A piece of Saturday

warning: this is a post about an extremely small community on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. It may be considered boring. LOL!!!
click on pictures for larger versions

We have our Saturday traditions: breakfast at Sunrise on Second Street (one of the few places in Slidell that make a decent breakfast), then the local farmers' market for good, fresh, inexpensive produce . After that it's up in the air.

Today was the day before Mothers' Day and we were scheduled to have a brunch with Hubby's Mother and sister in Metairie around noon. We had a couple of hours to kill and decided to wander on to the site where - just a few weeks ago - an Amtrak train derailed due to either misjudgement or pure stupidity.

Backstory: A driver hauling a flatbed carrying some tanks from the Textron facilty in Slidell misjudged the speed of an Amtrak train that runs this route every day and straddled his truck across the tracks while waiting for a red light to turn green.

The results are shown below.


This is the engine that was the lead engine on that day. It was covered at the behest of Amtrak officials.


The impact of the accident caused the metal on this car to curl back.






I took this photo to show the proximity of the second engine to the very busy Front Street in Slidell.
I certainly hope that the drive

We discovered that we woke up the security forces at Textron and decided to move on.

I remembered it as being "Train Day" in Slidell. Train Day was created to bring attention to the romance of travelling by rail. There was a tiny "to do" at the Slidell train station that we went to look into. A pretty nondescript place, we got our goodie bag and then proceeded on to walking a few miles around the park to walk off breakfast.

Our next stop was a small park situated on Bayou Bonfouca and the local Amtrak station.

Our exercise proved to be very interesting. Slidell mornings begin slowly and work their way into slow afternoons, which I like.


Carved by Slidell artist Phil Galatas this very cool frog was once a stump post Katrina


This bird makes sure that you keep out of the flower beds.


Another bird on the job


On Patrol








Magnolias are just beginning to bloom and I was frustrated that I didn't have a ladder with me to capture the beauty of their flowers.

Thanks for sharing a few hours of Saturday. Any suggestions, comments are always welcome. Hit the "comments" button, y'all!!! Let us know how we're doing!

St. Genevieve Church Update - May 2011

I've been trying to stay updated on the reconstruction of St. Genevieve Church on Bayou Liberty and I'm excited to post pictures showing the updated construction activity. I haven't travelled past the Church for a few months now due to repaving of Bayou Liberty Road, but I chose that route last Saturday knowing there would not be any construction and was excited to see the new Church taking shape.

First, an artists rendering of the new building.

What follows are the steel beams giving the structure its shape

And here lies the original steeple, painted and ready to once again rise to the heavens.

Saturday in Mamou

I can't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning than Mamou, Louisiana. This blog post has great pictures of the fun that happens there. Check it out!

Helping Tornado Victims

From The Daily Good (http://www.good.is/) 

Updated, Friday April 29, 1:23 pm EST: Like most every compassionate world citizen today, our thoughts are with those in the southern United States, which has been ravaged by devastating tornadoes. Here's a roundup of how you can help the thousands of families in need. We'll be updating this throughout the day, so check back for more donation opportunities as they come.

United Way of West Alabama: 2720 Sixth St. No. 100, between Lurleen Wallace Boulevard and Capitol Park, 205-345-6640. The United Way could use donations of nonperishable food items, clothes, tarps, and feminine hygiene products. You can also make cash donations, all of which will stay local, by credit card at www.uwwa.org.

Feeding America: Feeding America distributes food to local food banks providing meals to states hit by the tornadoes. Donate to them here.

St. Mark United Methodist Church: 1421 McFarland Blvd., Northport, Alabama, 205-339-5990. The church is currently serving as a shelter for the displaced, and you can send it nonperishable food and clothes. If you're in the area, they could also use volunteers with medical training.

Red Cross: The Red Cross has already set up temporary shelters across the damaged states and is providing meals and medical assistance to families. As usual, you can donate $10 to their relief effort by texting "REDCROSS" to 90999. You can also donate online or by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS. If you'd like to donate by mail, send your donations here:

American Red Cross
P.O. Box 4002018
Des Moines, IA 50340

 

The Salvation Army: The Salvation Army’s Emergency Disaster Services is also providing food to the displaced. You can donate $10 to them by texting "GIVE" to 80888. To donate online, go to salvationarmyusa.org, and to give via phone, call 1-800-SAL-ARMY and say you'd like to designate your funds for the "April 2011 Tornado Outbreak." You can also send checks to:

Salvation Army Disaster Relief
P.O. Box 100339
Atlanta, GA 30384

To give specifically to Alabama or Mississippi, you can use the channels those states have established for giving:

Alabama's Emergency Relief Fund: The Alabama Governor's Office of Faith-based and Community Initiatives steps in when other avenues have relief have been exhausted. Go to servealabama.gov to give money or volunteer time.

Mississippi Disaster Recovery Fund: Like the one in Alabama, this is run by the governor's office, and you can offer up cash or time. Visit mississippi.relief.com.

Portlight (help for the disabled): Portlight is a nonprofit that assists America's disabled, a service made all the more important by a horrible natural disaster. To help tornado victims, Portlight will be identifying those most in need and giving them $100 debit cards. Click here to donate to their cause.

 

A Different St. Augustine Band

Fountainbleau State Park Update

Across Lake Ponchartrain from New Orleans lies St. Tammany Parish.

I have called the eastern part of the Parish home for over 30 years. While I adore all that New Orleans has to offer, I prefer the quiet of the northshore. A truely beautiful attraction in St. Tammany is Fontainebleau State Park .

Located about an hour from the city, Fontainebleau is a world apart from the music, food, unique individuals and wonderful ambiance of the Crescent City.

This past Friday hubby and I headed out to the park to check out the health of the area since Katrina and the BP Oil Spill. Good news: all is well at Fontainebleau. The following pictures should give you an idea how nicely things are going.


The Visitors' Center is newly completed and has some fascinating items from the park's past. It also offers picnic tables and bathrooms.




This sign used to be hung out on Highway 190. If you look closely you will see that where it says "Cold Beer" it looks a little scratched out. Our host told us that the sign originally said "sandwiches" until they realized that cold beer would bring more people into the park. :)


The Center is located right behind what used to be a sugar mill.



The Visitors' Center itself is fascinating. It gives one the opportunity to learn about the geology and ecology of our region




This display shows all of the different areas of activity at the park: from camping to swimming.


There are miles of hiking/biking trails.


On the far eastern edge of the park are about a dozen cabins ready to be rented for about $120/nite. In these days of high gas prices, we are considering renting one instead of taking a road trip for vacation this year.


We spent a week in a cabin in 2008 and loved it.




It was very peaceful and close enough to restaurants and stores AND home. The perfect spot. But I digress......



Leaving the Visitors' Center the road curves around. In the middle of the curve this is the first sight you see



This row of magnificent live oak trees marches towards the lake. There were many more oaks before Katrina, but these are all that survived the flooding.


I could still see the beauty in these oaks




As you get closer to the lake, there is a trailhead off to your left. This will lead you in three different directions. We were headed towards the boardwalk that brings you out into the wetlands.







It is out here that Katrina's destruction is still visible.





But nature is resilient. These wetlands hold so much life! While out here on the boardwalk, the only sound you hear is the wind and the very lovely call of the redwing blackbird.








This little crab was trying to bury himself in the mud.


There had to be a reason why this sign was put up. :)

The beachfront of the park has been expanded and is really very nice.




The fishing pier is alway busy.




This picture of New Orleans was taken from the pier.


This little weather vane sits atop the building that houses bathrooms and dates back to the 20's.


To the east of the beach is a trail that follows what used to be a line of cypress trees. It is inside this area where you can find a quiet piece of beach and a little shade to enjoy the day.

Here are some other things we captured during our visit















Here is a link to my album containing all my pictures from this wonderful place
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v217/judyb54/FOUNTAINBLEAU/