New Orleans

My bro and I drove to New Orleans after he came out to Atlanta for Easter. My dad was taking a vacation there and Tyler has some friends there, so since it was my spring break, it all worked out perfectly. The drive was about 7 1/2 hours and absolutely gorgeous. Here are some pictures of some of the rebuilding going on after Katrina. I will also post more "touristy"pictures.

This is a foundation where the house got knocked off. This was in the 9th ward, the part where the levy broke and most of the major flooding occurred. There was a park commemorating the flood and poles that showed the raising of the water each hour. I think the highest got up to 10 feet.

Apparently Brad Pitt is funding a lot of the new homes being build there. It has become an architectural playground since people are just happy to get homes paid for them. Many of the styles are extremely modern and don't seem to fit in. The one pictured here is pretty mellow.

This was a picture captured at sunset of a boat on the water.

My brother's friend Melanie works at this wonderful charter school that has been given a lot because it was the first school to open after the flooding. Naturally I was interested because of my background in education and all of the research I have been doing in schools lately. This school has an amazing end of the day program where students have dozens of electives they can pick from. Some include African drums, baseball, and dance.

Alice Waters started the concept of an Edible School Yard and donated this to the school. Students learn about gardening and then use what is grown in the garden for the cooking class taken in the kitchen (pictured below) donated by Emerill. The school is also starting to offer classes to families relating to health and cooking.