group. We left the cathedral and walked along the edge of Jackson Square, where local artists display their artwork for others to see and purchase. The artwork ranged from paintings to prints and from flowers to portraits of cartoon-like cats and dogs. It was truly amazing work. Having worked up an appetite, we decided to grab lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. The whole restaurant was decorated as if we had walked into a tropical paradise. We sat up on the balcony and enjoyed our nachos and Cheeseburgers in Paradise. After lunch, we crossed the street to the French Market. The French Market is almost like a flea market with vendors selling everything from harmonicas to t-shirts to Mardi Gras masks. We spent almost four hours browsing through all of the merchandise. Most of us bought bags, Mardi Gras masks, and jewelry along with presents for y'all back home. Tired and somewhat hungry, we walked down the street to Cafe Du Monde, a large outdoor cafe that only serves coffee and beignets. We enjoyed our tasty treats and finally started our journey to the car. On the way, we saw a huge steamboat on the Mississippi River as it was about to depart from its dock. We got to the van and piled in for the ride home. The ride wasn't exactly quiet, but it was peaceful enough, if you consider it peaceful to hear thirteen highschool girls singing along to "Amazed" by Lonestar. Now everyone is sitting in the cafeteria playing games and chowing down on brownies, gold fish, and much more. The perfect way to spend our last night at Lagniappe!
It's almost scary to think that we're all leaving tomorrow! Going back to Scranton is bittersweet. It's not that we don't love y'all, but we've grown to love this place and all the people here. As a group, we've become somewhat of a family, although a bit disfunctional. It's going to be a big change going from somewhere where we think 85 degrees is cool to a place where that is extremely hot; going from listening to people singing in the shower and waking up to fifteen different faces everyday and to Mrs Donnelly calling us her little chickens to sleeping in and not having to hold a chain while showering; going from being constantly questioned about where we're from and what we're doing to angry drivers honking at you on the Casey Highway; and going from not having a cell phone or ipod to having every appliance known to man at our fingertips! Although it may sound like coming home is a bad thing or a disappointment to us, it's not that at all! We love all of you and can't wait to see you again, and every day we would rush to the "blog machine" to see who made a comment, but the thing is, the Bay has become part of us and in return we are part of it. Hopefully, someday, we can all return to Bay St. Louis, whether it be to volunteer or to just check up on everyone that we have met along our journeys here this past week.
For our last day, we are planning on attending mass at what is supposed to be the best Catholic church in the area, and we are hoping to get some breakfast at the waffle house. After that, we're heading to downtown Bay St Louis for the last time to do some last minute shopping. We also have to find time to make a sign which we will leave at Lagniappe, and, around three o'clock, we will arive at the airport in Gulf Port and say good-bye to our beloved Humperdink. We will then be on our way home! =) Until then......
Good-bye! We love you all and we can't wait to see you!
This beautiful and heartfelt message was composed by Katie and Samarah, with a little help from Steph! =] A special shoutout to all our families! We miss you all dearly and we cannot wait to see you! Hope you don't mind us saying y'all all the time after we get home. After hearing it for eight days, it catches on!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Pictures Last Day
Friday, July 17, 2009
Last Day of Work!
Greetings and salutations from your favorite Mississippi girls! It's hard to believe today was our last day of work. This week flew by without any of us realizing it! After all our staple gun wounds, broken legs from falling off scaffolding, and nails in the head, we really are proud that we made it through the week. Today we moved back over to Creekside where we began the week. Our main priority was to prep the site for the team that will be coming this following Monday. We took a break from the painting, caulking, and varnishing, and went back to hand cramping, sweat building, sun burning hammering of nails into wood. We got so much done and really worked hard; our burn lines can prove it.
At four, we got to experience the dedication of the house that was built that week. It was presented to the Dardar family who were more than appreciative. It is something that neither Mrs. Donnelly nor Ms. Loyden ever got to see, so it really moved us all. Every volunteer signed a bible that was given to them. We took pictures in front of the house with them and the construction workers whom we have come to love more and more every day. Precious Julip (one of the many puppies we have encountered and wanted to steal) did not get to appear in the photo shoot.
We all went back to the bunk house and vegged out for quite some time until.......SOOONNNIIICCC!!!!!! Yes it is true, the commercials are not fake, it was amazing! It could have tasted so good because of our ravenous stomachs that have been so deprived of such deliciousness for a week.
We are looking forward to a fun trip to New Orleans tomorrow!
Thiss is Ellen and Anne signing off- Stay classy Scranton! (shoutout to the Fitzetti crews!)
At four, we got to experience the dedication of the house that was built that week. It was presented to the Dardar family who were more than appreciative. It is something that neither Mrs. Donnelly nor Ms. Loyden ever got to see, so it really moved us all. Every volunteer signed a bible that was given to them. We took pictures in front of the house with them and the construction workers whom we have come to love more and more every day. Precious Julip (one of the many puppies we have encountered and wanted to steal) did not get to appear in the photo shoot.
We all went back to the bunk house and vegged out for quite some time until.......SOOONNNIIICCC!!!!!! Yes it is true, the commercials are not fake, it was amazing! It could have tasted so good because of our ravenous stomachs that have been so deprived of such deliciousness for a week.
We are looking forward to a fun trip to New Orleans tomorrow!
Thiss is Ellen and Anne signing off- Stay classy Scranton! (shoutout to the Fitzetti crews!)
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Say My Name (obviously Julia's favorite song)
Heyyy y'alllll from PENNNNNSYLVANIAAAAAA !!!!!!!!! Today was our fourth day going to work. In the wee hours of the early morning all of us, "Krazy Katz," were dragged out from our cots. It was a rough morning, everyone was tired from a wild night out ;) ... we just went to eat at Shaggy's. After breakfast all of us piled in the van to go to the worksite. At the worksite, we were all split up... and I cried. Six of us including Ellen, Ms. Loyden, Julia, Vivi, Abigail, and Cara stayed at the original site called "Sycamore St." The rest of the girls followed Ryan, who had his hair done in frenchbraids by Anne and Vivi, to "Forrest St." They were split into two groups. Steph, Gabby, and Kristiana went to paint doors and walls, while Sam, Mrs. Donnelly, Katie, Marie, Anne, and Erin varnished cabinets. The day moved so quickly that many could not believe it was already lunch. More of the same continued after lunch and finally we were finished and were able to rest our tired feet. Before dinner Vivi, Cara, and Julia did the "Big Six" (ab workout) instead of running. To our embarassment, the three of us did this workout in front of most Chicago kids leaving the bathroom. A cafeteria worker told Ms. Loyden that we all eat an awful lot, yet at dinner, another cafeteria worker tried to force us to eat tons of meatloaf. Now we are off to the Mocking Bird Cafe to hear some live local music and drink some delicious frozen beverages.
A special shoutout to Kristiana's and Julia's families. We love and miss you soo much!!!
Pictures soon to come! (:
A special shoutout to Kristiana's and Julia's families. We love and miss you soo much!!!
Pictures soon to come! (:
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Go Coast or Go Home!
Greetings from the "blog machine"!
Today we experimented with heights. We took turns bungie jumping off the roof, most of us had harnesses, don't worry. We got into a nail gun fight, which, to our surprise, was not as fun as a water gun fight. And, Mrs. Donnelly and Ms. Loyden met some new friends at a bar, I guess it was 5:00 somewhere.
JUST KIDDING!!!!!
This is what really happened today.
Getting up this morning was quite difficult (Maybe because of our late night chat, about grade school drama). We headed off to our third day on the work site and joined the Habitat for Humanity crew that we've been spending a lot of time with this week. Our two head contractors are Ryan (who looks like Owen Wilson) and Steven who patiently guide us and answer all of our questions no matter how annoying we get. Today was the toughest day so far, we think everyone's exhaustion is starting to hit them (Marie fell asleep in one of the chairs on the site). We did a large amount of painting and a lot of tedious cut ins. Gabby, Stephanie, Abby, and Cara spent a good amount on the roof covering the shakers with primer. Power tools were used today often, after being well-trained and supervised. After returning home after our hard day, most of the girls relaxed, but Julia did manage to get Cara and Vivi to run with her. Everyone showered and cleaned themselves up for our night out on the town. We ate dinner at a place called Shaggy's, outside on high deck, which overlooked the piers. It was so nice to watch the sunset over the Gulf. We enjoyed Po-Boys, Gumbo, and Nachos (we were very hungry). When we were finished with our meals we went out on the piers and had a photoshoot. Many locals were fishing and a young boy caught an eel. We were surprised when all the sudden he quickly chopped his head off right in front of our eyes (apparently, it was shark bait). We are back at Lagniappe now and everyone is relaxing and getting ready for bed. We miss everyone back home, we will see you soon!
A special hello to the Jones and Notarianni families! This blog was written by Gabby and Cara.
Today we experimented with heights. We took turns bungie jumping off the roof, most of us had harnesses, don't worry. We got into a nail gun fight, which, to our surprise, was not as fun as a water gun fight. And, Mrs. Donnelly and Ms. Loyden met some new friends at a bar, I guess it was 5:00 somewhere.
JUST KIDDING!!!!!
This is what really happened today.
Getting up this morning was quite difficult (Maybe because of our late night chat, about grade school drama). We headed off to our third day on the work site and joined the Habitat for Humanity crew that we've been spending a lot of time with this week. Our two head contractors are Ryan (who looks like Owen Wilson) and Steven who patiently guide us and answer all of our questions no matter how annoying we get. Today was the toughest day so far, we think everyone's exhaustion is starting to hit them (Marie fell asleep in one of the chairs on the site). We did a large amount of painting and a lot of tedious cut ins. Gabby, Stephanie, Abby, and Cara spent a good amount on the roof covering the shakers with primer. Power tools were used today often, after being well-trained and supervised. After returning home after our hard day, most of the girls relaxed, but Julia did manage to get Cara and Vivi to run with her. Everyone showered and cleaned themselves up for our night out on the town. We ate dinner at a place called Shaggy's, outside on high deck, which overlooked the piers. It was so nice to watch the sunset over the Gulf. We enjoyed Po-Boys, Gumbo, and Nachos (we were very hungry). When we were finished with our meals we went out on the piers and had a photoshoot. Many locals were fishing and a young boy caught an eel. We were surprised when all the sudden he quickly chopped his head off right in front of our eyes (apparently, it was shark bait). We are back at Lagniappe now and everyone is relaxing and getting ready for bed. We miss everyone back home, we will see you soon!
A special hello to the Jones and Notarianni families! This blog was written by Gabby and Cara.
Pictures Day 3
Getting instructions for the day from Ryan
Twin Day
Look Mom, no hands!!
Working hard in the Mississippi heat
Break time
Annie installed all the door knobs!
More caulking
Miter saw
Erin spent the whole day painting the front of the house
On the pier after dinner
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Day 2 Pictures
Our living quarters...
Lots of Painting!!
Our View from the Front Door
And Caulking!
Dance Party!
Today's Worksite
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